Zac Taylor owns the top spot in the AFC North head coach power rankings after Week 2, while Mike McCarthy is stuck at No. 4 after the Pittsburgh Steelers scored three points in New England. Todd Monken checks in second following Cleveland’s road comeback, and Jesse Minter ranks third after Baltimore blew an 11-point lead at home.
Two games won’t tell us who the division’s best coach will be in December. They do tell us who’s handling his team best right now, and that’s all we’re ranking. The Steelers took three questions into New England and came home with three lousy answers. They couldn’t protect Aaron Rodgers, establish an offensive identity, or create explosive plays.
Taylor’s Bengals are 2-0, while Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland are all 1-1. One game could scramble this order next week.
4. Mike McCarthy, Pittsburgh Steelers
McCarthy isn’t fourth simply because Pittsburgh lost 20-3. He’s fourth because he spotted the offense’s main problem before the game and still carried it into Sunday.
New England held Pittsburgh to 235 total yards and a 2-for-12 showing on third down. Rodgers averaged 4.8 yards per attempt, took four sacks, and lost a fumble that became a Patriots touchdown. The defense forced two turnovers and allowed only 13 offensive points, yet the Steelers never looked particularly close to winning. Their Aaron Rodgers and line concerns are much tougher to dismiss after Week 2.
During McCarthy’s official postgame session, he explained that practice had already shown the offense was carrying more material than the players could execute cleanly. He noticed the lack of detail during the week but entered the game without trimming the workload. That reduction is coming now.
A head coach who calls the offense can’t see players struggling with the installation on Wednesday and Thursday and then hope everything sorts itself out against an aggressive Patriots defense.
Game-plan volume goes beyond the number of plays on the sheet. It includes protection checks, route adjustments, motion assignments, personnel groups, and the quarterback’s answers against pressure. Rodgers can process a huge menu. The play still falls apart if the other 10 players aren’t reading the defense the same way.
Pittsburgh struggled to pass off stunts, identify extra rushers, and give Rodgers enough time for deeper routes. Too many of them ended with Rodgers getting hit.
Michael Pittman Jr.’s foot injury removed the receiver who led Pittsburgh in Week 1, and Pittman’s absence expanded Germie Bernard’s role. Bernard led the Steelers with 35 receiving yards in his second NFL game. That’s a rough spot for a rookie, especially when the offense around him isn’t functioning.
Spencer Anderson’s missed stunt on the fourth-quarter strip-sack made a change at right guard an easy discussion. Brock Hoffman replaced Anderson late and should be a serious consideration against Cincinnati.
McCarthy’s Super Bowl ring and long record of offensive success make a rebound feasible. Patience only goes so far when the coach knows his plan was overloaded before kickoff. None of the other AFC North coaches spent the game watching a problem they’d already diagnosed wreck their offense.
3. Jesse Minter, Baltimore Ravens
Minter’s first home game as Baltimore’s first-year head coach ended with exactly the kind of collapse a defensive coach hates explaining.
The Ravens led New Orleans 14-3 late in the second quarter but scored only three points after halftime in a 24-17 loss. Tyler Shough completed 27 of 34 passes, tied the game through the air, and then led the winning touchdown drive.
Minter owns his share because the defense couldn’t get off the field once the game tightened. New Orleans converted both of its fourth-down attempts, including fourth-and-goal on the winning drive.
The Ravens need to finish drives and play better third-down defense after halftime. Pittsburgh is still trying to prove its offense can handle the weekly plan. That difference, unfortunately, keeps Minter ahead of McCarthy.
2. Todd Monken, Cleveland Browns
Monken grabbed second place by making enough adjustments to help Cleveland escape Tampa with a 23-19 win.
The Browns trailed 16-6 in the third quarter and got almost nothing from their traditional running game. Monken increased the tempo, and Deshaun Watson threw touchdown passes to Denzel Boston and Blake Whiteheart over the final 16-plus minutes. Cleveland’s winning drive used no-huddle concepts and survived four third-down situations.
The defense then finished the job under some bizarre circumstances. Tampa Bay had reached Cleveland’s 28-yard line when lightning caused a delay lasting more than two hours.
Cleveland fell behind on the road, changed its pace, found two touchdowns, and protected a late lead. McCarthy adjusted after the damage was done. Minter’s Ravens never stopped the damage.
1. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals
Taylor doesn’t need a complicated case. Cincinnati is the AFC North’s only 2-0 team, and it has won twice without asking the offense to be perfect.
Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase connected for two touchdowns in a 20-6 road win over Houston. Cincinnati’s defense kept the Texans out of the end zone, while Evan McPherson hit field goals from 51 and 57 yards. The Bengals handled the snaps that decided their Week 2 win in Houston.
Taylor still has work to do. Houston sacked Burrow five times and moved the ball between the 20s. Cincinnati won because the defense tightened near the goal line, the kicking operation delivered, and Burrow cashed in two scoring opportunities with Chase.
Cincinnati has several dependable ways to win. Letting Burrow absorb five sacks can’t become one of them, especially after protection issues have already taken such a toll on his career.
Cincinnati visits Pittsburgh in Week 3, giving both ends of this ranking an immediate test. Taylor has to repair a protection unit that just allowed five sacks before facing T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. McCarthy has to prove his lighter offensive menu can finally produce sustained drives. Cincinnati’s line gives the Steelers’ defense a real path to control the game. Pittsburgh’s offense just has to stay on the field long enough to use it.
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