The Bengals have landed in a spot every contender wants: their division rivals are scrambling at quarterback, and Cincinnati is sitting there with a clear path to widen the gap.
That advantage only matters if the Bengals keep stacking wins. The Browns and Ravens are dealing with backup plans, emergency plans, and in Baltimore’s case, something close to a full-blown quarterback rescue mission. Cincinnati, meanwhile, still has one of the best quarterback situations in the NFL and the best in the AFC North.
Baltimore’s mess started with Lamar Jackson. He returned to the starting lineup last week after missing three games, but on the first offensive snap against the Buffalo Bills, he dislocated his thumb on a helmet.
That was bad enough on its own, but the Ravens’ depth chart kept unraveling. Tyler Huntley, their QB2, went down on his fourth offensive snap against Buffalo with a turf toe injury and is out for the rest of the season.
That left undrafted rookie free agent Joe Fagnano to finish the game and then start on Thursday Night Football against the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense.
The Ravens have already responded by signing Austin Reed to their practice squad and Kedon Slovis to their active roster. On top of that, it has been reported that Baltimore is trading for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
Trade: the Arizona Cardinals are finalizing a trade to send QB Jacoby Brissett to the Baltimore Ravens, per @RapSheet and me. Deal is expected to be completed until this weekend.
The Ravens lost QB Lamar Jackson to a thumb injury, and his backup Tyler “Snoop” Huntley to turf… pic.twitter.com/BYEqcHA1jq
- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2026
That kind of movement at quarterback is happening because Baltimore has no choice. And while the Ravens are busy patching the position together, their defense is still sitting at 28th in scoring defense and last in the division.
Cleveland’s situation has its own twist. Deshaun Watson suddenly landed in concussion protocol, and just like that, Shedeur Sanders is set to start on Sunday. The announcement came out of nowhere, and it put a spotlight right back on the Browns’ quarterback debate.
Watson had Cleveland in first place in the AFC North through Week 7, but after last week’s loss to the Steelers, the Browns dropped to third. They’re still 5-3, but the -34 point differential makes that record look a little shaky. Now they head to New Orleans to face the Saints with Sanders under center, trying to keep pace with the Bengals and Steelers.
Sanders knows the noise will only get louder if he wins. As he put it, via Ari Meirov on X:
"Yeah, I've seen a lot. When I smile, just know that means something. (laughs) I'm maturing, you know what I'm saying?
I'm maturing. Like, I could have gave that a decent answer, but now I'm just going to smile."
There’s another layer to all this for Cincinnati: Joe Flacco. The Bengals backup has already played for both the Browns and Ravens, and both teams could have gone after him this past offseason.
Neither did. Cincinnati brought him back, and for now it’s paying off in the form of stability while the rest of the division searches for answers.
The Ravens chose Brissett instead. The Browns are sticking with Watson for now. The Bengals, in the meantime, still have one of the league’s best quarterback setups, and maybe the best of all if you’re looking at the AFC North.
But none of that gives Cincinnati room to relax. The Bengals have the second-longest winning streak in the division at three, and they still have to keep winning while Baltimore and Cleveland sort out their own chaos. Pittsburgh remains ahead of them, with 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers leading the Steelers into first place.
With the Steelers on a bye, they get to watch the quarterback mess in Baltimore and Cleveland unfold before meeting the Bengals on Sunday Night Football in Week 10.
For Cincinnati, the message is simple: the division chaos only matters if the Bengals do their part. They can’t come back from Madrid without a win and expect the rest to take care of itself.
In Other News...
Bengals Could Face A Tough Trade Deadline Decision On Their Own Roster
The Bengals are expected to be active around the NFL trade deadline, and the reason is pretty straightforward: injuries have left them looking for help at linebacker and in the secondary. That usually puts a team in buyer mode, but it also changes the conversation inside the building, where depth pieces and young talent suddenly become part of the calculus as Cincinnati weighs both its needs and its long-term roster picture.
Several names on the Bengals' roster are already being floated as possible trade candidates, even if the team may not be eager to part with them. Other clubs are always looking for value when the deadline nears, and Cincinnati's current injury situation only adds to the scrutiny, but the front office also has to decide how much it is willing to sacrifice from a roster it still believes in. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Still Have One Problem Keeping Doubters Loud
The Bengals walked out of Week 8 with an overtime win over Tennessee, but the messiness around it did little to quiet the outside noise. Cincinnati survived multiple turnovers and another uneven day on defense, the kind of performance that has kept the conversation around this team focused less on the standings and more on whether it can ever put together a clean 60 minutes.
Joe Burrow and the offense still give Cincinnati a ceiling that keeps it in the national conversation, and the defense has enough talent to suggest better days are possible. Still, the perception problem lingers because the slow starts and first-half struggles keep showing up in the same places, leaving the Bengals with a win that mattered and a reputation issue they have not solved yet. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals May Have A Dalton Risner Problem They Didnt Expect
Dalton Risner has given the Bengals exactly what they hoped for when they brought him in as an interior offensive line answer. He has settled in well, drawn praise for his professionalism, and helped stabilize a unit that has needed dependable play inside, with his work showing up in both pass protection and the run game.
The tricky part for Cincinnati is that Risners value may be rising at the same time the team has more decisions looming on the offensive line. A player who arrived as a short-term fix can quickly turn into someone the Bengals need to keep, and his situation is now part of a broader offseason puzzle that could force the front office to choose which linemen it can afford to retain. [Read more 🡒]