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.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to get a taste of what the Browns have been dealing with all season. Kenny Pickett was injured in their loss to the Arizona Cardinals this weekend and needs to have surgery on his ankle. The timeline is expected to be two to four weeks until he returns which means it will be Mitchell Trubisky time.
In all honesty, Trubisky isn't the worst backup in the NFL but he's very inconsistent. And he needs a lot of help around him to succeed. This Pittsburgh team doesn't seem to have that. This could explain why they were just 2-3 with him as the starter last year.
With Trubisky under center, they're going to be trying to keep pace with the Browns as the two teams have identical 7-5 records. That doesn't feel like something they'll easily do after their poor performance at home against Arizona — a team that had just two wins coming into the weekend.
The good news for them — and terrible for Cleveland — is the fact that their schedule is very favorable. The Steelers are at home again this Thursday against the New England Patriots who had all of zero points on Sunday. They then face the Colts and Bengals with their final games being the toughest — Seattle and Baltimore.
2. Cleveland Browns
A golden opportunity was lost by the Cleveland Browns over the past two weeks. After giving the Ravens their third loss on the season, they could have entered Week 14 with a tie for the lead had they taken care of business on the road. Both games were going to be tough but they had a shot in each.
First, it was the Denver Broncos who wound up winning 29-12. That was a game where Cleveland was down by 14 and then fought back to make it 14-12 — failing to tie it when Amari Cooper dropped a two-point conversion. But from there, they made too many mistakes and gave the game away.
Against the Rams, they were off to a better start but they found themselves down 20-13 late. Again, they made it close with a Harrison Bryant touchdown making it 20-19. As they did last week, the Browns failed to tie it up, this time with Dustin Hopkins missing the extra point. They also never scored again and the flood gates opened for the opponent.
Joe Flacco wound up throwing a pick to John Johnson III, who decided to trash-talk his former team afterward, and they then couldn't convert on a fourth down once the score was 27-19. Los Angeles scored after the turnover on downs and a saftey made it 36-19.
Thankfully, the Browns are going back home where they're 5-1. Unfortunatley, they will be facing the Jacksonville Jaguars who are 8-3 and 5-0 on the road. A win would be huge but it will be tough. They do still control their playoff chances and home games against the Bears in Week 15 and Jets in Week 17 should help.
1. Baltimore Ravens
This wound up being quite the week for the Baltimore Ravens to have some time off. They lost to Cleveland in Week 10 but then defeated the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers to get back on track. Now, they're sitting at 9-3 and while they had two teams right behind them in the AFC North, that's no longer the case.
Pittsburgh hosted the Arizona Cardinals and was embarrassed by a score of 24-10. To add to their suffering, they also lost Kenny Pickett to an ankle injury. Mitchell Trubisky played well in relief but when he's the primary guy, he's historically struggled.
As for the other team on their heels, the Browns also suffered defeat. They were on the road against the Los Angeles Rams but fell apart in the fourth quarter. A familiar face was under center as former Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was the Browns starter. He might keep that job in Week 14 but we're not sure just yet.
What we do know is the Ravens are in control of the division now. Their lead is two full games but unlike the Browns and Steelers, their final stretch is going to be insane. They have to face the Rams in Week 14 followed by the Jaguars, 49ers, Dolphins, and finally Steelers. There's not an easy game left for them and no team left in their final five contests has a losing record.