The AFC North didn’t get shaken up at the trade deadline, but the division is about to get a lot more interesting anyway.
All four teams stayed put, and now the focus turns to a Week 10 matchup that could end up carrying real weight in the race for the division crown. The Steelers and Bengals are set to meet in a game that could swing the AFC North, while the Browns try to recover from a rough loss to the Saints and the Ravens keep grinding through life with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.
For the moment, Pittsburgh sits on top of the AFC North power rankings. But that lead is fragile, and Cincinnati is close enough to make this week matter in a big way.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
The Steelers are riding a four-game winning streak, and they come into Week 10 rested after their bye. That break gave Mike McCarthy’s team time to reset, but it also gave the Bengals a chance to make up ground.
Now the two teams are tied at 6-2, and their head-to-head meeting could shape the division picture the rest of the way.
Pittsburgh gets the slight nod here because of how it wins games. The Steelers can run the ball and lean on solid defense, which gives them a sturdier floor than most teams. The tradeoff is that their passing game may limit how high they can climb.
If the Bengals win at home this week, the top spot in next week’s AFC North rankings could easily change hands.
- Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
This is the team breathing down Pittsburgh’s neck.
The Bengals have won four straight and scored more than 30 points in every one of those games. Joe Burrow is coming off another big performance and is on pace for 49 touchdown passes and a little more than 5,000 passing yards.
Cincinnati’s offense has been electric, but the defense has been the issue. Still, there are stretches where it does just enough to back up the attack.
The numbers reflect that split. The Bengals are second in EPA offense and 15th in EPA defense.
They’re also third in total DVOA, ahead of teams like Buffalo and Seattle. The profile of a contender is there, but the defense has too often left the door open.
That makes this Week 10 rematch with the Steelers a major test.
- Cleveland Browns (5-4)
The Browns looked like they might be building something after their 5-2 start, but the last two weeks have changed the tone.
They’ve dropped back-to-back games, including a 27-6 loss to the Steelers in Week 8 and a 23-22 defeat against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. The team has also confirmed that quarterback Desheun Watson will start in Week 10 against the Houston Texans.
Cleveland will be at home, but it enters that game as an underdog. Another loss could knock the Browns out of the division title conversation, at least for now.
The underlying numbers paint a pretty ordinary picture. The Browns are 24th in offense EPA per play, 12th in defense EPA per play, and 25th in DVOA, per FTN Fantasy.
- Baltimore Ravens (4-5)
A team that once looked like the biggest threat in the division has slid to the bottom.
The Ravens have been hit hard by Lamar Jackson’s thumb injury, and the offense has fallen apart without him. Jacoby Bissett is a high-end backup and a low-end starter, but he’s not the kind of quarterback you want carrying a season, especially when the defense has its own problems.
Baltimore’s offense has dropped to 19th in EPA per play after being top-five through the first three weeks of the season. The defense is 18th in EPA per play, per RBSDM Stats.
The Ravens are still technically alive at 4-5, but the roster hasn’t shown enough on either side of the ball. They’re coming off a 33-10 loss to the Jaguars, and during their current four-game losing streak they’ve been outscored 117-43 for a point differential of -74.
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