NFL Week 16 Power Rankings: Division race going down to the wire

Steelers and Ravens are tied while the Bengals still have a shot at the NFL playoffs

To start, happy holidays and I hope everyone has a safe and fun time with their families. Spend time or reach out to your loved ones this holiday season if you can.

Let’s discuss the AFC North. Both the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers lost in Week 16 while the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals came away with much-needed victories.

1. Baltimore Ravens

Win the next two games, and the division is yours

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

Injuries aside, it is not a team that would scare anyone in the postseason

3. Cincinnati Bengals

Their playoff hopes have been cooked for a while, I am not fooled just because they have a chance

4. Cleveland Browns

Myles Garrett eclipsed 100 career sacks in the 4th fastest time.

Ravens grab ahold of division, Steelers can’t overcome Wilson’s woes

Saturday’s game was important for many reasons between these two teams. Whoever won essentially would grab control of the AFC North. The stakes were high but it was the Baltimore Ravens that came out on top.

Baltimore has had their issues against Pittsburgh, but the game they played was arguably their best game against a division rival this season. Offense, defense and special teams, The Ravens excelled in all 3 phases.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson played exceptionally as always but key players stood out. Wide receiver Zay Flowers eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving for the season, running back Derrick Henry continues to be a game-changer and wide receiver Rashod Bateman has emerged as a solid WR2 for Baltimore.

From the Steelers perspective, this was a game that they needed to have but couldn’t get it done. Quarterback Russell Wilson did more harm than good by putting the ball in harm’s way. Whether it was the fumble in the red zone early on or the game breaking pick-6 late in the 4th, Wilson came up short when needed.

Granted, the Steelers were missing key players on offense and defense but the run defense was abysmal and the offense struggled to sustain drives (which has been a recurring theme).

Both teams will be in the postseason but Baltimore is the one you can trust could make a deep playoff run.

Bengals keep slim playoff hopes alive, Garrett reaches milestone in frustrating season

The Cincinnati Bengals were able to be victorious in the Battle of Ohio this season, defeating the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Cincinnati needs to win to keep whatever playoff hopes they have alive and they were able to do that. Quarterback Joe Burrow continues to do what he essentially has been doing all season, which is play at a high level.

From an offensive perspective, Cincinnati played well but showed signs of inconsistency. After scoring two touchdowns in the 1st half, they didn’t score another until late in the 4th (granted the game was over by then) but they were able to give Cleveland opportunities to stick around.

Wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins had productive days. Any postseason talk surrounding the Bengals should be buried at this point, they dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out at this point but are still technically alive.

To the losing side, some won’t look for positives for the Browns but I will. Cleveland fought, that’s all you can ask for after things were about to go south early in the 1st half. Running back Jerome Ford broke off a huge run to start the game but any momentum the team gained fizzled when D’onta Foreman fumbled on the goal line.

Offensively, not much needs to be said. Quarterback Dorian Thompson Robinson struggled and the unit itself just couldn’t do much against a porous Bengals defense.

Switching to the defensive side, Cleveland’s defense settled down after things looked bleak early on. Say what you want, but that unit continues to play hard, and with young contributors emerging such as rookie defensive tackle Michael Hall and defensive end Isaiah McGuire, you can feel good about the unit going forward.

Defensive end Myles Garrett eclipsed an important milestone in his career. Garrett reached 100 sacks and was the fastest player in terms of his age to reach that.

The season hasn’t gone the way everyone has hoped but the players haven’t checked out as much as people want to admit it. The fight is there despite the ineptitude on offense but at this point, I don’t think this fanbase cares about that at this point.

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How would you rank the AFC North after Week 16? Do you think the Bengals will make the playoffs? Will either the Ravens or Steelers win at least one playoff game (an invalid question if they are matched up in the first round)?