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.

AFC North Power Rankings No. 3: Cincinnati Bengals (0-1)

The Cincinnati Bengals are two-time defending AFC North champs but start out in an 0-1 hole. This was the case in 2022 as well, with them actually getting off to a 0-2 start to the season with losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. They then turned things around and lost just two more games all year.

Having said that, their losses in Weeks 1 and 2 last year were by a combined total of six points. They were defeated on a field goal in overtime to start the season and then Dallas won on a field goal to end the game. This year, they were handed a huge loss, with Cleveland winning by three touchdowns.

It was a statement win from the Browns, who continue to have Joe Burrow’s number. The passing attack was completely stifled with Ja’Marr Chase managing just 39 yards while Tee Higgins was shut out with Martin Emerson again making life tough on the team's No. 2 wideout.

Going forward, this won’t remain the case. Chase will get back on track and continue to talk his trash. Higgins will also surely get rolling and will do enough to earn a huge payday in the offseason — somewhere else that is. But for now, they’re at No. 3 in the division due to a bad loss to an AFC North rival.

AFC North Power Rankings No. 2: Baltimore Ravens (1-0)

Of all four AFC North teams, the Baltimore Ravens had the easiest Week 1 schedule. The NFL did them a favor by giving them a home game against the Houston Texans, who are predicted to be among the worst teams in the league this year.

Houston, who finished 3-13-1 in 2022, is starting a new quarterback with No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud under center. The former Ohio State Buckeye made his debut against the Ravens and was able to throw for 242 yards. He had no touchdowns no touchdowns and no interceptions but was sacked five times and lost a fumble.

Baltimore wound up with a lopsided win, 25-9 but they weren’t exactly a well-oiled machine. Lamar Jackson had just 169 yards and a pick on 17-of-22 passing. They were without Mark Andrews and outside of rookie Zay Flowers, no one else made a huge impact on offense.

Even the ground game was just fine with 110 yards on 32 attempts — an average of 3.4 yards per run. Jackson led the way with 38 yards as this was far from a track meet. Making matters worse, they lost J.K. Dobbins for the year with a torn Achilles.

Still, they’re 1-0 which is what matters in the standings. Having said that, they’re looking up at the Browns — who have a divisional win — and weren’t nearly as impressive in their victory.

AFC North Power Rankings No. 1: Cleveland Browns (1-0)

There couldn’t have been a better script to kick off the Cleveland Browns 2023 season — even if Keegan Michael Key was allowed to work on one. 

Cleveland hosted their (sort of) in-state rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, and put on a show. The weather was ugly but the Browns didn’t let that stop them as they won 24-3.

Offensively, they took some time to get rolling but eventually, Nick Chubb started to move the ball with his legs. He finished with 106 yards on the ground but their two touchdowns came courtesy of Deshaun Watson.

While his passes were off in the first half, Watson still managed to run for a touchdown, giving his team full control. He was better in the second half, finishing with 154 yards passing and 45 on the ground. He also had a touchdown pass to Harrison Bryant.

The offense could have put up even more points if not for a fumble by Jerome Ford as well as a tipped pass from Watson that wound up being intercepted. 

As fun as it was to see the offense start to figure it out, the defense and special teams were the stars. Tee Higgins was a non-factor and the secondary blanketed Ja’Marr Chase to the point he started complaining about elves. On special teams, Dustin Hopkins made every kick — which was an incredible sight for Cleveland fans.

Right now, they look to be the most complete team on paper and had the best debut. That means they’re on top of the AFC North and can stay there with another win in Week 2 as they head to Pittsburgh for Monday Night Football.

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