While the Pittsburgh Steelers were awaiting a massive showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 4:25 PM/ET window in Week 15, the three other teams in the AFC North were all in action in the 1 PM window. The Cleveland Browns hosted the Kansas City Chiefs while the Cincinnati Bengals hit the road for a matchup with the Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens were on the road for a battle with the New York Giants.
Unsurprisingly, the Ravens and Bengals rolled to blowout wins over the Giants and Titans, respectively, while the Browns couldn’t avoid the mistakes and lost an ugly one to the Chiefs.
In the 4:25 window, the Steelers started slow and were dominated by the Eagles in the Pennsylvania state championship game, dropping a 27-13 decision. Though the loss is ugly, the Steelers did clinch a spot in the AFC playoffs, thanks to the Denver Broncos beating the Indianapolis Colts.
Coming out of the Week 15 action, here’s how the AFC North standings look now that Steelers-Eagles is in the books.
AFC NORTH STANDINGS
1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-4
2. Baltimore Ravens: 9-5
3. Cincinnati Bengals: 6-8
4. Cleveland Browns: 3-11
Taking on the Giants coming off their Week 14 bye, the Ravens got back on track and exploded offensively against one of the worst teams in football, putting up 35 points in the blowout win over the Giants, 35-14, sending New York to its ninth consecutive loss.
Despite a Lamar Jackson fumble on the first drive of the game for the Ravens, Baltimore raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as Jackson put up a monster performance. The MVP front-runner threw a touchdown pass to Mark Andrews, setting the franchise record for touchdown passes in the process, and then found Rashod Bateman on a broken play for a 49-yard touchdown.
To the Giants’ credit, they responded with a solid touchdown drive, capped by a 2-yard Devin Singletary rushing touchdown. That was set up by four different Baltimore penalties on the drive, including a roughing the passer on defensive tackle Justin Madubuike.
After that, it was all Ravens.
Jackson hit Bateman for a 20-yard touchdown right before halftime and then hit little-used rookie wide receiver Devontez Walker for a 21-yard score in the third quarter. Putting the capper on the game, which saw Giants QB Tommy DeVito exit with a concussion leading to Tim Boyle taking over, Jackson found running back Justice Hill on a 27-yard touchdown to put the final nail in the coffin.
The Giants added a late touchdown as Boyle connected with rookie receiver Malik Nabers on a 23-yard touchdown, closing out the scoring.
The win moves the Ravens to 9-5, setting up a season-defining showdown with the Steelers in Week 16 on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. There, the AFC North title will be on the line.
Cincinnati, coming off a thrilling win late in Week 14 against the Dallas Cowboys, took on the Titans and — like the Ravens — rolled to a win over one of the worst teams in football.
Things started off poorly for the Bengals as Joe Burrow was picked off on the first drive of the game and saw the Titans take an early 7-0 lead on a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Tony Pollard. Cincinnati responded quickly, going on a nine-play, 70-yard drive as Burrow found running back Chase Brown for a 6-yard touchdown, tying things up at 7-7.
Tennessee responded quickly, highlighted by a 40-yard catch and run by wide receiver Tyler Boyd and a 27-yard pass interference penalty on the Bengals, setting up a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Tyjae Spears.
After that. it was all Bengals. Burrow capped a drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to defensive end Sam Hubbard, and then later hit wide receiver Tee Higgins on a 36-yard touchdown pass to give the Bengals a 21-14 lead.
Late in the half, Titans QB Will Levis threw a bad interception, setting up a late FG for the Bengals, who took a 24-14 lead into the half.
Coming out of the break, Levis continued to kill his own team, throwing a pick-six to safety Geno Stone, leading to his benching for QB Mason Rudolph.
Things slowed down after that in the fourth quarter, though Rudolph did hit Spears for a 17-yard touchdown to make it a 31-21 game. The Bengals did well to put the game away as they went on a 14-play, 67-yard drive, eating up a bunch of clock before Chase Brown scored from six yards out on the ground to make it 37-21.
The Titans added a late score as TE Josh Whyle hauled in a 13-yard pass from Rudolph to cap the scoring with the Bengals winning the game, 37-27.
With the win, the Bengals improve to 6-8, keeping their season alive in the slimmest of fashions. The Bengals host the Browns in Week 16.
Coming off a loss to the Steelers in Week 14, the Browns welcomed the Chiefs to the shores of Lake Erie looking to get back on track. But much like the game against the Steelers, the Browns couldn’t take care of the football, turning the ball over four times and dropping a game that wasn’t as close as the final score.
It started poorly early for the Browns as Cleveland fumbled the football on the first punt of the game from the Chiefs, setting up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The two teams traded punts after that, but then it was time for Cleveland QB Jameis Winston to turn the football over. Winston threw an ill-advised deep pass into the end zone into double coverage, leading to a Bryan Cook interception.
After the Cook interception, the two teams went back to trading punts once again, but then late in the second quarter the Chiefs went on a 14-play, 76-yard drive. Mahomes capped it with a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Noah Gray, giving Kansas City a 14-0 lead.
The Browns then turned it over on downs, giving the Chiefs one final shot, but kicker Harrison Butker missed a 29-yard field goal, sending the two teams into halftime.
Opening up the second half, disaster struck again for the Browns as Winston threw an interception on the first play from scrimmage to linebacker Nick Bolton, which helped the Chiefs take a 21-0 lead as rookie receiver Xavier Worthy scored on a 21-yard run.
Then, on the next play offensively for the Browns, running back Nick Chubb fumbled, leading to a Chiefs recovery. Two second-half plays, two turnovers.
The Browns’ defense buckled down and held from there, giving the Browns a chance to get back on track.
Cleveland turned to Jerome Ford, who ripped off a 62-yard rushing touchdown to make it a 21-7 game.
But again, the Browns couldn’t avoid the mistakes. After driving into Chiefs territory, Winston took a shot at the end zone from the 29-yard line and threw another interception, ending another promising Browns drive. Shortly after the interception, the Chiefs turned the ball over on downs, and in the process Mahomes exited the game with an injury, after getting rolled up on.
Taking over after the turnover on downs, the Browns benched Winston as Dorian Thompson-Robinson entered the game, but it wasn’t the spark the Browns were looking for. Cleveland punted on the first drive with DTR and then moved the ball some on the second drive, but couldn’t do anything with it, leading to the 21-7 loss.
Cleveland falls to 3-11 and travels to Cincinnati in Week 15 for a matchup with the Bengals.
