AFC North Recap: Steelers squander golden opportunity to take first place in the division

The ninth 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...

Miami Dolphins - 22
Baltimore Ravens - 10

In what we all thought was the stunner of the week, the Ravens were heavily favored in South Beach on Thursday Night Football and failed to bring home a victory. In fact, the Ravens looked downright awful in the game. The Ravens’ offensive line couldn’t protect Lamar Jackson, and when your best offensive player can’t do what he does best, it becomes glaring. The Ravens were fortunate enough the Steelers were lousy on Sunday and kept their first place position in the division.

New England Patriots - 45
Cleveland Browns - 7

Raise your hand if you saw the Patriots taking the Browns behind the proverbial wood shed and laying the smack down on Cleveland? I predicted the Patriots to win, but not 45-7. The Browns took Baker Mayfield out of the game, and likely because the game was getting out of hand. The Browns might be the most disappointing team in the NFL. Steelers fans can be down on the team, but not many predicted the Steelers to be in the Super Bowl in 2021. The Browns were everyone’s favorite pick, and they look like a team who might not even make the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers - 16
Detroit Lions - 16

What else is there to be said about this game which hasn’t already been said. On a day where the Steelers were without their two starting guards, one of their top wide receivers, a backup quarterback and miserable weather conditions they chose to throw the ball 50 times. Read the above statement as much as you want and let it sink in. Najee Harris was averaging 4.0 yards per carry, and on a 1st and goal from the 5, the offense didn’t give him the ball once. The Steelers’ defense surrendered over 180 yards on the ground in quarters 2 and 3. They didn’t deserve to win the game, and they should be happy they didn’t lose it. Throw in the injuries to key players and this disaster went from bad to worse.

AFC North Standings

Baltimore Ravens - 6-3-0
Pittsburgh Steelers - 5-3-1
Cincinnati Bengals - 5-4-0
Cleveland Browns - 5-5-0

Week 11 AFC North Schedule:

Detroit Lions at Cleveland Browns — 1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday
Baltimore Ravens at Chicago Bears — 1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday
Cincinnati Bengals at Las Vegas Raiders — 4:05 p.m. ET, Sunday
Pittsburgh Steelers at Las Angeles Chargers — 8:15 p.m. ET, Sunday Night Football

A look ahead...

Next three opponents for all AFC North teams:

Baltimore Ravens: at Bears, vs. Browns (SNF), at Steelers
Cleveland Browns: vs. Lions, at Ravens (SNF), BYE
Pittsburgh Steelers: at Chargers (SNF), at Bengals, vs. Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals: at Raiders, vs. Steelers, vs. Chargers