AFC North Recap: The Steelers division hopes remain alive after Week 5

The fifth week of NFL football is behind us, and it was quite the week in the AFC North division. With that said, it is time to see how the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns all did in the week that was.

Time to take a look...

Los Angeles Chargers - 47
Cleveland Browns - 42

If you love defense, you should have avoided this game like the plague. The Browns and Chargers went toe-to-toe like two prize fighters who don’t care about blocking punches. Kind of like Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. Anyways, Steelers fans were excited to see the Browns come out on the losing end of this game in hopes of slowly climbing out of the AFC North basement.

Green Bay Packers - 25 (OT)
Cincinnati Bengals - 22

Was there a more fitting way for the Bengals to lose than their kicker celebrating a would-be game-winning kick which sailed just left of the upright? It was as Bengals as Bengals gets. With that said, if anyone thinks the Bengals are a pushover, they aren’t watching the same game. I had a feeling this team would be vastly improved in 2021, but didn’t think they would make these strides. I hate to say it, but the Bengals aren’t likely to go anywhere anytime soon, barring another catastrophic injury like the one to Joe Burrow last season.

Pittsburgh Steelers - 27
Denver Broncos - 19

The Steelers were able to hold onto the victory, their first at home this season, and it sure did have a different feel to it. Suddenly, sitting at 2-3, the Steelers aren’t out of the division race. Think if they would have lost the game to Denver, sitting at 1-4 would almost feel like an impossible imposition for the black and gold. Nonetheless, the win keeps them very much alive, and if they can beat the Russell Wilson-less Seattle Seahawks they could be .500 heading into their bye week. Get there, and you have a shot with five divisional games remaining on the schedule.

Baltimore Ravens - 31 (OT)
Indianapolis Colts - 25

I have to be honest, when I went to bed Monday night the Ravens were getting smacked down on their home turf. I woke up to find the Lamar Jackson played out of his mind, as a passer for once, to come from behind and beat Carson Wentz and company. The Colts deserved to lose the game after red-zone turnovers and missed opportunities were the theme of the evening for them. Steelers fans watched as the Ravens went from 3-2 to 4-1 in the blink of an eye. The Ravens’ schedule doesn’t get easier with the Chargers and Bengals upcoming before their bye week.

AFC North Standings

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

Week 6 AFC North Schedule:

Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens — 1 p.m. ET, Sunday
Arizona Cardinals at Cleveland Browns — 1 p.m. ET, Sunday
Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit Lions — 1 p.m., Sunday
Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers — 8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday (SNF)

A look ahead...

Next three opponents for all AFC North teams:

Baltimore Ravens: vs. Chargers, vs. Bengals, BYE
Cleveland Browns: vs. Cardinals, vs. Broncos, vs. Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers: vs. Seahawks (SNF), BYE, at Browns
Cincinnati Bengals: at Lions, at Ravens, at Jets