AFC North Recap: Steelers and Bengals winning sets up a crazy ending to the season

The fifteenth 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...

Pittsburgh Steelers - 19
Tennessee Titans - 13

What a weird, and wild, game Sunday at Heinz Field. The Steelers’ offense didn’t even gain 200 yards total, the defense surrendered over 200 yards on the ground, there were only two touchdowns scored by both teams and the Steelers couldn’t convert one of four takeaways into a touchdown. Throw in the lop-sided time of possession in favor of the visiting team, and the only reason the Steelers won the game was due to those takeaways. Yet they won the game, and in the end that’s all that matters. Win, and correct.

Cincinnati Bengals - 15
Denver Broncos - 10

The Bengals were able to go into a hostile environment and find a way to win the game in Week 15. The loss of Teddy Bridgewater to a very scary concussion certainly changed the Broncos’ game plan, but the Bengals were beneficiaries of his absence. The Bengals find a way to win, and it sets up a huge game at Paul Brown Stadium next Sunday when the Ravens come to Cincinnati for what could be for sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

Green Bay Packers - 31
Baltimore Ravens - 30

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before...the Ravens come storming back and score what should be a game-tying touchdown. Instead, they go for the two-point conversion and fail, only to lose by one point. You should have stopped me right after I said the Ravens come storming back to score what should be a game-tying touchdown. This exact scenario played itself out, again, at M&T Bank Stadium, and the Ravens lose, again, because of their decision making. Some will back John Harbaugh’s decision, while others hate it. It just depends on how you like your favorite team to handle the decision in that setting. Clearly, the Ravens like the more aggressive approach, it just hasn’t paid off for them in recent weeks. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Las Vegas Raiders - 16
Cleveland Browns - 14

With a depleted roster, the Browns, led by Nick Mullen, were in the lead 14-13 with just over 2 minutes remaining in the game. As you expected, the Browns found a way to lose the game with a last second field goal to give the Raiders a 2-point victory. This loss moved the Browns from 1st place in the AFC North, to last. Such a drastic change with just one kick, but the Browns now find themselves behind the proverbial 8-ball with an extremely tough stretch of games coming up.

AFC North Standings

Cincinnati Bengals - 8-6-0
Baltimore Ravens - 8-6-0
Pittsburgh Steelers - 7-6-1
Cleveland Browns - 7-7-0

Week 16 AFC North Schedule:

Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers — 4:30 p.m. ET, Saturday
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals — 1:00 p.m. ET, Sunday
Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs — 4:25 p.m. ET, Sunday

A look ahead...

Final three opponents for all AFC North teams:

Baltimore Ravens: at Bengals, vs. Rams, vs. Steelers
Cleveland Browns: at Packers, at Steelers, vs. Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers: at Chiefs, vs. Browns, at Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals: vs. Ravens, vs. Chiefs, at Browns