AFC North Preview – Week 9

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on November 4, 2017

SCU’s AFC North Preview is a quick overview of the Steelers division opponents and their upcoming games.

Half of the AFC North goes dormant this weekend as the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers each enter their bye week. However, that hasn’t prevented the winless Browns from somehow even botching their week off!

Leading up to the NFL’s trade deadline, Cleveland attempted to be a mover and shaker. They saw the 49ers land Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a player that the Browns apparently coveted heading into the regular season. Still seeking a QB, Cleveland had a deal on the table with the Cincinnati Bengals to acquire their backup, A.J. McCarron but didn’t submit the paperwork in time. The trade was rejected.

At least the Browns can’t do any more damage to themselves on Sunday, while the Ravens and Bengals each try to gain some ground on the 6-2 Steelers. The Ravens travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans, while the Bengals also hit the road to play the surprising Jacksonville Jaguars.

Here’s an overview of each upcoming game:

AFC North Standings

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Bengals Preview

	Bengals	Jaguars
Last Week	W 24-23 vs. Indianapolis	Bye (Wk. 7: W 27-0 at Indianapolis)
Coach vs. Opp.	Marvin Lewis: 4-1	Doug Marrone: 0-1
PTS. For/Against	17.4/19.3	26.1/15.7 (1L)
Offense	287.1	361.6
Passing	Andy Dalton: 138-218-1603-11-8-87.0	Blake Bortles: 115-196-1398-9-5-85.4
Rushing	Joe Mixon (R): 85-253-3.0-1	Leonard Fournette (R): 130-596-4.6-6 (T1L)
Receiving	A.J. Green: 38-572-15.1-4	Allen Hurns: 26-345-13.3-2
Defense	295	300.3
Sacks	Geno Atkins: 5	Calais Campbell: 10 (2L)
INTs	Many tied: 1	Tashaun Gipson: 3 (T3L)
Take/Give	-10 (5/15)	+8 (3L) (16/8)
Punting (Net)	Kevin Huber: 47.6 (41.3)	Brad Nortman: 44.6 (39.9)
Kicking	Randy Bullock: 38 (14/14 PAT; 8/10 FG)	Josh Lambo: 9 (3/3 PAT; 2/2 FG)

The Line

Here’s what mytopsportsbooks has to say about the game:

The Fighting Fournettes have yet to actually win a game in Jacksonville this year, going 0-2 straight up and against the spread. Pick: Bengals (+4.5)

Game Notes

LEADER: Jaguars lead all-time series, 11-9
LAST GAME: 11/2/14: Jaguars 23 at Bengals 33
STREAKS: Bengals have won past 4
LAST GAME AT SITE: 9/30/12: Bengals 27, Jaguars 10
QB ANDY DALTON passed for 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 108.8 rating last week. Has 120+ rating in 2 of past 3 on road. Aims for 4th meeting in row with 2+ TD passes.
RB JOE MIXON (rookie) had career-high 91 rec. yards in Week 8. Is 1 of 2 NFL rookies (KAREEM HUNT) with 250+ rush yards (253) & 150+ rec. yards (189).
RB GIOVANI BERNARD has TD catch in 2 of past 3 on road. Is 1 of 3 NFL RBs (MATT FORTÉ & THEO RIDDICK) with 195+ catches (198) & 8+ rec. TDs (8) since entering league in 2013.
RB JEREMY HILL had 154 rush yards with 2 TDs in only career meeting (11/2/14).
WR A.J. GREEN had TD catch last week. Has 4 TD catches in past 5. Aims for 4th meeting in row with rec. TD. In 2 career games at Jax., has 207 rec. yards (103.5 per game) with 2 TD catches. Since entering league in 2011, is 1 of 3 in NFL (ANTONIO BROWN & DEMARYIUS THOMAS) with 500+ catches (519), 7,500+ rec. yards (7,707) & 50+ TD catches (53).
TE TYLER KROFT has 3 TD catches in past 2 on road.
DE CARLOS DUNLAP had sack & INT-TD last week. Aims for 3rd meeting in row with sack.
DT GENO ATKINS had sack in Week 8. Had 2 sacks in last game at Jax. (9/30/12). Since entering league in 2010, has 57 sacks, most among NFL DTs.
LB VONTAZE BURFICT had 8 tackles & sack in his last meeting (9/30/12).
S GEORGE ILOKA had INT in last meeting.
CB DARQUEZE DENNARD tied career- high with 10 tackles in Week 8.
QB BLAKE BORTLES passed for 330 yards with TD for 124.7 rating in Week 7. Had 2 TD passes & 96.4 rating in last meeting. Has 5 pass TDs vs. 1 INT for 105.9 rating in past 2 at home.
RB LEONARD FOURNETTE (rookie) has rushed for 311 yards (155.5 per game) with 3 TDs in his past 2. Aims for 3rd in row with 130+ rush yards & rush TD. Is only AFC player with 500+ rush yards (596) & 6+ rush TDs (6) in 2017.
RB CHRIS IVORY had rush TD in Week 7. Had 117 rush yards with 2 TDs in 12/5/10 meeting with NO.
RB T.J. YELDON had career-high 122 rush yards with TD in Week 7.
WR ALLEN HURNS had 101 rec. yards in Week 7, his 8th career 100+ rec. yard game. Had 112 rec. yards with 2 TD catches in only career meeting.
TE MARCEDES LEWIS had TD catch in last game vs. Cin. Has 4 TD catches in 2017, tied for 3rd among NFL TEs.
JAGUARS lead NFL with 33 sacks. Had 10 sacks in Week 7 & are 1st team in NFL history with 10+ sacks in 2 of team’s 1st 7 games of season.
DE CALAIS CAMPBELL had 2 sacks in Week 7. Has 3 multi-sack games in 2017, tied for most in NFL. Ties for 2nd in league with 10 sacks, most by player in 1st 7 games with new team.
DE YANNICK NGAKOUE had career-high 2.5 sacks in Week 7. Has 4.5 sacks in past 4.
LB TELVIN SMITH has 10+ tackles in 3 of past 4.
CB A.J. BOUYE had 3 PD in last meeting (12/24/16 with Hou.).

