The AFC North division got a little bit tighter in Week 13 thanks to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
In addition to the Steelers losing to the Chargers 33-30 the Baltimore Ravens beat the Atlanta Falcons 26-16 on the road Sunday afternoon and gained a game on Pittsburgh in the process. The now 7-5 Ravens trail the Steelers by just a half a game entering Week 14.
In the Ravens win over the Falcons rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson completed 12 of his 21 total pass attempts for 125 yards. He did not throw any touchdowns or interceptions in his third career start and added 75 yards rushing and a score on his 17 total runs in the game. Jackson is now 3-0 as a starter for the Ravens.
Ravens running back Gus Edwards rushed for 82 yards on 21 carries in the win and tight end Mark Andrews caught 3 passes for 47 yards. The Ravens offense also converted 7 of their 15 total third down opportunities during the game on their way to averaging 4.8 yards per play.
The Ravens defense held the Falcons offense to just 131 total net yards on Sunday and they sacked Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan once. That unit also registered one turnover during the game and cornerback Tavon Young returned that 12 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Ryan finished the game 16 of 26 passing for 131 yards and a touchdown.
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker did his part as he kicked four field goals during the game with three of them coming in the second half.
The Ravens will now take their three-game winning streak on the road in Week 14 for a game against the AFC’s top team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The other two AFC North teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns, both lost on Sunday.
The Bengals lost 24-10 at home to the Denver Broncos to drop to 5-7 on the season. Bengals quarterback Jeff Driskel completed 12 of his 21 pass attempts in the loss for 151 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver Cody Core. Driskel was sacked four times by the Broncos defense, however.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon rushed for 82 yards on 12 carries in his team’s loss and wide receiver Tyler Boyd caught 6 passes for 97 yards. The Bengals also likely lost wide receiver A.J. Green for the remainder of the season on Sunday to a right foot injury.
The Bengals defense allowed Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay to rush 157 yards and 2 touchdowns on his 19 carries. Broncos quarterback Case Keenum also finished Sunday’s game with 151 yards passing and one touchdown on his 21 total attempts. He was sacked just once by the Bengals defense.
The Bengals will now get ready to play the Chargers on the road next Sunday.
As for the Browns, they lost 29-13 on the road to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield threw three interceptions in the loss and he finished the game with 397 passing yards and one touchdown. One of his interceptions was returned for a touchdown by Texans linebacker Zach Cunningham in the first half.
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry caught 6 passes for 103 yards in a losing effort and running back Nick Chubb had just 31 yards and a touchdown on his 9 total carries in the game.
The Browns defense allowed the Texans offense to rush for 187 yards on Sunday. Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson threw for 224 yards and a touchdown in his team’s win and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins caught 7 of those passes for 91 yards.
In Week 14 the 4-7-1 Browns will host the Carolina Panthers.
As for the Steelers, who have now lost back-to-back games, they will play the Oakland Raiders on the road next Sunday. The 2-10 Raiders lost 40-33 at home on Sunday to the Chiefs. The Steelers remain the No. 4 seed in the AFC entering Week 14.
