The AFC North wasted no time reminding everybody why it can look like the NFL’s toughest neighborhood. After one week, three teams showed up and handled business.
The fourth? Not so much.
Cincinnati opened its 2026 season with a convincing win over Tampa Bay, but the Bengals didn’t separate themselves in the standings because Pittsburgh and Baltimore also came out on top. That left Cleveland as the clear outlier in a division that, for one Sunday at least, looked built for a three-team fight.
Baltimore sits first after the most complete performance of the bunch. The Ravens rolled past Indianapolis, 41-23, and did it with the kind of balance that makes life miserable for opposing coordinators.
They put up 41 points and 506 yards on former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Lamar Jackson passed for 324 yards and a touchdown, while the ground game piled up 202 yards and four scores.
Derrick Henry was the hammer, going for 144 yards and three touchdowns. Baltimore’s defense had enough, too, limiting Daniel Jones to 166 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception, even if Jonathan Taylor still broke loose for 98 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Pittsburgh checked in at No. 3 after a 20-13 win over Atlanta that felt familiar in more ways than one. Different team, same result, as the French would say.
The Steelers’ defense drove the day, and T.J. Watt was right in the middle of it with four tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss and a game-clinching pick-six in the fourth quarter.
The offense was far less convincing. Pittsburgh managed only one offensive touchdown, rushed for just 58 yards, and leaned heavily on Aaron Rodgers, who went 24 of 40 for 221 yards, one touchdown and 5.5 yards per pass.
The Steelers head to New England next week.
Cincinnati lands at No. 2, but that shouldn’t be mistaken for a quiet debut. The Bengals’ revamped defense made its presence felt right away in the 33-27 win over Tampa Bay.
Al Golden’s group got contributions from all over, with Cashius Howell generating pressure, Kris Jenkins Jr. getting the sack, and both Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe recording full sacks. The biggest sequence came when Barrett Carter wrapped up Baker Mayfield, Myles Murphy forced a fumble and Demetrius Knight scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown.
The offense wasn’t as flashy as the defense, but it did its part, scoring 24 points off turnovers in a win that felt more convincing than the final score suggests. Houston is next, and the Texans should arrive plenty irritated after a heartbreaking loss to Buffalo.
And then there’s Cleveland, the odd team out at No. 4.
Jacksonville handled the Browns 34-10, and the switch from Kevin Stefanski to Todd Monken has not started well. Deshaun Watson is still QB1, a choice that has people asking why the staff went that route over the other options.
The defense, meanwhile, did not resemble the dominant unit fans are used to seeing from the ‘Elves,’ though that was expected after the Browns traded away Myles Garrett this offseason. Cleveland gave up 245 yards and four touchdowns to Trevor Lawrence and allowed Jacksonville to run for 126 yards.
The Browns now go to Tampa Bay next week, where the Bucs will try to get a win against the hapless-looking Dawgs.
In Other News...
Bengals Win Hid A Surprising Early Grade Split
Pro Football Focus Week 1 grades offered a revealing snapshot of Cincinnatis win over Tampa Bay, and the offensive and defensive takeaways did not line up neatly. Mike Gesicki paced the offense with a 90.1 overall grade, giving the Bengals a clear bright spot in the passing game, while Joe Burrows 66.1 grade was a more middling note for a quarterback whose team still found a way to leave with a win.
On the other side of the ball, Barrett Carter and Boye Mafe both landed above 77, with Carter posting a career-high 80.5, and Dexter Lawrence added a strong 77.6 grade along with three pressures. The overall picture was less tidy for Cincinnatis defense, though, because some familiar names came in much lower, including Myles Murphy and Jonathan Allen, leaving the Bengals with a useful early reminder that a victory can still come with a split verdict underneath it. [Read more 🡒]
Russell Wilson Just Pushed Bengals Fans Into A Joe Burrow Debate
Russell Wilsons first turn as an NFL Today analyst on CBS stirred things up in Cincinnati almost immediately, and not because of anything he said about his own future. Wilson floated the idea that if the Bengals dont perform well this year, Joe Burrow could be gone, a comment that landed loudly with a fan base that already treats every Burrow development like a franchise referendum.
Burrow is under contract through 2029 and has publicly said he is committed to the Bengals, which is why Wilsons speculation set off so much pushback on social media. For Bengals fans, the debate is less about what Burrow has said and more about how much outside noise it takes before a star quarterback becomes the subject of one more round of anxious what-ifs. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Finally Looked Complete But One Week 1 Debate Isnt Going Away
For one Sunday, the Bengals looked a lot closer to the finished product they spent the summer trying to build. Cincinnati handled Tampa Bay 33-27 behind four defensive takeaways and an offense that was steady enough to complement the pressure the defense created, with Joe Burrow moving better and the new faces on that side of the ball showing up right away.
Still, even after a win that checked a lot of boxes, one Week 1 discussion did not go away. The performance was encouraging enough to give the Bengals a real early-season foundation, but it also left just enough room for the kind of debate that tends to follow this team when the opener is over and the league starts picking apart what worked, what didn't, and what comes next. [Read more 🡒]