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The first full week of NFL regular-season football saw the AFC North go 1-3 in their four games with the Cincinnati Bengals being the only victorious team in the division.
Their 33-13 win was very impressive, but the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers also showed promise in their narrow losses against AFC powers Denver and New England. The Steelers lost on Thursday night to the Patriots, 28-21, while playing without the services of Le'Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant and Maurkice Pouncey.
If those two teams meet again in the playoffs and Pittsburgh has those guys back, it could be the Steelers who win Round 2. For now, the Steelers will look for their first win of 2015 when they host the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2.
As for the Ravens, they came within a hair of beating the Broncos, but Joe Flacco's late end-zone shot for Crockett Gillmore was picked off by Darian Stewart to preserve a 19-13 Denver win. Making matters worse was they lost star pass-rusher Terrell Suggs for the rest of 2015 with a torn Achilles.
Baltimore will look to rebound in Week 2 when they face the Raiders in Oakland before their home opener in Week 3 vs the Bengals after Cincinnati swept the Ravens in 2014.
And then there's the Cleveland Browns. In what was easily one of, if not their easiest game this year, the Browns were hammered by the New York Jets, 31-10. To be fair, Cleveland did lose Josh McCown to a concussion early in this one, but Johnny Manziel was decent in relief.
Cleveland will look to get their first win this week when they host the Tennessee Titans before hosting the Raiders in Week 3. Looking at the rest of Cleveland's brutal schedule, these are likely the two easiest games left on their schedule, so if they don't get at least one win, the 0-16 talk will begin to cloud this team.
As for the division-leading Bengals, they'll host the Chargers in a rematch of the 2013 season's Wild Card showdown that saw San Diego enter Cincinnati and pummel the Bengals in a 27-10 loss for Cincinnati.
For now, here's a look at the AFC North standings heading into Week 2:
|
AFC NORTH |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
HOME |
ROAD |
DIV |
CONF |
PF |
PA |
DIFF |
STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 33 | 13 | +20 | W1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 21 | 28 | -7 | L1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 13 | 19 | -6 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 10 | 31 | -21 | L1 |
Here's the schedule and early odds for all four teams this week, with all games being played on Sunday, September 20:
San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals (-3): 1:00 p.m. EST on CBS
San Francisco 49ers at Pittsburgh Steelers (-7): 1:00 p.m. EST on FOX
Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns (Even): 1:00 p.m. EST on CBS
Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders: 4:05 p.m. EST on CBS