Week one of the NFL season was rough on one half of the AFC North division and the other half are feeling good about themselves. The Steelers and Bengals came out of the gate asleep this season, which sparked blowout losses. Perhaps the Bengals loss was a tougher pill to swallow compared to what happened to the Steelers.
Both Baltimore and Cleveland were able to secure wins and get the season off on the right foot. This division is still very much open after only one week of games across the league. Each team needs to start the year somewhere and some are looking good right now while others do have some concerns that could become problems if they cannot fix their issues.
Cincinnati sits at the bottom of the AFC North division for now
Perhaps the most shocking result around the division this past weekend was the Bengals being dominated by the Browns. In a previous article of mine, it was predicted that the Bengals would lose this contest and have a somewhat slow start to their campaign. No one thought this would be a blowout as Joe Burrow and company still would seemingly provide points.
Those points never came, and Burrow and company did exactly what they did last season. They have not done much together during the preseason and that rustiness that is normally worked out in the preseason is showing up now. Cincinnati is going to be fine, but it is a little concerning that they had this much of a setback against a division foe this early. Then again it happened last year in week one against the Steelers.
The Steelers are somehow in third place despite a ungodly loss
Technically the Steelers are tied for last place in their division, but they seemingly sit in third because the Bengals lost a divisional game. Pittsburgh has yet to play a division foe until this upcoming Monday night. That is next week, but this past weekend was something the team and fans would love to erase from memory.
San Francisco obliterated the Steelers from start to finish and there were plenty of concerns that came to light that could become problems. Kenny Pickett looked scared at the quarterback spot and missed even the easiest of throws. The entire offensive line which was supposedly a newly built tank fell apart at the bolts and collapsed.
Everyone not named T.J. Watt had poor performances and the coaching staff seemed like they never even prepared for the game. The Steelers are in for a long season of losses if they cannot correct their mistakes moving forward. They will need a bounce back performance in the most monumental of ways when they host Cleveland on Monday.
Going 0-2 is not the worst hole to climb out of, but this is as close to must win for the Steelers this early into the season as it gets. You cannot lose another game after a beatdown at home, especially a division game that is at your home stadium. Pittsburgh has to win this game, or it might be Mike Tomlin's first losing season and that excuse will be gone by the wayside.
Baltimore started off week one with a strong showing but injuries are happening
Everything seemed to be working in Baltimore's favor in week one besides the injuries that happened. They seem to always get hit by the injury bug early into their seasons and even earlier than that sometimes. That did not change this year after J.K. Dobbins, Tyler Linderbaum, Ronnie Stanley, and Marcus Williams left the game with varying severity of issues.
Other than that, the Ravens were in control the entire time against the Houston Texans. Everyone knew that Baltimore would win this game as Houston is a team that is at least a couple more years away from competing. Lamar Jackson was efficient but led an offense that could have done some more things during the game.
The story of the winning outcome for the Ravens was the performance of their defense. They were able to make rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud's life a nightmare and cause circumstances that got Baltimore the win. It will be interesting as they get ready for a bigger test in week two as they head on the road in a tough AFC North matchup.
They will travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals which brings its own set of challenges. This will all come down to which version of Joe Burrow shows up. Will their offense still be out of sync and rust? Or will they be firing on all cylinders with another week together? Expect the Bengals to be much better in week two and for this contest to be a tough fight to the bitter end unless all of those injuries above turn out to be severe and long-term.
The Browns are the leaders of the AFC North division after week 1
Just like everyone expected, the Cleveland Browns are back on top of the AFC North division after week one of competition. Many expected the Bengals to go into Cleveland and win their first game of the year, but as mentioned earlier I projected against that. The Bengals are starting to make it a habit to start off their seasons slow and that is mostly because Joe Burrow has struggled with his health.
That has led to very little preseason participation on his part and why their offense always looks in a funk early. Take nothing away from the Browns as they played a good game overall and were able to dominate the Bengals for the entire game. This would be the headline across the AFC North division if the Steelers didn't get blown out the same day.
Week two will be interesting as the Browns go to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. Winning back-to-back division games to start off your schedule might be the best way to start the year. This is as close to a must win contest for the Steelers and that should make this a closer game than either saw this past weekend.
The Browns have a lot of favorable matchups that should baffle the black and gold in week two. It could go either way, but if Pittsburgh cannot fix their offensive woes from last week, then they will be in trouble in this one. Cleveland has one of the best pass rushing tandems in football and can run the ball well on offense. Could be another beatdown if the Steelers don't fix some different issues.