AFC North Power Rankings Week 5: Browns, Steelers, Bengals all stumble
• Pittsburgh and Cincy also lost in Week 4
• Browns are just 2-2 but still can strike in the AFC North
By Randy Gurzi
1. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
Cleveland's fan base can be as frustrated as they want when it comes to injuries but don't expect the Baltimore Ravens to feel bad. They might not have lost their starting quarterback in 2023, but Lamar Jackson seems to miss a couple of games each season.
On top of that, they continue to struggle with durability year after year. This year, they already lost J.K. Dobbins for the season and then in Week 4, they were missing several key starters. Odell Beckham, Jr., Rashod Bateman, Marlon Humphrey, David Ojabo, Marcus Williams, and Odafe Oweh were all out in this one.
Despite the absences, the Ravens do what they always do — they performed with the next man up.
Cleveland tried to do this with DTR taking over under center but it was a disaster. For the Ravens, they still generated pressure without some of their best pass rushers. They also recorded three picks without two starters in the secondary. And that resulted in them winning easily and improving to 3-1.
Not only do they boast the best record in the division, but they're also 2-0 against AFC North opponents — the only team in the conference without a loss to a divisional rival.
They have a chance to really make a statement with a Week 5 showdown with the Steelers. If they can improve to 4-1 while going 3-0 against the AFC North to kick off the season, that would put them in excellent shape to finish first in the North for the first time since 2019.
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