AFC North Round Up: Ravens Take Sole Possession of First Place, Steelers Tied With Browns and Bengals at 2-2

Let's turn our attention away from the Pittsburgh Steelers' troubling Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans for a moment and take a look at how the rest of Pittsburgh's brethren in the AFC North fared on Sunday.

Baltimore Ravens

• Week 4 Result: 34-17 W over New York Jets
• How they did it:: What a bizarre game that was between the Ravens and the Jets. Baltimore set a franchise record by scoring three times on defense. That's about all you need to know. The 21 defensive points allowed Joe Flacco to go 10-of-31 on the night with two potentially pivotal turnovers that instead proved to be inconsequential. The Ravens did a few things well offensively, but it was really the struggles of Mark Sanchez and the Jets' offense that made this one so ugly and lopsided. The Ravens possessed the ball for 37-plus minutes compared to 22-plus minutes for the Jets.
• Record: 3-1
• Next Week: BYE Week ; vs. Houston in Week 6

Cincinnati Bengals

• Week 4 Result: 23-20 W over Buffalo Bills
• How they did it: After blowing leads in Weeks 2 and 3, the Bengals pulled off a comeback of their own in Week 4 over the previously unbeaten Bills. Andy Dalton was miserable in the first half, but rebounded to engineer four scoring drives worth 20 points after intermission. Rookie A.J. Green looks like the real deal (4 receptions, 118 yards), Cedric Benson continues to quietly do a solid job rushing the football (19 carries, 104 yards), and most impressively, the Bengals defense again did more than enough to put its position in a team to win. The Bengals might just look back at their Week 2 and Week 3 losses at the end of the season and shake their heads knowing they had at contending for the playoffs had they not thrown away two games they should have won.
• Record: 2-2
• Next Week: @ Jacksonville

Cleveland Browns

• Week 4 Result: 31-13 L vs. Tennessee Titans
• How they did it: The Browns' inability to defend the pass has to be alarming to their fanbase. Even without Kenny Britt, Matt Hasselbeck threw for 194 yards in the first half as the Titans raced out to a 21-6 halftime lead. You also have to question the run:pass distribution for Cleveland. Peyton HIllis had just 10 rushes on the afternoon whereas Colt McCoy attempted a franchise record 61 passes. Sure the Browns were trailing all afternoon, but you can't expose your franchise quarterback like that. Very irresponsible.
• Record: 2-2
• Next Week: BYE Week ; @ Oakland in Week 6

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Week 4 Result: 10-17 L at Houston Texans
• How they did it: The Steelers were unable to stop the run or protect the quarterback, both of which had the effect of allowing Houston to control the tempo of the game on both sides of the ball. Somewhat paradoxically, the Steelers could have very easily made a run at this win, yet, without the multiple penalties committed by Houston that negated scoring plays, this game could have gotten out of hand on the scoreboard. We'll get back to the nuts and bolts of the Steelers' loss to Houston shortly enough.
• Record: 2-2
• Next Week: vs. Tennessee Titans