Week 9 of the NFL regular season wound up being a great one for the Pittsburgh Steelers even though they didn’t play a game.
With the Steelers on their bye week, the two AFC North teams that did play on Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals, both lost.
The Ravens lost 23-20 Sunday on the road to the Tennessee Titans and are now 4-5 on the season. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco completed 34 of his 52 total pass attempts in the game for 261 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Titans safety Kevin Byard was responsible for both Flacco interceptions and the Ravens quarterback was also sacked twice by the Tennessee defense on Sunday. The Ravens offense only managed 73 yards rushing against the Titans defense and they only scored two touchdowns in four total red zone trips.
Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 19 of his 28 total pass attempts against the Ravens defense for 218 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His scoring tosses went to wide receivers Rishard Matthews and Eric Decker from 16 and 11 yards out, respectively. Like Flacco, Mariota was sacked twice during Sunday’s game.
The Ravens will now have their bye in Week 10 and will next play in Week 11 on the road against the Green Bay Packers.
As for the Bengals, they lost 23-7 Sunday on the road to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completed just 10 of 18 total pass attempts against the top-rated Jaguars defense for 136 yards and he did not throw a touchdown or interception during the game. He was sacked twice, however, and the Bengals offense only managed 148 net-yards of offense.
Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green caught just one pass for 6 yards on Sunday before being ejected from the contest late in the first quarter for attacking Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey was also ejected after that incident took place even though it didn’t appear as though he threw any punches like Green did. It will now be interesting to see if Green is suspended for a game for his actions in addition to being fined heavily.
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles completed 24 of his 38 total pass attempts in the game for 259 yards and a touchdown. That lone scoring toss went to Jaguars wide receiver Marqise Lee in the second quarter. The Jaguars also scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter thanks to a 63-yard punt return by wide receiver Jaydon Mickens. Jacksonville kicker Josh Lambo also kicked three field goals in the win.
The Bengals dropped to 3-5 with their loss to the Jaguars and will next play the Titans on the road in Week 10.
The Cleveland Browns, like the Steelers, were on a bye this week. The winless Browns will next play the Detroit Lions on the road in Week 10 while the Steelers will play the Indianapolis Colts on the road next Sunday.
