AFC North Divisional Check-In

By: Matteo Ametrano

AFC Divisional Check-Ins 

AFC North 

Standings 

Ravens 5-2

Steelers 5-2 

Bengals 3-4

Browns 1-6 

Baltimore Ravens 

Derek Henry and Lamar Jackson are leading the NFL’s scariest rushing attack and leagues best overall offence. 

The Ravens bounced back very nicely after their 0-2 start winning their last five games in a row and are back to looking like the Ravens we expected to see with Derek Henry. The ravens seem to have found their identity behind the ageless, dominant,  running back Derek Henry, who is leading the NFL in rushing yards and touch downs with 873 yards and 8 touchdowns through 7 games. Lamar continues to embarrass defenders with his legs, and is even throwing the ball better then he has in his previous MVP winning seasons. In their previous contest, Lamar had an MVP performance on MNF vs the Bucs. Lamar threw for 281 yards, 5 touchdowns, and added 52 yards with his legs, on the way to a 41-31 victory. 

The Ravens are on the road this week to face the Browns in their second divisional contest. The Ravens are favored by 8.5 points as they take on the new look Browns with Winston under centre.   

Pittsburgh Steelers 

After a week of questioning and controversy over the starting QB situation in Pittsburgh, the Steelers seem to have found their starter (at least for now), after a dominant performance on SNF by Russel Wilson in a win over the Jets.  

With all the concerns for Pittsburgh heading into the 2024 season, Mike Tomlin, TJ Watt, and this defence, propelled the Steelers to a hot 3-0 start out the gate with Justin Fields under center. After going 1-2 in the next three games, Mike Tomlin decided to turn to veteran QB Russel Wilson, and it went very well in Russ’s first outing in the black and gold. Throwing for 264 yards, two touchdowns in the air, and one rushing, Russel Wilson had the Steelers offence looking the best it has looked in years in their 37-15 win on prime time vs the Jets. George Pickens also had his best game of the season with 100 yards and a touch down. And Najee Harris continues to run hard as he had his second game in a row with a rushing touch down. 

Up next for the Steelers is another prime time game in Pittsburgh vs the New York Giants. We will bve able to see if Russel Wilson can string together back to back performances where he looks like the Russ of old. We saw the Eagles defence take advantage of the banged up Giants offensive line in their win last weekend. Nakobe Dean and Jalen Carter had 2 sacks each as the Eagles held the Giants to only 3 points. We will see if T.J Watt, Alex Highsmith, and the Steelers defence will be able to have similar success against the Giants, as the Steelers look to go on their second three game winning streak of the season on Monday Night Football.

Cincinnati Bengals 

After another rough start to the season under Head coach Zack Taylor,  the Bengals were nearly dead to rights, but as Joe Burrow once said, their window is always open. The Bengals now sit at 3-4 and with their defence finally getting healthy, things have started to look better for the Bengals. 

The Bengals have won 3 out of their last 4 games with their one loss being an OT divisional loss to the Ravens, where McPhearson went wide left on a potential game winner. 

A big take away from the Bengals back to back wins against the Giants and the Browns was that Lou Anarumo’s defence was getting healthier, and they have certainly looked much better then they did in the first month of the season. Over the last two weeks, they have let up 21 points combined. With Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins, this offence can look like the leagues best, and if their defence doesn't lose them games, like they did vs the Commanders and Chiefs, they can beat anybody. 

The Bengals beat the Browns in their second divisional game of the season last week. As they continue to fight to get back into the playoff picture, a matchup with the Eagles may not be ideal, however, it is a home game, and the Bengals are favoured to win. It will be interesting this week to see how the Bengals do against the run game of the Eagles. With Saquon coming off a career game, and the threat of Jalen Hurts, with how vulnerable this Bengals rush defence has looked in previous weeks, it will be interesting to see how Anarumo and this defence plan to stop the Birds.  

Cleveland Browns 

With Amari Cooper traded to AFC contender Buffalo Bills, Browns fans are left wondering if they have any more life left this year in a tightly contested AFC North. Or if they should start to monitor the draft boards, and start to think about next season and the future. 

Desean Watson is out for the season after popping his achilles last week against the Bengals, and Jameis Winston is set to start for the Browns as they take on Lamar and the Ravens in their second divisional game in a row. 

Nick Chubb scored a touch down for the Browns in his return, but that was just about the only bright spot from the Browns entire season. Desean Watson was a disaster and frankly did not look like he was a starting QB in the NFL anymore prior to his season ending injury. Maybe the offence gets a bit of a boost from Winstons energy, but other then that I do not see them having much of a chance against the Ravens. After trading away Amari Cooper, their weapons are now Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore, Cedric Tillman and tight end David Njoku. 

Perhaps Browns fans will have more fun watching Jameis sling the ball down the field a bit, but with injuries to the offensive line, Myles Garret being banged up all season and Deseans miserable play, it has been a tough start for the Browns.