One week after the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns all lost, leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers alone on top of the AFC North, a pair of teams fell to 0-2 on the season, while another bounced back in a big way during Week 2.
The Baltimore Ravens, taking on the Las Vegas Raiders at M&T Bank Stadium, blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead, while the Cleveland Browns went on the road and bounced back, downing the Jacksonville Jaguars to get back on track.
Making the trip to Kansas City, the Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Chiefs on a last-second field goal from Harrison Butker, dropping them to 0-2 on the season.
The Steelers defeated the Denver Broncos, 13-6, to move to 2-0 on the season and remain atop the AFC North.
In the Ravens-Raiders games, things started out slow for both teams as the Ravens held a 9-6 lead at the half. One week after leaning heavily on the legs of Lamar Jackson in the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Ravens didn’t call on Jackson as much as a runner, instead letting his right arm lead the Ravens’ offense.
In the first half, the two teams traded field goals as Baltimore’s Justin Tucker drilled 48, 42, and 32-yard field goals in the first half, while missing from 56 yards. Las Vegas’s Daniel Carlson connected on field goals of 53 and 51 yards. In the second half, the Ravens’ offense woke up.
Coming out of the half, the Ravens went 70 yards in six plays as new running back Derrick Henry ripped off a 29-yard run, Justice Hill ripped off a 14-yard run, and Jackson connected with tight end Mark Andrews for a 16-yard gain, setting up an 8-yard touchdown from Jackson to wide receiver Zay Flowers.
After going up 16-6, the Ravens’ defense then forced a turnover on downs and looked to put the game away, but Jackson threw an interception to Raiders’ linebacker Robert Spillane, helping set up a 1-yard rushing touchdown from Las Vegas running back Alexander Pattison to make it a 16-13 game.
But Baltimore responded, leaning on Henry to go up 10 points in the fourth quarter. Henry ripped off runs of 9 and 17 yards, and Jackson found tight end Isaiah Likely for 15 yards and wide receiver Rashod Bateman for 18 yards, leading to a 3-yard touchdown from Henry to make it 23-13.
Las Vegas refused to roll over, though.
The Raiders responded to Henry’s touchdown by going 64 yards in seven plays, leading to a 25-yard field goal from Carlson. Then, after forcing a three-and-out by Baltimore, the Raiders then went 70 yards in nine plays, leading to a 1-yard touchdown pass from Gardner Minshew to Davante Adams to tie the game at 23-23 late in the fourth quarter.
Baltimore went three-and-out quickly after a huge Maxx Crosby sack, and then a short punt gave the Raiders a short field. The Raiders took advantage leading to a 38-yard Carlson field goal with 27 seconds left. Las Vegas then held on late, surviving the final crazy play from the Ravens that saw multiple laterals before recovering the football.
In the loss, Jackson threw for 247 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 21-of-34 passing, while Henry rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Flowers led the Ravens with 7 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Baltimore falls to 0-2 and travels to Dallas in Week 3 to take on the 1-1 Cowboys.
Then, in Jacksonville, Cleveland won a hard-fought game.
Embroiled in controversy all week once again after being sued again for off-the-field conduct, Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson was facing a significant week for the Browns.
Hitting the road to take on the Jaguars after an ugly 33-17 loss in Week 1 to the Dallas Cowboys, the Browns responded in a big way, rolling a dominant win over the Jaguars, leaning heavily on its big-name defense to lead the way.
The Browns held a 13-3 lead at halftime, while holding Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence to just 16 passing yards in the first half. In that first half, the Browns opened up the game with a 16-play, 89-yard drive that Watson capped off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Watson had two big throws on the drive, connecting with Elijah Moore for 22 yards and Jerry Jeudy for 21 yards.
Later, kicker Dustin Hopkins drilled field goals of 53 and 38 yards to give the Browns the lead at the half.
In the second half, Cleveland stretched its lead to 16-3 as Hopkins converted on a 44-yard field goal, but the Jaguars answered right back with a touchdown as Lawrence found rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for 66 yards, setting up a Travis Etienne 44-yard rushing touchdown.
The Browns then went three-and-out as Watson was sacked, allowing the Jaguars to come right back and add more points to the board, thanks to a 13-play, 83-yard drive that ended in a 25-yard field goal from rookie Cam Little after a touchdown from Lawrence to wide receiver Christian Kirk was nullified by a penalty.
Cleveland tried to put the game away late offensively but went just 29 yards in 12 plays, punting the ball back to the Jaguars, but in crunch time, the Browns sacked Lawrence in the end zone for a sack, and held on late for the 18-13 win, even after giving the Jaguars a late opportunity after a 3rd and 6 incomplete pass from Watson following the Jaguars’ final timeout.
The win improves Cleveland to 1-1 on the season. In the win, Watson finished 22-of-34 passing for 186 yards and added 5 carries for 20 yards and a touchdown. Running back Jerome Ford added 7 carries for 64 yards, while D’Onta Foreman added 42 yards on 14 carries.
Jerry Jeudy led the Browns with 5 receptions for 73 yards, while Elijah Moore added 6 receptions for 44 yards. The Browns will take on the 0-2 New York Giants next week.
In Kansas City, the Cincinnati Bengals looked to bounce back from an ugly season-opening loss to the New England Patriots by traveling to take on the defending Super Bowl champs.
The Bengals raced out to a 16-10 lead at the half thanks to three field goals from Evan McPherson from 22, 33 and 48 yards, while quarterback Joe Burrow found wide receiver Andrei Iosivas from 4 yards out for a toe-tap touchdown.
Cincinnati also forced two turnovers in the first half, too, as linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither picked off Patrick Mahomes and Germaine Pratt recovered a Carson Steele fumble to help pace the Bengals.
The Chiefs came out of the half though and went 70 yards in 13 plays, capping off the scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to backup offensive lineman Wanya Morris to take a 17-16 lead.
Cincinnati answered, though, as Burrow hit Iosivas for his second touchdown of the game, capping off an 11-play, 70-yard drive to give the Bengals a 22-17 lead late in the third quarter after a missed extra point from McPherson.
Then, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt came up with an unreal play, picking off Mahomes on the ensuing drive with a jaw-dropping one-handed play.
it didn’t matter, though, as on the next possession the Chiefs forced a fumble on Burrow, resulting in a 38-yard return for a touchdown from Kansas City safety Chamarri Conner to give the Chiefs a 23-22 lead.
The Bengals bounced back, driving for a 53-yard field goal from McPherson to take a 25-23 lead, before then forcing a quick three-and-out on the Chiefs.
But late in the game, the Chiefs were bailed out on offense on a 4th and 16 due to a 29-yard pass interference penalty on the Bengals, allowing the Chiefs to drive down and kick the game-winning field goal to lift Kansas City over the Bengals, 25-23.
The Bengals fall to 0-2 on the season. Cincinnati will host Washington in Week 3 looking for their first win of the year.
