AFC North Power Rankings Week 2: Browns make a statement against Bengals

In Week 1, the Cleveland Browns secured a convincing win over the Cincinnati Bengals. They now enter Week 2 as the top team in the AFC North, since they're the only ones with a divisional win right now.

They can secure a second win in the North next week as they face the Pittsburgh Steelers — who just suffered a loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Baltimore Ravens also secured a win, leaving them tied with the Browns at 1-0, but they beat one of the worst teams in the league — not the two-time defending division champs.

With all that being said, let's dive into an updated AFC North Power Ranking at Week 2.

AFC North Power Rankings No. 4: Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1)

To be fair, the Pittsburgh Steelers drew a tough matchup in Week 1 having to host the San Francisco 49ers. Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey led this team to the NFC Championship Game last season but an injury suffered by Purdy kept them from making it close against the Eagles in that game.

This weekend, they headed to Pittsburgh and made it look easy, winning by a score of 30-7. And while it was a tough matchup, the Steelers looked as though they never believed they had a chance.

Their offense was one-dimensional with Najee Harris gaining just 31 yards. They had to rely on Kenny Pickett due to the deficit and he struggled mightily. Pickett finished with 232 yards on 31-of-46 passing with a touchdown and two picks.

Pittsburgh did have a bright spot on offense with Allen Robinson playing well — which was a bit of a surprise given the issues he had with the Rams in 2022.

Defensively, they had no answers for McCaffrey who ran for 152 yards and a touchdown. Even three sacks from T.J. Watt wasn’t enough as the Steelers begin the season at the bottom of the AFC North Power Rankings.