(My Sportsbook) - The Baltimore Ravens will likely celebrate an AFC North title in 2006. But after Thursday night's 13-7 loss in Cincinnati, they won't be doing so on the premises of the reigning champ.

The resurgent Bengals held Baltimore (9-3) off the scoreboard for the first 58 minutes and 59 seconds before Steve McNair threw an ultimately meaningless 36- yard touchdown strike to Derrick Mason with 1:01 to play. Matt Stover's subsequent onside kick attempt was recovered by Cincinnati (7-5), and the Bengals had new life in the AFC Playoff chase.

The Ravens, meanwhile, will head to Kansas City this week knowing that it will be at least two more weeks before they can wrap up a division that was dangled before their face on the last night in November.

"Anytime you have an opportunity to capture the division and don't, it is disappointing," said Baltimore head coach Brian Billick. "When you put yourself in that position, and don't follow through, that is unsatisfactory. Fortunately, we are in a position where we can control our own destiny as we move forward. We don't have to rely on anyone else. Nothing else has to happen except for us to play good football, and we are capable of that."

Just four days removed from a monumental 27-0 wood-shedding of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens failed to answer the bell in the Queen City.

McNair and company failed to move the ball into Bengals territory on seven of their first eight drives, and the one time they did draw close enough to get on the board during that stretch, just before halftime, the usually reliable Stover missed wide left on a 29-yard field goal attempt to keep the score at 6-0.

"Matt is usually automatic for us," said Billick. "That could have recaptured some momentum for us, possible stirring up some emotion. We were in position to - at that point - cut the lead in half. It is always disappointing, but no more than Matt feels."

The defense played well in comparison, holding Cincinnati's high-octane offense under 300 yards for the night. But the big plays that had been the calling card of the Ravens defense all season were largely absent. Bengals QB Carson Palmer was sacked only twice, and the Ravens did not cause a turnover in the defeat. Baltimore was also victimized for a game-altering touchdown on the first drive of the second half, a score that came on a flea-flicker pass from Palmer to T.J. Houshmandzadeh from 40 yards out.

The Bengals never produced another drive longer than 20 yards the rest of the night, but it didn't matter for a Baltimore club that offered up its second- lowest point total of the year and saw a streak of games with 24 or more points snapped at five.

"We have had parts of games go like that in the past where we couldn't get it going, but somewhere down the line, we find it," said tight end Todd Heap, who was limited to four receptions for 29 yards. "That didn't seem to happen today. We never got in the groove where we were consistently moving the ball. We had a few plays here and there, but even the scoring drive was too late."

With the setback, the Ravens are at risk of letting a once-comfortable lead in the AFC North shrink further. While Baltimore plays a quality Chiefs (7-5) team at raucous Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, Cincinnati will be hosting the woeful Oakland Raiders (2-10), with an eye toward reducing the Ravens' advantage in the division to a slim one game with three weeks still to play.

Those potential circumstances were on the mind of many Ravens in a disappointed visitor's locker room Thursday night.

"We wanted to close it out tonight," said McNair. "Every week is going to be a challenge from here on out. We just have to be ready to go for Kansas City."

AN INJURY B.J. CAN'T BEAR

After making it through the first 12 weeks of the season relatively healthy, the Ravens suffered their first major injury of 2006 when return man extraordinaire B.J. Sams was lost for the year with a fractured ankle suffered in the second quarter of the Cincinnati loss. Sams had returned a kickoff 20 yards before he fell awkwardly while being tackled by the Bengals' Nate Webster.

The loss of Sams, who ranks sixth in NFL punt return average (10.6) and eighth in kickoff return average (25.7), was felt almost immediately. Reserve cornerback Corey Ivy muffed a fourth-quarter punt at the Ravens' 35 that effectively ended any realistic chance of a Baltimore comeback.

On Monday, Billick announced that Ivy would continue to return punts as part of a two-man committee along with wideout Mark Clayton, and that 5-foot-6 undrafted rookie Cory Ross (Nebraska) would handle kickoffs after being inactive for the first 12 games of the season.

MORE MOVES

The Ravens also announced on Monday that backup defensive tackle Justin Bannan (dislocated toe) and fullback Justin Green (torn ACL) were being placed on injured reserve along with Sams, and that fullback Nick Luchey, linebacker Tim Johnson, and defensive tackle Atiyyah Ellison were being placed on the 53-man roster in their stead.

The 6-foot-2, 273-pound Luchey has seven years of NFL experience on his resume', having played in 75 games with the Bengals (1999-02, 2005) and Packers (2003-04) since being drafted in the fifth round out of Miami-Florida in 1999. Luchey was in training camp with the Texans prior to this season, but was cut Sept. 1st.

Johnson, who played in 50 games with the Raiders from 2002 through 2005, primarily as a special-teamer, has some familiarity with the Ravens. The Youngstown State product went to training camp with Baltimore as a rookie in 2001 before being cut one week into the season, and also spent the summer of 2006 with the Ravens before being waived on Sept. 2nd. Johnson had 63 tackles and a sack while with the Raiders.

Ellison, who has been on the Ravens' practice squad since Sept. 13th, might be the most interesting of the newcomers. The Carolina Panthers spent a third- round draft pick on the 6-foot-3, 318-pound Ellison in 2005, but the Missouri alumnus did not get on the field for Carolina and was released at the final cut this past summer. The Houston Texans claimed Ellison on waivers Sept. 3rd, but he was cut five days later before being signed by Baltimore. Ellison had 6.5 sacks at Missouri in 2003-04.

NEXT UP: GOIN' TO KANSAS CITY

Kansas City has won its only three all-time matchups with the Ravens, with all three meetings taking place in Baltimore, including a 27-24 win in the last such matchup, in 2004. A Baltimore-based NFL franchise will be traveling to Kansas City this week for the first time since the 1980 Colts scored a 31-24 win at Arrowhead Stadium.

Billick is 0-3 against the Chiefs in his career, but is 2-0 head-to-head against first-year Kansas City head coach Herm Edwards. Edwards is 0-2 in his career against the Ravens, with both of those losses dating back to his tenure with the Jets (2001-05).