Dawgs By Nature
Steelers relax as the AFC North is a 3 team race again
Week 9 in the AFC North has officially wrapped up. Three teams played this week while the Pittsburgh Steelers were on a bye this week. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals had resounding victories, while the Cleveland Browns will prepare for 2025 and beyond.
Let’s do the rankings.
1. Baltimore Ravens
This is the best team in the division. Period.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
The next couple of weeks will tell us if this team is legit or not
3. Cincinnati Bengals
Much needed win considering how things were heading south
4. Cleveland Browns
It is what it is, fire up the mock drafts
No need to overthink it. If the Baltimore Ravens play like they did against the Denver Broncos, this team will be back in the AFC title game. Offensively? Dominant performance. Baltimore’s offense got better earlier this week after the team traded for wide receiver Diontae Johnson from the Carolina Panthers. Johnson didn’t play today but you can imagine the passing offense getting much better when he integrates into the lineup.
Running back Derrick Henry has been dominant since joining Baltimore and the running game has been potent.
It was a coaching and performance masterclass for Baltimore today. Despite what others might say, this is the best team in the division and it’s not necessarily close at this point. Baltimore’s defense has its issues but as long as the unit becomes average (they can add another edge rusher to help) this team can make a deep playoff run.
The Cincinnati Bengals loss to the Philadelphia Eagles last week was concerning for many reasons. One, the defense looked collapsed in the 2nd half. Two, towards the end of the 4th quarter the team appeared to show signs of quitting.
It didn’t happen this week. Granted the Las Vegas Raiders aren’t a good team but the Bengals needed this win to gain some form of positive momentum. Quarterback Joe Burrow had a day today, throwing for 5 touchdowns and running back Chase Brown has essentially turned into the lead back for this team. Tight end Mike Gesicki had himself a day (he also pulled out the Griddy which he needs to retire).
Defensively, the unit is still pretty poor (they allowed the Raiders to score on the opening drive) but reportedly the team is looking into finding help on the defensive side of the ball. Anything would help at this point considering how the unit has held the team back. As far as their playoff hopes go, the team is 4-5. However, the AFC isn’t strong this year so making the playoffs is still on the table.
Thursday night matchup with the division-leading Baltimore Ravens awaits.
Going into this...
