AFC North Recap: Steelers take second place with the division upside down

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...

Cleveland Browns - 41
Cincinnati Bengals - 16

In what was the divisional game of the week, the Browns made a splash early when Denzel Ward intercepted Joe Burrow in the red-zone and took it to the house for a touchdown. Despite the Bengals scoring on their next drive, the game felt over after that pick-six. The Browns dominated the game, and the Bengals went from 1st place in the AFC, and the AFC North, and two weeks later are now basement dwellers in the division. My how the tables have turned for the young Bengals team. The division has never been tighter after this game.

Baltimore Ravens - 34
Minnesota Vikings - 31 (OT)

The Vikings jumped out to a 24-3 lead on the Ravens, and the second half saw the script flipped and everything the Vikings did in the first half was not working in the second half. Lamar Jackson continues to be a one-man show for the Ravens and is the reason this team is 6-2 and in sole first place in the AFC North. Some call the Ravens’ success lucky, but they have found ways to win tough games, three overtime games to be exact. Like it or not, the Ravens are hot right now and will continue to be a tough team to beat.

Pittsburgh Steelers - 29
Chicago Bears - 27

Anyone else feel the Steelers were going to roll on Monday Night Football and the fan base would be able to sit back and relax? Yeah, me neither. I can’t remember the last time the Steelers had a dominant win, but I honestly don’t care as long as they win. Sure, it would be nice to not have a weekly heart attack while watching the Steelers, but this team is winning football games. When the Steelers had lost three games in a row, and sat at 1-3 in the basement of the division, if I would have approached you and asked if you’d take four straight wins and second place in the division, would you have taken it? I know I would have, regardless of style points. The Steelers are 5-3 and could be 6-3 if they can beat the Lions this Sunday at home. Enjoy the streak fans.

AFC North Standings

Baltimore Ravens - 6-2
Pittsburgh Steelers - 5-3
Cleveland Browns - 5-4
Cincinnati Bengals - 5-4

Week 10 AFC North Schedule:

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins — 8:20 p.m. ET, Thursday (TNF)
Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers — 1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday
Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots — 1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday

A look ahead...

Next three opponents for all AFC North teams:

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