AFC North Power Rankings: Cleveland Browns aren't alone in their struggles
• Cleveland Browns suffered a frustrating loss
• Pittsburgh Steelers now have to call their own audible
By Randy Gurzi
Another road loss for the Cleveland Browns means they're now 7-5 on the year. The Pittsburgh Steelers also suffered a defeat, so they share an identical record. That means they at least didn't surpass the Browns who had a chance to leave them in the dust.
To really crowd things up, the Cincinnati Bengals pulled off an upset win on Monday Night Football and are now 6-6. Like Cleveland, they're going with a backup quarterback with Joe Burrow sidelined. Unlike Cleveland, theirs has been able to throw the ball for a lot of yardage.
With all that going on, the Baltimore Ravens were able to sit back with their feet propped up. They were off in Week 13 and suddenly have more space at 9-3. They're also still standing at No. 1 in our weekly AFC Power Rankings, but how does the rest of the division shake out?
4. Cincinnati Bengals
Monday Night Football proved to be an exciting game despite the fact that the Cincinnati Bengals seemed outmatched against the Jaguars. They were able to win it on a field goal in overtime but were aided by an injury to Trevor Lawrence late. That’s not the reason the won, however, as Jake Browning and the offense were on fire all night.
The backup quarterback finished with 354 yards passing and is looking very comfortable running this offense. He’s now 1-1 as the starter and the Bengals are 6-6 overall. That means there’s still not a losing team in the AFC North this year.
As impressive as their win was, they’re still the bottom team in the standings as well as our AFC North Power Rankings. With Indianapolis, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh up next, they have a chance to make a run at the postseason. They wouldn’t make much noise but that would still be quite an accomplishment without Joe Burrow.