The Pittsburgh Steelers were at home for a much-needed Week 5 bye week after a tough trip to Dublin, Ireland in Week 4. In the process of getting some rest and relaxation, the Black and Gold saw their lead within the AFC North grow in the process.
While the Steelers watched at home, the likes of the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals all came up on the wrong end of games in Week 5, marking the first time since 2018 that the three other AFC North teams lost while the Steelers were on a bye week.
Cleveland dropped a tough 21-17 game to the Minnesota Vikings in London, while Baltimore was blown out at home by the Houston Texans, 44-10. The Bengals lost to the Detroit Lions, 37-24, despite scoring 21 fourth-quarter points to make it a game.
Through five weeks, here’s the AFC North standings:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
2. Cincinnati Bengals (2-3)
3. Baltimore Ravens (1-4)
4. Cleveland Browns (1-4)
The Steelers now have a two-game lead in the division and are in great shape coming out of the bye week. They’ll face the Browns and Bengals in Weeks 6 and 7, giving them a chance to extend their division lead.
In London, Browns rookie QB Dillon Gabriel made his first career start, debuting for the Browns after Cleveland benched Joe Flacco earlier in the week.
Facing a tough Minnesota defense in London, Gabriel handled himself well. Though he was safe with the football, not attempting a single pass beyond 20 yards and everything being within 5-10 yards of the line of scrimmage, Gabriel operated well.
The rookie completed 19-of-33 passes in his debut for 190 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked twice, but kept Cleveland on track, and found the likes of TE David Njoku and rookie TE Harold Fannin Jr. for scores.In the backfield, fellow rookie Quinshon Judkins had another great performance, rushing for 110 yards on 23 carries.
While the Browns offense did enough under Gabriel to remain in the game, the defense couldn’t get that final stop as the Vikings marched down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds left as Carson Wentz hit Jordan Addison for a 12-yard touchdown, giving Minnesota a big win.
The Browns host the Steelers in Week 6.
In Baltimore, with Lamar Jackson out due to a hamstring injury, and injuries piling up defensively, the Ravens were blown out by the Texans, falling to 1-4 on the season. Things look very, very bad in Baltimore at the moment.
Without Jackson in the lineup, the Ravens had no shot offensively. Backup quarterback Cooper Rush stepped into the fold and threw three interceptions, completing just 14-of-20 passes for 179 yards. Running back Derrick Henry couldn’t get going either, finishing with just 33 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
While the offense was bogged down, the defense couldn’t stop anything.
Houston’s CJ Stroud had his best performance of the year, throwing for 244 yards and four touchdowns, while running back Nick Chubb had a strong showing, rushing for 61 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Stroud even had a 30-yard run in the game, too. Houston racked up 417 yards of total offense, while the Ravens barely accounted for 200, finishing with 207.
Next up for Baltimore is a home game with the Los Angeles Rams in Week 6.
Finally, wrapping up AFC North action in Week 5, the Bengals hosted the Lions and came up short despite finding some success offensively late.
The Bengals fell behind 28-3 against Detroit and looked to be headed for another ugly blowout loss. But 21 fourth-quarter points brought the Bengals back into the game. Ultimately, they couldn’t get enough stops though.
After two weeks of frustrations, Ja’Marr Chase emerged again, hauling in touchdowns of 15 and 64 yards, while Tee Higgins hauled in a 2-yard touchdown pass, making it a 35-24 game.
Just when it looked like they’d have one last gasp though, the Lions sacked quarterback Jake Browning in the end zone for a safety, providing the final margin in the 37-24 game.
Browning finishing 26-of-40 for 251 yards and three touchdowns. But he also threw three interceptions. Chase hauled in six passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns, but Cincinnati allowed the Lions to rack up 365 yards of total offense and nearly 35 minutes of possession.
Sitting at 2-3 after a 2-0 start, the Bengals travel to Green Bay in Week 6 for a matchup with the Packers.
