The Holidays are approaching, and while your preferred AFC North team may appear to have less-than-favorable chances at a playoff slot, well…just wait a week.
Those chances may be worse.
This is the reality facing the Steelers, Ravens and to an extent the Bengals, who are currently treading a proverbial tightrope towards legitimacy after the two-month, loss-filled, injury-induced absence of starting QB Joe Burrow.
As Seinfeld’s Mr. Armstrong famously quipped, “He is a loathsome, offensive brute…yet I cannot look away.”
Here’s the story behind Thursday and Sunday’s matchups. Enjoy.
Bengals 32, Ravens 14
So much for “house money”.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow (24-46, 261 yards, 2 TDs) shook off two months of rust to deliver a solid performance against the unreliable Ravens in Baltimore, exposing several long-standing flaws in the Ravens defense, most notably quality depth. Burrow leaned heavily on his favorite target, WR Ja’Marr Chase (7 catches, 110 yards) and RB Chase Brown (15 carries, 78 yards, 7 catches, 35 yards), but was generous overall, employing nine different receivers.
His Ravens counterpart, QB Lamar Jackson (17, 32, 246 yards, 1 INT, 6 carries, 27 yards), was notably less effective, as the team produced five turnovers (4 FF, 1 INT), often in their own territory, and would not recover despite holding the Bengals to four field goals throughout the first half. RB Derrick Henry (10 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD, 1 catch 44 yards) provided some of the few positive highlights offensively, even if most of his teammates didn’t follow suit.
Cincinnati’s normally-suspect defense looked motivated for a change, possibly due to the return of Burrow. LB Joseph Ossai (4 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 QB hits) discovered a pass rushing mode not yet seen as he easily eluded Baltimore’s plodding blockers the entire evening. CB Demetrius Knight (5 tackles, 1 INT) punished Jackson for his frequently off-target throws in the third quarter, nearly running his lone INT back for a TD. S Jordan Battle led the team in tackles with 10.
The Ravens defense, recently hailed as “back” after some horrific early season showings, was actually solid for the most part, but the vast discrepancy in time of possession (Bengals 38:46, Ravens 21:14) spelled doom for a unit with little depth that’s also shown signs of poor conditioning. A Bengals breakthrough in the second half appeared inevitable, and so it was, despite LB Roquan Smith’s 11 tackles and CB Marlon Humphrey’s nine tackles and a sack. This unit simply, clearly “ran out of gas”.
49ers 26, Browns 8
Heavily-scrutinized rookie QB Shedeur Sanders’ home debut was more effective than his inauspicious road debacle. But not enough to fully embrace him as “the” starter.
To be fair, Sanders (16-25, 149 yards, 1 TD) looked calmer and more comfortable in the pocket and out of it, spotting a wide-open TE Harold Fannin Jr. (3 catches, 43 yards, 1 TD) in the second quarter for the Browns’ lone score, but also absorbing three costly sacks. RB Quinshon Judkins (23 carries, 91 yards, 3 catches, 18 yards) continues to post solid numbers in his rookie year and will likely garner a few Offensive Rookie of the Year votes.
LB and fellow rookie Carson Schwesinger (10 tackles) again led the team in stops, and DE Myles Garrett continued his potentially record-breaking season with his 19th sack, with five games remaining to top the current mark of 22.5. Also notable: Garrett’s seven QB hits, easily a league high mark last week and testament to the level of disruption he can cause on any play.
Bills 26, Steelers 7
The Steelers appear to be in decline.
The best that can be said about their latest showing was that it was…shocking…on multiple fronts. The degradation of 42-year old QB Aaron Rodgers’ mobility and field vision was apparent and at times screamingly obvious. Rodgers (10-21, 117 yards) was under siege most of the evening due to porous offensive line play, but his characteristic, at times uncanny feel for the pocket was essentially non-existent, as he appeared hurried and limited. Rodgers was only sacked once, a vicious blind-side hit by Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa, resulting in a fumble for a Bills score.
RB Jaylen Warren (10 carries, 35 yards, 1 TD, 2 catches, 9 yards) and TE Darnell Washington (2 catches, 45 yards) were the most effective offensive players for the Steelers.
The Steelers defense is now in sight of the dreaded “most disappointing unit in the NFL” status after surrendering 249 rushing yards to the Bills and RB James Cook (32 carries, 144 yards, 3 catches, 33 yards – both team highs). CB Brandin Echols (1 tackle, 1 INT) pulled in the team’s lone INT, and LB Payton Wilson (14 tackles) led the team in stops, mostly by chasing Cook around the Steelers’ defensive backfield.
See you next week.
