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When the Ravens were 1-5 and long shots to make the playoffs, they insisted their record would not define them. And, for a time, it didn’t.

But now that the Ravens are 6-7 and entering a December game with a losing record for the first time in a decade, there is no escaping some labels. Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells once said, “You are what your record says you are,” and with four games left in the regular season, the Ravens’ record is not good.

“You play the cards you’re dealt, and really, we’ve dealt ourselves these cards,” safety Kyle Hamilton said Wednesday. “So we are obviously not in a position we would like to have been in, but we still have an opportunity to go win the AFC North and get into the playoffs. So we still control our destiny, and that’s not going to change where our mindset is: ‘Win and we’re in,’ from here on out.”

Their path back to the top of the AFC North will have to start Sunday at Paycor Stadium. As the Ravens and Bengals (4-9) meet two weeks after Cincinnati left Baltimore with a decisive 32-14 win on Thanksgiving, here’s what to watch in their Week 15 game. All stats are courtesy of Sports Info Solutions, Pro Football Focus and the NFL’s Next Gen Stats unless otherwise noted.

1. Sunday’s game doesn’t quite qualify as a must-win for the Ravens. But it’s close.

With a victory, the Ravens’ playoff odds would rise from about 27% to 41%, according to The New York Times’ playoff simulator. With a win and a loss by the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) to the Miami Dolphins on “Monday Night Football,” those odds would shoot up even higher, to 49%.

A loss in Cincinnati, however, would cut the Ravens’ playoff chances nearly in half (14%). With a loss and a Steelers win, the odds would drop to 11%.

“You have to win to control your destiny, so that’s what we have to do,” coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday. “And it’s been that way the last two weeks, and we haven’t been able to pull off a win. It was that way the previous four weeks, and we were able to do it. So we need to go win. That’s it. We need to win. If you win, then you have a chance to control your destiny. If you don’t, then it’s going to be out of your hands. It’s as simple as that.”

2. Running back Derrick Henry isn’t the only Ravens star counting on the return of a functional ground game. Quarterback Lamar Jackson is, too.

Jackson has completed play-action passes at the NFL’s highest rate this season (80.3%) and is averaging 12.6 yards per attempt, behind only the Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold (12.9 yards). But because of game script factors, early-down struggles and the Bengals’ second-half lead in Week 13, Jackson had just six play-action drop-backs against Cincinnati, finishing 3-for-6 for 80 yards.

The Bengals have been vulnerable to the run and the threat of the run. They’ve allowed over 100 rushing yards in all but one game, including to the Ravens, who went for 123 yards (5.6 per carry) despite a 10-carry outing for running back Derrick Henry. And, against play-action passes this season, Cincinnati has allowed an NFL-high 91.8 yards per game and 8.6 yards per attempt (ninth highest).

“I think Lamar is elite at the intermediate passing game,” offensive coordinator Todd Monken said Thursday. “I think, when you can run the football, I think it opens up that part of the field for us to hit those pockets. So that’s always been a staple since I’ve been here, those types of plays. Where we have to continue to grow is when you have to throw it. … When you get in the drop-back game, everything comes into play: communication, protections, your disciplined routes, your spacing — that’s really where all that comes into play.”

3. Wide receiver Zay Flowers had his quietest game of this season in Week 13. The Ravens’ season-long inconsistency behind him compounded those struggles.

Flowers finished with two catches on seven targets for a season-low 6 yards against Cincinnati, though a questionable pass interference penalty wiped out a 36-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Bengals cornerback DJ Turner, a breakout star, matched up with Flowers on 15 snaps and didn’t allow a catch on two targets.

But, while Ravens tight ends Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews combined for 142 receiving yards against a woeful secondary, their wide receivers had considerably less impact. DeAndre Hopkins, Rashod Bateman, Devontez Walker and LaJohntay Wester totaled two catches on six targets for 25 yards.

The Ravens’ search for a reliable WR2 has proved elusive. Hopkins and Bateman are averaging 19.8 and 19.7 receiving yards per game, respectively, both of which would be career lows.

“To me, balance is — and we’ve been elite around here doing it — everybody has the opportunity to touch the football,” Monken said Thursday. “It doesn’t matter [what position] — running backs, tight ends, wideouts — our ability to stretch the field horizontally and vertically, being able to run it and throw it, because you’re an elite offense when certain things are taken away, you can get to something else. So we certainly need to get all of our skill guys involved.”

4. Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase continued his historical dominance against the Ravens in Week 13. But defensive coordinator Zach Orr was encouraged by the coverage he got.

Chase finished with seven catches for 110 yards, a total that actually dropped his career average against the Ravens. In nine games against Cincinnati’s AFC North rival, Chase is averaging 119.1 yards per game, the highest mark by any player against a single opponent in NFL history (minimum eight games played).

The one silver lining to Chase’s big night: The Ravens made him work for his production. Chase was targeted 14 times and finished with one of his worst catch rates (50%) all season.

“I thought we did a good job,” Orr said Thursday. “The thing that was really good was, we didn’t let him run after the catch. That’s where he’s really hurt us, and that’s where they really get rolling, is when he catches a slant or a dig route and runs for big, explosive plays. I thought we did OK. You never want a guy to get a hundred yards, but we can be better, and we know what we can be better at.”

With fellow standout wide receiver Tee Higgins sidelined by a concussion in their first matchup, the Ravens doubled Chase and rolled their coverage to his side of the formation several times, to mixed results. If Higgins plays Sunday — he was limited in practice Wednesday and Thursday while in the concussion protocol again — the Ravens will have to pick their spots more judiciously.

5. Outside linebacker Tavius Robinson and safety Ar’Darius Washington could both return to action Sunday. But their paths to playing time have obstacles of varying size.

Robinson, who broke his foot in a Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, said Wednesday he expects to play in Cincinnati. Robinson led all Ravens outside linebackers in defensive snaps through the first month of the season and, if healthy, should return to a regular early-down role.

Robinson’s contributions as a rugged run defender, and the Ravens’ limited depth at edge rusher, could free outside linebackers Kyle Van Noy, Dre’Mont Jones and rookie Mike Green to be deployed more situationally. Van Noy, in particular, has just a 14.4% pressure rate and a 1.1% sack rate on third and fourth downs this season, a drop-off from 18.7% and 5.3% last season, respectively.

Washington, who tore his Achilles tendon in May, said Thursday he’s “ready to go.” But the Ravens’ secondary is largely settled: Nate Wiggins, Marlon Humphrey and Chidobe Awuzie at cornerback, and Alohi Gilman, rookie Malaki Starks and Hamilton at safety. The Gilman-Starks partnership at deep safety has effectively replaced the Washington-Hamilton partnership that helped stabilize the Ravens’ secondary late last season, and Hamilton and Humphrey can both play in the slot, where Washington earned snaps early in his career.

Washington could fit into the Ravens’ dime personnel (six defensive backs), though, which they turn to occasionally in obvious passing situations. If the Ravens line up Gilman and Starks at safety and Wiggins and Humphrey out wide, Washington and Hamilton could take over opposite slots. Rookie cornerback Keyon Martin has played 114 snaps inside this season.

“Whenever they say it, whenever they give me the call, whenever they put me out there on the field, I’m going to be ready to go,” Washington said. “I ain’t come back to not play. I ain’t come back early to not play at all, so I’m ready to play.”