The Baltimore Ravens must defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17 to secure their place in the AFC playoff. However, unless you live close to one of the teams, you probably won’t be able to watch the game on television. The NFL broadcast map for Week 17 strongly features the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns, according to 506Sports, probably thanks to being a much more interesting matchup.
With the Steelers having little to play for this week, they are sitting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in favor of Mason Rudolph. That name may sound familiar as the Browns’ defensive side, Myles Garrett, hit the reserve quarterback on the head with his own helmet last season. Not only does this story prevail, but Cleveland is also fighting for his life in the playoffs this week, despite holding a 10-5 record.
Although the Ravens also have a playoff spot in play, they are expected to beat the Bengals this week by a wide margin. An oddsmaker opened the week with Baltimore holding a spread of nearly two touchdowns in Cincinnati – indicative of their relative talent levels this season. And with a lot of other scenarios where the Ravens can guarantee a playoff spot even in a loss, television stations wisely chose the bigger stories to air.
If you’re on the green, you can see Baltimore face Cincinnati on CBS on Sunday at 1 pm ET.
NFL broadcast map – Week 17:
█ Pittsburgh @ Cleveland █ Miami @ Buffalo █ Baltimore @ Cincinnati █ NY Jets @ New England