BALTIMORE -- The Cincinnati Bengals were playing for nothing but pride.

The Baltimore Ravens, on the other hand, had everything on the line and controlled their destiny to make the postseason for the first time since 2014.

In the end, the Bengals found a way to break the hearts of their AFC North rival.

Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes, including a 49-yard strike to Tyler Boyd with 44 seconds left, and Cincinnati knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs with a 31-27 victory Sunday. The winning score came on fourth-and-12.

Baltimore would have advanced with a win or losses by both Buffalo and Tennessee. However, the Bills and Titans won their games and took over the final two postseason spots.

The Ravens took their first lead, 27-24, on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Joe Flacco to Mike Wallace with 8:48 left in the game. However, Dalton answered with a 90-yard drive to reclaim the lead.

The Ravens (9-7) have now missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

It was an emotional win for the Bengals (6-10) and head coach Marvin Lewis, who might not return after 15 seasons.

"That was a hell of a finish," Lewis said. "Very deserving with how hard the guys keep working and grinding and they round out the victory in the end. We knew it would be difficult and tough, and we made it tougher on ourselves at times. But again, great job by the offense to finish the game."

When asked about his future with the Bengals, Lewis replied: "I don't know that. We'll see. Yes, there are decisions to be made. First, it would be the ownership."

Dalton completed 23-of-44 pass attempts for 222 yards. Bengals running back Joe Mixon finished with 96 yards on 18 carries.

"It seems like we were one play away so many times from winning a game this season," Dalton said. "Today, we got that play that put us over the top."

An 89-yard interception return by cornerback Darqueze Dennard on a ball tipped by Ravens receiver Chris Moore gave the Bengals a 24-10 lead with 10:17 left in the third quarter.

Flacco was let down by his receivers, who had several costly drops. He completed 25-of-47 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

"It's the name of the game. Stuff like that happens," Flacco said about the Bengals' game-winning touchdown. "You have to credit the other team. Obviously, it's tough for us to deal with right now. We didn't play perfect football, but we fought back into that game. There's a lot of different emotions in that sense. We have to be proud of the way we fought back."

On a fourth-and-3, Ravens running back Alex Collins appeared to be caught in the backfield, but reversed field and ran 17 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-17 with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter.

Baltimore pulled to within 24-20 on a 34-yard field goal by Justin Tucker with 13:08 left in the final quarter.

The temperature at kickoff was 19 degrees with a 10-degree wind chill -- the coldest home game in the Ravens' history.

"This team, this organization never quits," Boyd said. "We came into the game knowing they had to win. We knew we just had to beat them. Every guy in here just wanted to come in and win."

The Bengals went no-huddle and took a 7-0 lead on the opening drive when Dalton threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Kroft. A pass interference penalty on cornerback Brandon Carr against A.J. Green helped set up the score.

Despite having solid field position, the Ravens struggled to move the ball the entire half. Baltimore averaged 2.3 yards per play, had two first downs and had the ball for just 9:05.

The defense wasn't much better and allowed 126 rushing yards and 16 first downs.

The Bengals took advantage and another 5-yard pass from Dalton to Kroft extended their lead to 14-3 with 4:14 left in the second quarter.

After the Bengals' Randy Bullock made a 32-yard field goal, Moore returned the ensuing kickoff 87 yards to the Bengals 8. Flacco threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Moore on the next play and the Ravens had life, trailing just 17-10 at the break.

"I'm disappointed. I'm hurt because I wanted this team in the playoffs," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "I wanted this team in the playoffs for the team -- the players -- because of what they have done this year and how far they've come. The adversity they've overcome, backs against the wall, fighting to win week after week when they had to win. I'm just disappointed we didn't get this win."

NOTES: Baltimore S Eric Weddle missed out on a $1 million bonus. He had an incentive in his contract for making the Pro Bowl and reaching the playoffs in the same season. ... Bengals Jordan Evans and Hardy Nickerson split time at linebacker with Vontaze Burfict ruled out because of a shoulder injury. Evans left the game in the third quarter with head and shoulder injuries. ... Ravens WR Jeremy Maclin (knee) was inactive for the second consecutive game. Maclin, who has missed four games this season, is fourth on the team with 40 receptions for 440 yards with three touchdowns.