AFC North Recap: Bengals stay perfect after Week 5

Another week, another set of intense match ups in the AFC North. The Steelers don't play until Monday, but there was plenty of entertaining football as the Bengals came back strong to beat the Seahawks and the Ravens suffered a defeat at home against the Browns.

Bengals beat the Seahawks 27-24 in Overtime

The Seahawks gave up a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as the unusually clutch Cincinnati Bengals squad managed to come back strong. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was 15 of 23 for 213 yards with one touchdown and one interception. In the absence of running back Marshawn Lynch, rookie Thomas Rawls rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was 30 of 44 for 331  yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Tight end Tyler Eifert was his favorite target on Sunday. He ended up with eight catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns. A.J. Green had a productive game as well with six catches for 78 yards.

The Steelers play the Bengals for the first time on Sunday, November 1 at Heinz Field, and if the Bengals continue to play this well- and, more importantly, consistently well-- the Steelers will have their work cut out for them. At the beginning of the season, the Seahawks appeared to be one of the biggest threats on the Steelers schedule. Instead, their incredibly porous and ineffective offensive line has made a very easy target of Russell Wilson. The Steelers play the Seahawks in Seattle after their bye week on November 29.

Ravens lose to the Browns in Baltimore 30-33 in Overtime

The Ravens played the Browns at home in Baltimore, their first game after their victory against the Steelers in the Week 4 edition of Thursday Night Football, for which Michael Vick had only a few days to prepare in the wake of the injury to Ben Roethlisberger.

The Ravens could not figure out a way to win on Sunday, despite several opportunities to lock down a win. Similar to their game against the Steelers, the Ravens found themselves in overtime against the Browns after Cleveland scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. Unlike the Week 4 game, the Ravens could not pull out a victory, mostly because the Browns were able to score a field goal after the Ravens punted on their first overtime possession.

Browns quarterback Josh McCown played an elite-level game, completing 36 of 51 passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, on the other hand, threw for 210 yards completing 19 of 35 attempts. He had one touchdown through the air and carried the ball into the end zone two separate times. Without receiver Steve Smith, Flacco relied primarily on receiver Kamar Aiken and running back Justin Forsett who had 121 yards on the ground. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, in his third NFL season out of Harvard, had 31 receiving yards on three completions and had the Ravens lone receiving touchdown.

The Steelers face the Browns on November 15 at home. While McCown had a phenomenal game with 457 yards, this performance is attributable to the Ravens horrid pass defense in addition to McCown's own merit. The Steelers second game against the Ravens isn't until Sunday, December 27. The Ravens offense has been ineffectual under offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, and their defense has struggled mightily, particularly with the absence of Terrell Suggs and other key players lost in free agency during the offseason.

AFC North Standings

Bengals 5-0

Steelers 2-2

Browns 2-3

Ravens 1-4