Another tough week for the Pittsburgh Steelers, losing their game as they watch the rest of the division take care of business. The Steelers were the only losers in the AFC North this week, falling 30-13 to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday. The Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns all emerged victorious, putting Pittsburgh in fourth place in the division with just three weeks left.
And with their win Sunday night, the Ravens have officially become the first AFC team to clinch a playoff spot.
Here’s an updated look at the standings.
AFC North Standings
1. Baltimore Ravens: 11-3*
2. Cleveland Browns: 9-5
3. Cincinnati Bengals: 8-6
4. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7-7
*clinched playoffs
With the Ravens winning, the Steelers officially can’t win the AFC North. The best they’ll be able to do is a Wild Card spot.
As we wrote about yesterday, the Bengals won a wild one, defeating the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 in overtime. Evan McPherson kicked the 29-yard game-winner in a back-and-forth battle between backup quarterbacks pushed into starting action. Jake Browning moved to 3-1 in his Bengals’ career and though he was far from perfect, made big-time plays in big-time moments while getting help from the likes of WRs Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. The only issue exiting the game is the uncertainty surrounding WR Ja’Marr Chase, injured with a shoulder, while DT D.J. Reader is out for the year due to a quad injury. While playoff odds are still low, the Bengals are doing all they can to make a late-season surge.
The Cleveland Browns stormed back to win an equally bonkers game Sunday against the Chicago Bears, 20-17. Down 17-7 late in the third quarter, QB Joe Flacco helped lead the charge back. After Cleveland kicked a field goal to make it a 17-10 game, Flacco hit WR Amari Cooper for a 51-yard touchdown with three minutes to play to tie the game.
Flacco, making his third start as a Brown, then connected with TE David Njoku for a 34-yard completion on 3rd and 15 and less than a minute to play. Kicker Dustin Hopkins booted a 34-yard kick that just stayed inside the right upright to take a 20-17 lead with 36 seconds remaining.
Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields got his offense in position for an end-of-game Hail Mary. His heave hit off a leaping group of Browns’ defenders but knocked down into the waiting arms of WR Darnell Mooney, who had the ball in his hands but somehow couldn’t secure it, kicking the football back into the air to be picked by D’Anthony Bell. The Browns hung on and won.
Flacco finished the game with 374 yards passing, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Despite a total lack of a running game, Cleveland averaging 1.6 yards per carry, Cooper and Njoku did the heavy lifting through the air, combining for 14 receptions, 213 yards, and two touchdowns.
For the nightcap, the Ravens took care of business against the sinking Jacksonville Jaguars, 23-7. Baltimore took a 10-0 lead at halftime, TE Isaiah Likely scoring from 16-yards out with just over a minute to play. The Jaguars hurt themselves repeatedly with two missed field goals, a red zone-fringe fumble and turnover, and botched the final seconds, running out of time at the half.
QB Trevor Lawrence hit a wide open WR Jamal Agnew for a 65-yard touchdown to narrow the game 10-7. But Baltimore owned the fourth quarter as RB Gus Edwards scored one of his patented short-yardage touchdowns from one-yard out to give the Ravens breathing room. It was his fifth rushing touchdown from within two yards this year.
The only downside was losing exciting rookie RB Keaton Mitchell to a potentially serious knee injury, a key cog to their running game. But with QB Lamar Jackson healthy, the Ravens are one of the AFC’s strongest contenders.
Pittsburgh and Cincinnati will face each other next Saturday afternoon. The Browns will travel to Houston and play the Texans next Sunday while the Ravens will be part of an NFL showdown at San Francisco on Christmas night.
