It wasn’t a banner week overall in the AFC North.
Despite a “rivalry” game, none of the AFC North contests were exactly competitive, and certainly not close. For all of the discussion of personnel manipulation, rumors regarding league parity and the balancing of rosters over time, days like Sunday seem improbable when they occur.
I will not spout clichés regarding why they play the game, but…it’s why they play the game.
Steelers 6, Texans 30
Every season, every team faces a reckoning of sorts regarding their offensive and defensive identities. Successful teams generally deal with this in training camps; the game plans and overall focus are determined and communicated through the roster by coaches and often by the players themselves.
After their demolition in Houston, the Steelers appear to be nearing that reckoning, at least offensively. QB Kenny Pickett, the subject of weekly angst in Pittsburgh, suffered a knee injury in the third quarter after totaling a paltry 114 yards and an INT. Pickett’s status going forward is undetermined as of this writing, but it appears he avoided a major setback and should play again this season.
His successor, Mitch Trubisky, added 18 yards.
18 yards.
The rest of the offensive totals are almost as underwhelming. RB Najee Harris was the offensive catalyst with 71 yards rushing on 15 carries, and also added a team-high 32 yards receiving (on one catch). Need I list any more?
Defensively, the Steelers simply looked tired and pressed; given the offensive ineptitude they witnessed all day, it’s a wonder it wasn’t worse. S Minkah Fitzpatrick led the team with 11 tackles, which is never a sign of effective defense, especially one that allowed Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud to throw for 306 yards and 2 TDs.
The defense should bounce back, because they have a focus and an identity. The offense, needless to say, does not.
A reckoning is overdue.
Bengals 3, Titans 27
Cincinnati, commence panicking.
If you’re not, you should. The AFC North’s clear-cut talent leader and divisional champ the last three seasons looks quite vulnerable after a shakier-than-it-looks 1-3 start. Clearly-hobbled QB Joe Burrow, still suffering from a training camp calf injury, continued his string of underwhelming performances with 165 yards passing, with no TDs or INTs. Like Pittsburgh, the Bengals’ offense was simply missing for much of the day. Like Pittsburgh, the lack of meaningful statistics pretty much tells the story. WR Ja’Marr Chase, for all his postgame pronouncements of always being open, still led the team with 7 catches for 73 yards. RB Joe Mixon was the team’s rushing leader with 67 yards on 14 carries.
That’s the vast majority of the offense, and I’m not just trolling.
The Bengals did little defensively in the first half, allowing Titans RB Derrick Henry to rush for most of his 122 yards en route to a 24-3 halftime lead (Henry also threw a TD pass for good measure). The second half was hardly better, although much of the damage had obviously been done. The Bengals scattered three sacks of Titans QB Ryan Tannehill across all four quarters, but were simply overwhelmed by the Titans’ offensive line and Henry’s downhill running. S Nick Scott lead the team with 10 very quiet tackles.
Ravens 28, Browns 3
Whither the Browns defense?
After dominating much of the NFL media’s discussions the previous week, the Browns defense looked suspect and disinterested Sunday while an undermanned Ravens squad conducted a balanced, effective offense and timely defense. That the Browns were forced to make a last-minute QB change surely didn’t help; their offense looked confused much of the afternoon.
Browns QB Deshaun Watson was pulled from playing prior to kickoff out of concern for his injured left shoulder, and his replacement – rookie QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson – didn’t fare well in his stead. Thompson-Robinson managed 121 yards passing but threw 3 crucial INTs, and the Browns’ beleaguered rushing attack, in the absence of star RB Nick Chubb, produced 93 total yards, including 49 by backup RB Pierre Strong Jr. As befitting a rookie QB, TE David Njoku led the Browns with 6 catches for 46 yards in an outlet/”hot read” role; no other Browns receiver had more than 20 yards.
The Ravens’ offense, while not always pretty, split its scoring between rushing and passing (2 TDs each), with QB Lamar Jackson accounting for it all. TE Mark Andrews led both squads with 80 yards receiving, including both TD catches. Rookie WR Zay Flowers continued his solid initial campaign with 3 catches and 56 yards, and RB Gus Edwards added 46 yards on 15 carries.
The Ravens defense had what most would consider to be a typical day against a rookie QB making his first start. MLB Roquan Smith, who provided a few “bulletin board quotes” last week, led the team with 10 tackles. Baltimore’s three INTs were split among its safeties, with Geno Stone, Brandon Stephens and emerging star Kyle Hamilton all pulling in errant balls at various times; Hamilton’s marked his first career INT, delivered via a Hail Mary late in the fourth quarter.
The Browns defense…was in attendance. DE Myles Garrett provided a typical day with a sack and several QB pressures. Baltimore’s shaky offensive line did little to slow the pass rush; Jackson’s mobility and unusually-solid instincts were able to compensate somewhat and produce effective offense. The Browns held the Ravens to 317 total yards, but due to Thompson-Robinson’s turnovers, kept handing the Ravens short fields and easy scoring opportunities. It should be noted that Baltimore has suddenly become the league’s best red zone team, scoring at an 80% clip. I’m going to guess the Browns were not aware of this prior to Sunday.
See y’all next week.
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