With the Pittsburgh Steelers off on their bye week on Sunday, they could sit back and watch the rest of their AFC North opponents in action. The Baltimore Ravens kicked things off at 9:30 a.m. ET with a matchup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in England against the Tennessee Titans. Baltimore won, as did the Cleveland Browns against the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals against the Seattle Seahawks.
The Ravens built an 18-3 lead, aided by a Titans muffed punt that Baltimore recovered with one second left in the first half to extend their lead from 12 to 15. But the Titans came alive in the second half, picking off QB Lamar Jackson which led to a Derrick Henry rushing touchdown on a drive that also saw the ejection of Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton for a helmet-to-helmet hit. The Henry touchdown with 8:24 left in the third quarter made the score 18-13 in Baltimore’s favor, and after a three-and-out, the Titans had the ball around midfield at the Baltimore 48.
But then Tennessee QB Ryan Tannehill took a shot downfield and was intercepted by Geno Stone, and that helped shift the momentum back in Baltimore’s favor. The Ravens drove into the red zone but couldn’t punch it into the end zone. With 12:49 left in the fourth, K Justin Tucker nailed a 20-yard try to make the score 21-13 Baltimore. Tannehill exited the game with an injury and Malik Willis came out for the next possession, and the Titans couldn’t score. Baltimore managed to kick another field goal to make it 24-13 with 4:16 left, and the Titans would only manage another field goal. The Ravens won 24-16 and improved to 4-2.
As for the Browns, they faced a tough task against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. Cleveland had backup QB P.J. Walker under center. San Francisco drove down the field on the opening drive for a touchdown, but the two teams traded missed field goals. Jake Moody got one on the board for San Francisco in the second quarter, but then RB Kareem Hunt scored his first touchdown of the season on a trick play with 5:38 left in the second quarter to make it a 10-7 San Francisco lead.
Cleveland tied it up 10-10 with a Dustin Hopkins field goal in the third quarter, and with 2:59 left in the third quarter Hopkins was good from 46 yards to give Cleveland a 13-10 lead. It was the first time San Francisco had trailed in the second half all season, and the field goal was set up by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by CB Shemar Jean-Charles on the punt.
With 11:18 left in the fourth quarter, Walker was picked off by Deommodore Lenoir at the Cleveland 36 and Lenoir returned it to the eight-yard line. On the first offensive play of the drive, RB Jordan Mason ran for an eight-yard touchdown and Moody’s extra point made it 17-13 San Francisco with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter.
With just under seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Browns went for it on fourth-and-four and converted on a six-yard reception to WR David Bell down to the San Francisco 34. A Nick Bosa sack with just under four minutes to go forced the Browns to settle for a field goal, and Hopkins was good from 50 yards to cut the San Francisco lead to 17-16.
The 49ers responded with a three-and-out, and the Browns got the ball back with 2:56 left and a chance to win. Walker was incomplete on third-and-ten, but 49ers S Tashaun Gipson was flagged for a controversial unnecessary roughness call and the Browns got an extra 15 yards and a first down. A defensive holding call against Charvarius Ward gave Cleveland another first down, and two plays later RB Jerome Ford broke off a 22-yard run down to the San Francisco 14-yard line and the two-minute warning hit. With 1:40 left, Hopkins was good from 29 yards and the Browns took a 19-17 lead. Brock Purdy and the 49ers offense would have a chance to win.
Purdy was incomplete on his first two passes, and on third-and-ten, he was incomplete again. The 49ers would face a do-or-die fourth down, and despite throwing short of the sticks, WR Brandon Aiyuk would catch and run for 25 yards and into 49ers’ territory. On second-and-ten two plays later, Aiyuk would pick up another eight yards and the 49ers were in field goal range. On third-and-two from the Cleveland 35, WR Jauan Jennings picked up eight yards and a first down, and the 49ers ran the ball to set up a game-winning field goal. Purdy spiked it with nine seconds left and Jake Moody would come out for a game-winning 41-yard try. Moody’s kick was wide-right, and Cleveland would hold on to win 19-17 and move to 3-2.
Over at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, the Bengals and the Seahawks each had a first-quarter touchdown, with RB Kenneth Walker II getting into the end zone for Seattle and WR Tyler Boyd catching a touchdown reception from QB Joe Burrow. Cincinnati took a 14-7 lead with 12:20 left in the second quarter on WR Andrei Iosivas’ first career touchdown reception.
Seattle would get another field goal before the half, but Cincinnati went into the locker room at Paycor Stadium holding a 14-10 lead. WR Jake Bobo would help set up a third-quarter field goal for Seattle with 2:24 left in the quarter with a 20-yard catch-and-run, but a Geno Smith interception would lead to another Cincinnati field goal to make it 17-13 with 11:47 left in the game.
With 2:04 left, Smith was sacked on fourth-and-goal to preserve the 17-13 Bengals lead. With 1:39 left, Seattle got the ball back and Smith hit WR Tyler Lockett for a gain of 36 down to the Cincinnati 11-yard line. But Seattle couldn’t find the end zone with Smith getting hit as he threw on fourth-and-eight and the Bengals would hang on for a 17-13 win. The Bengals now head into their bye next week at 3-3.
