The temperature may have been buried below freezing, but Sunday in Cincinnati felt more like an August preseason game than the season finale.

With both teams clinched in the postseason, most major starters watched the second half from the sideline at Paul Brown Stadium as the Bengals beat Baltimore 23-17. 

Ravens coach John Harbaugh pulled QB Joe Flacco and RB Ray Rice after two series, and Bengals coach Marvin Lewis allowed QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green and LT Andrew Whitworth to only play the first half.

"I'm glad that's over," Lewis said. "That's a difficult situation to be in. I thought our guys handled it about as well as you can handle it."

The relatively meaningless win marked the third double-digit victory season in Lewis' 10 years, and the Bengals (10-6) are looking at a first-round rematch at Houston.

Having won only once in the last five games, Baltimore (10-6) will host No. 5 seed Indianapolis.

"I don't like that, but they're on the record," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of the negative momentum. "We're looking forward to playing (Indianapolis). They are obviously a very good team and have a great, young quarterback. They won today so you can tell what they're all about."

Cincinnati enters on a different roll. They've won seven of eight, and the defense continued their dominant roll -- and the majority of the defensive starters played throughout the game. They've allowed more than 17 points only once in the last eight games and own the top-ranked defense in the league during the second half of the season.

"This group is pretty salty right now," defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said. "I'm going to take my guys against anybody."

When the game turned: When Joe Flacco exited in the first quarter. The first sign of waving the white flag from the Ravens came quick. Some suspense existed late in the week as to how much these two teams would play to win. Giving Flacco and Rice the day off after two series answered those questions and sapped any drama. 

Highlight moment: DE Carlos Dunlap put together the highlight play of his budding career. The Bengals DE managed to tip a Tyrod Taylor pass into the air, caught it himself, ran five yards before juking Taylor's attempted tackle, then ran into the end zone for a pick-6. For good measure, he trampolined off the camera stand and catapulted into the first row of the stands to celebrate.

"I tipped it straight up like that for a reason, I tried to tip it up and then catch it," Dunlap said. "Last year (returning a fumble for score against Indianapolis) I didn't have enough energy to get up (into the stands), so this time I had to make sure I got up there because I wanted it to be a highlight to remember. I jumped too high, I almost flipped over, I adjusted on the fly and made a highlight that I always dreamed of."

Highlight moment stat: This was the third consecutive game the Bengals scored a defensive touchdown. Wallace Gilberry returned a fumble for a score against Philadelphia, Leon Hall intercepted a pass for a TD against Pittsburgh and Dunlap took it to the house against Baltimore.

Over the last three weeks, the Bengals have given up only four TDs and scored three.

Top-shelf performances:

  • Bengals DE Michael Johnson -- two sacks, two TFL, two QB hits

  • Ravens QB Tyrod Taylor -- 15 of 25 for 149 yards, nine rushes for 65 yards.

What they said about expectations for the playoffs:

  • Bengals OL Andrew Whitworth -- “This young team is finding ways to win games. Last year we were predicted to be 1-15 and we went 9-7 and made the playoffs. This year we were predicted to make the playoffs, we did it. The next progression is to go win a playoff game. There's no doubt about it, that's our goal. Anything short of that is not a good season.”

     
  • Ravens coach Harbaugh -- “The goal today was two-fold. First, put ourselves in the best position possible going forward in playoffs -- and to win the game. We obviously did not win the game and we are disappointed with that, but we feel like we are in the best position going forward into the playoffs, and that is all that matters."

     
  • Bengals coach Lewis -- “No doubt (the bar has been raised). Our guys realize just being in the playoffs is not what we're here for. We want to go win the championship.”

Numbers you should know: With four sacks Sunday, the Bengals set a franchise record for sacks in a season (51). The previous mark of 48 was set in 2001. Also, Michael Johnson (11.5) and Geno Atkins (13.0) became the first Bengals tandem since 1981 to both record double-digit sacks.

Chasing records: Since A.J. Green only played a half, he fell short of his quest to set the Bengals' single-season receiving record. He caught two passes for 26 yards before being pulled. Chad Johnson holds on to the record at 1,440 yards in 2007.

Green finished the regular season with 97 receptions for 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Injury update: Bengals -- RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis did not play after tweaking his hamstring in pregame warmups. Lewis said Green-Ellis was tight before game and didn't feel right, so they held him out. ... S Chris Crocker suffered a quad injury in the first half and did not return, but he told Zimmer he was "good to go" after the game. Ravens -- Baltimore rested banged up starters DT Haloti Ngata, LB Terrell Suggs, OL Marshal Yanda and WR Anquan Boldin. RB Ray Rice played but two series, then took the day off. ... FB Vonta Leach and OL Kelechi Osemele both went off injured, but Harbaugh confirmed after the game they should be fine for next week.

Going forward: Bengals -- Cincinnati will travel in the first round of the playoffs as the No. 6 seed. They will travel for a first-round game in Houston for the second consecutive year. Ravens -- As winners of the AFC North, the Ravens end up as the No. 5 seed and will host Indianapolis next week in the first round of the playoffs.

Follow Paul Dehner Jr. for Bengals updates on Twitter at @CBSBengals.

Follow Jason Butt for Ravens updates on Twitter at @CBSRavens.