Flashback Friday: Baltimore Ravens clinch first round bye in 2011 by defeating Cincinnati Bengals

The Baltimore Ravens will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on the road in week 17 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. With that, we can't help but go back to the time the Ravens won at Cincinnati in 2011 which also happens to be the last time the Ravens won at Cincinnati.

In week 17 of the 2011 regular season, the Ravens wrapped up a playoff spot already, but they did not secure the AFC North division title which also means that the Ravens didn't secure a first round bye yet. The Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers were both 11-4 entering week 17 and all the Ravens had to do was beat the Bengals and they win the AFC North title for the first time under head coach John Hatbaugh.

The Steelers on the other hand, needed to beat the Cleveland Browns and also have the Ravens lose to the Bengals. This scenario occurred because the Ravens owned the head to head tiebreaker with the Steelers as they swept Pittsburgh that season.

The Ravens would not only go on to beat the Bengals and win the AFC North title, they would also sweep the entire division for the first time in franchise history at 6-0. The Ravens would get a week off rest in the AFC Wild Card round and the Steelers would have to travel to play the Denver Broncos on the road where they eventually lost to Tim Tebow in overtime. One could argue that due to the Ravens winning the AFC North title that year, the Steelers haven't been quite the same since then.