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AFC North Week 1 Recap: Ravens Bury Browns, Bengals Bungle To Chargers

AFC NORTH TEAMS

Three AFC North teams played on Sunday and two of them will now enter Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season with 0-1 records.

In early game action on Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens easily beat the Cleveland Browns 38-6 at home and they’ll end the first Sunday of the 2020 NFL season as the lone victorious team in the AFC North division.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson picked up where he left off last season as he completed 20 of his 25 total pass attempts for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jackson also rushed for another 45 yards on 7 carries in the win.

Two of Jackson’s three touchdown passes against the Browns went to tight end Mark Andrews from 5 and 9 yards out. For the game, Andrews registered 5 receptions for 58 yards and the two scores.

Rookie running back J.K. Dobbins scored two rushing touchdowns for the Ravens in their win and the Ohio State product finished with 22 yards on 7 carries. Wide receiver Marquise Brown led all players in receiving yardage Sundays games with 5 catches for 101 yards.

Defensively for the Ravens, rookie linebacker Patrick Queen led the team in total tackles with 8. The LSU product also had one of the team’s two sacks on Sunday. The Ravens defense had three takeaways on Sunday and cornerback Marlon Humphrey had the lone interception of the game.

For the Browns, quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t have much success in his team’s loss to the Ravens as he completed just 21 of his 39 total pass attempts in the game for 189 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Tight end David Njoku caught the only Browns touchdown pass from Mayfield on Sunday in the first quarter and from a yard out. Wide receiver Jarvis Landry led the Browns in receiving yards with 61 on 5 receptions. running back Kareem Hunt led the team in rushing on Sunday with 72 yards on 13 carries.

Defensively for the Browns, linebacker B.J. Goodson led the team in total tackles with 9. The Browns defense managed two sacks on Sunday but just one takeaway in Sunday’s loss.

The Cincinnati Bengals were also in action on Sunday and they lost 16-13 at home to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Bengals kicker Randy Bullock missed a 31-yard field goal with 7 seconds left regulation that would have likely sent the game into overtime.

In the loss, Bengals rookie quarterback Joe Burrow, the first overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft out of LSU, completed 23 of 36 total pass attempts for 193 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Burrow, however, did score the Bengals only touchdown of the game on a 23-yard scamper in the first quarter to give his team a 7-0 lead.

Bengals veteran wide receiver A.J. Green led his team in receiving with 51 yards on 5 catches. Running back Joe Mixon led the Bengals in rushing against the Chargers with 69 yards on 19 carries. Mixon, however, fumbled away the football during the game.

Defensively for the Bengals, linebacker Germaine Pratt led the unit in total tackles on Sunday with 12. The Bengals also had two sacks on Sunday with edge rusher Carl Lawson and linebacker Josh Bynes getting credit for them. Chargers quarterback Tyrod Taylor completed just 16 of his 30 total pass attempts against the Bengals for 208 yards. He did not throw any touchdowns or interceptions during the contest. The Bengals defense, however, did fail to register a takeaway during the game.

Next week in AFC North action the 1-0 Ravens will play the 0-1 Houston Texans on the road next Sunday. The winless Browns and Bengals will play each other Thursday night in Cleveland.

As fort the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will play their week 1 Monday night on the road against the New York Giants, they will host the Denver Broncos next Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field.

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