AFC North standings: Steelers bye week brings no relief in division race

Baltimore Ravens v Pittsburgh Steelers
Baltimore Ravens v Pittsburgh Steelers | Joe Sargent/GettyImages
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3. The Browns pulled off a major upset to push forward another week

Almost no one thought the Browns would be able to defeat the 49ers on their home field this past weekend. Plenty of things were going against Cleveland in terms of their chance of winning this football game. Things did change the outcome of this game, and if the 49ers had not missed the game-winning field goal, they would have beaten the Browns.

Brock Purdy looked bad against Cleveland's defense and San Francisco dealt with various key injuries throughout the game. No matter what, the Browns found a way to win the ball game over a tough contending team in the NFC. Play that game ten times and the 49ers probably win nine of those, but Cleveland made that one case their reality.

The Browns have crept right back up toward the Steelers for their current second-place spot in the AFC North. Now they will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts. It could depend on which quarterback plays to figure out a potential outcome, but Cleveland's defense has been playing great football during this first half of the campaign.

It seems like Gardner Minshew will be the starter for the Colts and he upset the Ravens a couple of weeks ago. The Browns are just playing too good right now. Unless Deshaun Watson can't go again this week and their backup makes more mistakes, the Browns should win this game. They will shut down the run and get after Minshew early and often.

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