When the Pittsburgh Steelers open up their 2016 regular season Monday night against the Washington Redskins, they’ll do so trailing the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North division as both those teams won their Week 1 games on Sunday.
The Ravens notched their first win of the 2016 season Sunday by beating the Buffalo Bills 13-7 at home.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco completed 23 of his 34 pass attempts in the win over the Bills for 258 yards and a touchdown. That lone 66-yard scoring pass went to former Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace, who ended the game with 3 catches for 91 yards.
The Ravens defense played a huge part in the win Sunday as they only allowed Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor to complete 15 passes for 111 yards. Additionally, the Bills were only allowed 65 yards rushing on the ground.
The Bengals beat the New York Jets on the road Sunday 23-22 as Cincinnati kicker Mike Nugent kicked the eventual game-winner with 54-seconds left in regulation. The Bengals needed the long scoring drive after surrendering the lead to the Jets with 3:23 remaining.
While he was sacked seven times on Sunday by the Jets defense, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton still managed to complete 23 of his 30 pass attempts in the game for 366 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Former Steelers defensive tackle Steve McLendon was responsible for two of the Jets sacks of Dalton in a losing effort.
Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green finished the game with 12 catches for 180 yards and a touchdown reception.
While the Ravens and Bengals both won their regular season openers, the Cleveland Browns lost theirs 29-10 on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Rookie Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz completed 22 of his 37 pass attempts ion his NFL regular season debut for 278 yards and two touchdowns. Those scoring strikes went to wide receivers Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor.
While the Browns were able to compile 120 yards rushing in the losing effort, Cleveland quarterback Robert Griffin III was only able to complete 12 of his 26 pass attempts in the contest for 190 yards and an interception. The Browns offense also only converted two of their 10 third down plays on Sunday while the Eagles offense converted five of their 15 attempts.
In Week 2 AFC North action, the Steelers will host the Bengals while the Browns will host the Ravens.
