AFC North Roundup: Steelers control their own destiny within the division

With Week 7 of the NFL schedule officially in the books, at least for the AFC North, it’s time to take a look back at those teams who call the AFC North home to see how they fared and what the standings look like after this week’s action.

The first goal for each team in the NFL is to win its division. Doing so guarantees both a playoff spot and a home playoff game, so even these early-season games are important when it comes to divisional rankings.

Let’s take a spin around the AFC North to check on the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Week 7 Results

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 26
Cleveland Browns - 23 (OT)

Just when it looked like the Browns were a team who could actually make some noise in the AFC, and in the AFC North, they put together a very Brown-like performance and lose to the Buccaneers on the road in Week 6. It is crazy to think how they have played in 4 overtime games in the first 7 weeks of the 2018 regular season. Can certainly take its toll on a team.

New Orleans Saints - 24
Baltimore Ravens - 23

The announcer said it after John Brown hauled in a Joe Flacco touchdown pass to cut the lead to one. “Justin Tucker has never missed an extra point in his NFL career.” Well, until Sunday. Tucker’s kick sliced wide right, and the Saints came away with a one-point win on the road. Drew Brees has now beaten every NFL team, including the Saints, which is an impressive statistic. No one saw Tucker missing that kick, but the Steelers faithful certainly were excited.

Kansas City Chiefs - 45
Cincinnati Bengals - 10

Raise your hand if you were surprised at this result? I shouldn’t see any hands raised considering the Bengals were coming off a very physical loss to the Steelers, were on the road in a hostile environment, playing one of the league’s hottest teams and were playing on prime time — where they are awful. No shocker here.

Week 8 Schedule

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers — 1 p.m. ET kickoff
Baltimore Ravens at Carolina Panthers — 1 p.m. ET kickoff
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — 1 p.m. ET kickoff

AFC North Standings

Pittsburgh Steelers - 3-2-1
Cincinnati Bengals - 4-3
Baltimore Ravens - 4-3
Cleveland Browns - 2-4-1

Let us know what you think about the division after Week 7 in the comment section below. Do you see this being a powerhouse division? Which teams are contenders and which ones are nothing more than pretenders?