AFC North Week 11 Power Rankings: Steelers escape, Ravens, Browns & Bengals stumble

AFC North standings and power rankings don’t match up

Week 11 in the AFC North was interesting to say the least. The Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers dueled, the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals find themselves searching for answers for lost seasons for both teams. Tough conversations for specific teams in this division will need to be had, so let’s discuss.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers

Getting 2021 Tennessee Titans vibes from this team (not a compliment)

2. Baltimore Ravens

Not going to make a deep playoff run with self-inflicted wounds

3. Cincinnati Bengals

You might have to pull the plug on this season

4. Cleveland Browns

Thursday night will be interesting for many reasons

Steelers win AFC North clash, anemic offense almost costs them the win

I had this game on my television for the majority of the afternoon and I came away feeling concerned with the Steelers. Two reasons:

• Offense was anemic for most if not the entire game
• Cornerback depth is a concern

Don’t get me wrong, a win is a win but Pittsburgh didn’t necessarily earn this win, Baltimore gave it to them. Offensively, the Steelers were inefficient for the entire game and they didn’t score a touchdown the entire game. The red-zone offense was abysmal and they went 4-16 on 3rd down (at one point they only converted once on third down).

Quarterback Russell Wilson wasn’t great, we already knew his athleticism was cooked but it was obvious today as the Ravens were able to tee off.

Defensively, Pittsburgh did what they usually do but their cornerback room is thin and the play was less than ideal. Linebacker Payton Wilson had this sick interception, great concentration and determination by not giving up on the play:

It was a game that the Steelers had no business winning but as I mentioned, a win is a win. Attention now shifts to Thursday as they will travel to take on the Browns in another divisional matchup.

Despite the result today, I still believe that the Ravens are the best team in the division.

Despite improved pass defense, self-inflicted wounds sink Ravens

Baltimore has had their fair share of ugly losses but this one might have been the ugliest out of them all. It felt as if the Ravens gave this game away to the Steelers more than the Pittsburgh winning it.

I don’t know what’s going on with Baltimore kicker Justin Tucker, at one point he was automatic, but now he’s missing the kicks he usually makes. He missed two in the 1st quarter alone and that’s 6 points that the Ravens needed.

As far as the penalties, the Ravens had multiple drive-killing ones. It just felt like the entire game, Baltimore couldn’t get out of their own way.

As far as the defense goes, against the pass they played arguably their best game of the season. Offensively, the unit will have better days and quarterback Lamar Jackson will have days like this. It’s the NFL, it happens but in Jackson’s case, he just can’t figure out the Steelers.

Bengals fierce 2nd half rally falls short, postseason hopes are on life support

Since the Thursday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens, every game that Cincinnati plays was essentially a playoff game up until this point. Little margin for error.

In the 1st half against the Los Angeles Chargers, it looked like the Bengals were about to get ran out of SoFi Stadium. Tempers were hot, body language was terrible and things were going south. The secnd half rolled around and something clicked.

Cincinnati’s offense was struggling during the 1st half. They scored 21 unanswered points in the 2nd half, and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was cooking. Cincinnati’s defense was giving up big plays in the passing game and run game, but the defense tightened up.

It appeared that the Bengals were going to make a comeback and save their season. But kicker Evan McPherson missed two field goals in the 4th quarter and Cincinnati gave up a game-winning touchdown run by running back J.K. Dobbins.

The Bengals run defense, which has been a problem all season, fell apart at the worst time and it cost them. At this point, their playoff hopes are all but dashed.

Is it a shame? Sure but the Bengals front office (and coaching staff to a degree) are at fault for this underachieving season.

Browns run out of gas in New Orleans, Thursday night is important for many reasons

Most of my attention was on the Ravens-Steelers game (for scouting reasons) but the Browns-Saints game was on my tablet and it got the rest of my attention. At first, it appeared that this game was approaching levels of weirdness for many reasons. New Orleans Saints tight end/swiss army knife Taysom Hill was going ballistic and quarterback Jameis Winston was lighting it up in the Caesars Superdome.

The Browns ended up losing by 21. How? No idea. Midway during the 3rd, wide receiver Elijah Moore made an improbable touchdown catch and tight end David Njoku converted on the 2-point conversion.

The Saints, however found a way to pull away and Hill was the main reason why.

As far as special teams go, yeah it’s rough right now. Kicker Dustin Hopkins has been struggling all year and it’s a strange revelation. The game was close midway during the 3rd quarter but Cleveland ran out of gas in the 4th, which led to the score looking lopsided as it is.

Some believe that the team quit, but who knows at this point?

Defensively, not their best performance but the offense had over 400 yards of total offense but went 3/13 on 3rd down.

Could head coach Kevin Stefanski be coaching for his job on Thursday night against Pittsburgh? Possibly and the Steelers aren’t going to make it easy. Thursday night will be interesting.