The AFC North came out of Week 5 with a new leader, and Baltimore earned the spot the hard way. Even so, the division remains tightly packed: all four teams are still above .500 after five weeks.
Baltimore’s move to the top came through an overtime road win over Atlanta, and it happened without Lamar Jackson. Tyler Huntley handled the job with confidence, going 24 of 32 for 201 yards and two passing touchdowns.
He also punched in a third score on a quarterback sneak in overtime. Derrick Henry delivered another big piece of the offense, carrying the ball 24 times for 102 yards and adding an 18-yard screen-pass touchdown.
The Ravens piled up 208 rushing yards against the league’s top-ranked run defense coming into the week. Rashod Bateman led Baltimore’s receivers with 62 yards on five catches, and Devontez Walker found the end zone on the final drive of regulation to force overtime.
The Ravens’ defense had some trouble on third down, but otherwise held up against Atlanta’s offense. Mike Green, Tavius Robinson, and Trenton Simpson each registered sacks on Michael Penix, and Malaki Starks paced the team with 10 total tackles.
Penix was hurt on Robinson’s sack during the Falcons’ last drive of regulation, which brought Tua Tagovailoa into the game. Tagovailoa then threw the pick that Kyle Hamilton ended in overtime.
Cleveland’s run ended on the road, where the Browns fell 17-12 to the Jets and dropped their three-game winning streak. Deshaun Watson spent much of the afternoon under pressure, taking eight sacks and losing a fumble.
He finished 15 of 33 for 155 yards and a touchdown. Isaiah Bond led the receiving group with 74 yards on three catches, while rookie second-round pick Denzel Boston caught Watson’s lone touchdown and added 43 yards on three receptions.
Another rookie, KC Concepcion, left with a concussion. Quinshon Judkins also had a quiet day on the ground, finishing with 44 yards on 14 carries.
Cleveland did get a strong defensive outing, even in defeat. Carson Schwesinger suffered a Grade 1 ankle sprain and is considered day-to-day, but before exiting he had eight total tackles and forced a fumble on a sack that Adin Huntington recovered. Huntington, Maliek Collins, and Sam Kamara each added a sack on Jets quarterback Geno Smith, while Quincy Williams led the Browns with 11 total tackles.
Pittsburgh answered its own questions with a 34-22 home win over Indianapolis. Jaylen Warren was the engine of the offense, finishing with 188 total yards - 101 rushing and 87 receiving - and scoring twice.
One touchdown came on an 80-yard catch-and-run, and the other on a 50-yard run. Pat Freiermuth added two touchdown catches and totaled 44 yards on five receptions.
Aaron Rodgers was sharp, completing 22 of 31 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns while taking just one sack. The Steelers did lose another receiver along the way, though, as Roman Wilson is expected to miss time with a finger injury, coming just after Michael Pittman Jr. was placed on injured reserve with a foot injury before the game.
On defense, Cameron Heyward was responsible for Pittsburgh’s only sack. Payton Wilson led the unit with 10 total tackles. The Colts were kept in field-goal range for much of the afternoon, with 15 of their final 22 points coming from Spencer Shrader’s leg.
Cincinnati also picked up a needed win before its bye, beating Miami 31-24 on the road. Joe Burrow was excellent, throwing four touchdowns and finishing 23 of 32 for 190 yards.
Ja’Marr Chase delivered another standout touchdown catch and led the Bengals with 77 yards on six receptions. Burrow’s other scores went to Tanner Hudson, Samaje Perine, and Mike Gesicki.
Perine led Cincinnati in rushing with 68 yards on 14 carries, one more carry than Chase Brown, who ran for 39 yards and lost a fumble.
The Bengals’ defense gave up 217 rushing yards, but tightened up against the pass. Jordan Battle intercepted Malik Willis twice, and Willis finished with only 137 passing yards.
Cincinnati also brought him down three times, with Barrett Carter, Jonathan Allen, and Boye Mafe each recording a sack. Carter led the team with 11 total tackles.
In Other News...
Aeneas Peebles Is Already Facing A Concerning Ravens Reality
Aeneas Peebles arrived in Baltimore with at least some buzz as a young pass-rush option, but the early going has not given him much room to make a case for more work. Over the past three weeks, he has been inactive and has logged only 18 defensive snaps this season, leaving him on the outside of a defensive line group that already leans heavily on established pieces.
Nnamdi Madubuike and Broderick Washington Jr. are part of the rotation ahead of him, and the pecking order has not moved in Peebles favor. Washington has even been getting more snaps despite a weaker performance grade, which makes the path for Peebles pretty clear and pretty difficult at the same time: he will need an opening, and he has not found one yet. [Read more 🡒]
Calais Campbell Had Bigger Reasons To Shine In Atlanta
Calais Campbell walked into Atlanta carrying far more than a game plan, and Sundays Week 5 matchup with the Falcons gave the Ravens veteran a chance to turn a painful return into something meaningful. The setting alone made the day heavy, since Atlanta was where his mother was tragically killed in June, but Campbell still suited up and helped Baltimore come away with a victory while leaning on the support of his teammates.
For Campbell, the game carried a personal weight that went well beyond the standings, and the Ravens made room for him to handle it his way. He spoke afterward about how much the day meant and how grateful he was for the people around him, a reminder that sometimes the biggest moments in football have little to do with the scoreboard and everything to do with what a player is carrying with him. [Read more 🡒]
Ravens May Have Found An Overtime Formula Other Teams Can't Copy
Baltimores overtime answer against Atlanta was as straightforward as it was suffocating: lean on the run, sprinkle in short throws and keep the ball until the other sideline starts feeling the clock. The Ravens pieced together a long touchdown march that chewed up the extra session and left the Falcons with far fewer options once they finally got the ball back, a method that has already drawn attention as a possible new way to think about NFL overtime.
The wrinkle, of course, is that this kind of formula is hard to duplicate unless a team has the right personnel to sell it. Baltimore has the kind of offense that can keep drives alive, stress defenses with physicality and avoid giving away easy possessions, which is why the approach looked so effective in the moment. Whether it becomes something other clubs can actually copy, though, may depend less on the concept than on having the horses to run it. [Read more 🡒]