The AFC North has been flipped on its head again, and Week 7 opens with the Pittsburgh Steelers sitting in first place after a wild shakeup at the top.
That’s the nature of this division right now: one slip, and everything changes. Baltimore’s loss to Cleveland in Week 6 opened the door, and Pittsburgh walked right through it after rallying past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cincinnati, sitting on a bye, benefited from the chaos without even taking the field.
- Cleveland Browns (4-2)
Yes, the Browns are in first place in the division. And yes, they just beat the Ravens. But in these power rankings, Cleveland lands at the bottom of the four-team stack.
That has everything to do with how thin the margin was in Week 6 and what the bigger picture still looks like. The Browns got by with a three-point win at home against a Ravens team that was without Lamar Jackson and had Tyler Huntley at quarterback. The game wasn’t exactly a showcase for either offense.
The numbers don’t do Cleveland many favors, either. They’re 26th in offensive EPA per play, per RBSDM Stats, and 21st in overall DVOA.
Add in the fact that they’re the only AFC North team with a negative point differential at minus-16, and the case gets even shakier. Their 2-0 record in the division matters, but on paper they still look like the weakest club in the group.
- Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
Baltimore drops behind Cleveland after letting a game against a backup quarterback get away. That’s a rough look for a team that still has obvious high-end firepower when Lamar Jackson is healthy.
The problem is that the Ravens still have enough holes elsewhere that they can’t simply lean on Jackson to cover everything. That’s been the theme before, and it’s showing up again now.
Their four wins have come against the Colts, Cowboys, Titans, and Falcons, but the quality of those wins is part of the issue. Baltimore needed the wire in victories over Dallas and Tennessee, and it still hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record. The Ravens are clearly in the mix, but they’ve also taken losses to the Browns and Saints already.
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-2)
The Bengals didn’t play in Week 6, so this rise is less about what Cincinnati did and more about what happened around them.
After back-to-back losses to the Steelers and Jaguars, they had been sitting behind Baltimore in the previous rankings. This week, the Ravens’ stumble pushed Cincinnati up a spot. It’s a move by default, but it still counts in a division where every result seems to reshuffle the deck.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
The Steelers now sit atop the AFC North rankings, though it’s fair to wonder how long that lasts.
Aaron Rodgers and the offense were stuck in the mud for three quarters against Tampa Bay before finally flipping the script in the fourth quarter and overtime. That kind of uneven showing won’t hold up for long if it repeats itself.
Still, Pittsburgh has enough going on to justify the top spot for now. The defense is beginning to come on, and the offense has shown enough bursts to keep things moving. With Baltimore and Cincinnati set to batter each other this Sunday, the Steelers also get a chance to build some separation when they face New Orleans in Paris.
For now, they’re No. 1 in the division. The real question is whether they can stay there beyond one week.
In Other News...
Steelers Have A Buy-Low Backfield Option Worth Watching In New York
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Mike McCarthy Just Addressed That Steelers Locker Room Speculation
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Pat Freiermuth helped put the temperature down a bit as well, saying the locker room remains in a good place and the focus is still on getting better and winning. For a team trying to keep the conversation centered on football, the distinction matters, because one offhand phrase can quickly turn into a bigger story than the actual work being done behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Quarterback Search Just Got Murkier Than Fans Expected
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Arch Manning and LaNorris Sellers have both had stretches that complicate the picture, while Dante Moore and Darian Mensah have helped steady their own evaluations. For a Steelers team that knows how much weight falls on finding the right quarterback, the problem now is not just identifying talent, but figuring out which names in this class still belong in the top tier. [Read more 🡒]