On The Airwaves

TV: CBS (1:00 PM ET): Andrew Catalon, James Lofton
NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One: John Sadak, Ross Tucker | SIRIUS: 146 (Cin), 157 (Jax) | XM: 385 (Cin), 228 (Jax)

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Ravens Preview

	Ravens	Titans
Last Week	W 40-0 vs. Miami	Bye (Wk. 7: W 12-9 (OT) at Cleveland)
Coach vs. Opp.	John Harbaugh: 1-2	Mike Mularkey: 0-1
PTS. For/Against	21.3/18.5	22.6/24.7
Offense	279.8	326.4
Passing	“Joe Flacco: 153-239–1290-6-8-72.3 /
Ryan Mallett: 9-16-56-2-0-103.1″	Marcus Mariota: 110-176-1301-4-4-83.1
Rushing	Alex Collins: 80-478-6.0-0	DeMarco Murray: 86-372-4.3-2
Receiving	Javorius Allen (RB): 32-145-4.5-1	Delanie Walker (TE): 32-324-10.1-0
Defense	317.3	329.4
Sacks	Terrell Suggs: 4.5	Derrick Morgan: 4.5
INTs	Brandon Carr: 3 (T3L)	Kevin Byard: 4 (2L)
Take/Give	+5 (17/12)	0 (10/10)
Punting (Net)	Sam Koch: 46.2 (41.5)	Brett Kern: 51.5 (1L) (46.5) (1L)
Kicking	Justin Tucker: 60 (15/15 PAT; 15/18 FG)	Ryan Succop: 74 (14/14 PAT; 20/22 FG)

The Line

Here’s what mytopsportsbooks has to say about this game:

This line is off the board at most books because of Joe Flacco’s status, but let’s be honest, if you like the Ravens here, it’s not because you suddenly have a great deal of confidence in their offense. Pick: Titans (-5.5)

Game Notes

LEADER: Series tied, 9-9
LAST GAME: 11/9/14: Titans 7 at Ravens 21
STREAKS: Titans have won 2 of past 3
LAST GAME AT SITE: 9/18/11: Titans 26, Ravens 13
QB JOE FLACCO passed for TD in Week 8.
QB RYAN MALLETT had pass TD last week. Has 566 pass yards (283 per game) in past 2 starts.
RB ALEX COLLINS had career-high 143 scrimmage yards (113 rush, 30 rec.) in Week 8. Leads NFL with 5.98 yards per carry avg.
RB JAVORIUS ALLEN has 32 catches, 6th most among NFL RBs.
WR JEREMY MACLIN had TD catch last week. Aims for 3rd meeting in row with 6+ catches.
TE BENJAMIN WATSON had TD catch in Week 8. Since entering league in 2004, is 1 of 6 active TEs with 450+ catches (465), 5,000+ rec. yards (5,183) & 40+ TD catches (40).
WR CHRIS MOORE had FR-TD last week.
RAVENS recorded shutout in Week 8 & have 2 shutouts in 2017, tied for 2nd most in single season in franchise history.
LB C.J. MOSLEY had 63-yard INT-TD last week. Is only player in NFL with 65+ tackles (68) & 2+ INTs (2) in 2017. Since entering league in 2014, is 1 of 3 in NFL (THOMAS DAVIS & HARRISON SMITH) with 7+ sacks (7.5) & 7+ INTs (7).
LB TERRELL SUGGS had 1.5 sacks in last meeting. Has 3 sacks in past 4 on road.
S LARDARIUS WEBB is 1 of 6 active players with 15+ INTs (15) & 5+ sacks (5) since entering league in 2009.
S ERIC WEDDLE has 2 INTs in past 4 meetings.
CB JIMMY SMITH had 50-yard INT-TD in Week 8. Since 2015, is 1 of 7 in NFL with 5+ INTs (5), 2+ INT-TDs (2) & 20+ PD (21).
QB MARCUS MARIOTA has passed for 1,956 yards (244.5 per game) with 14 TDs vs. 2 INTs for 106.7 rating in past 8 at home. Is 1 of 6 NFL QBs with 7,500+ pass yards (7,545) & 700+ rush yards (725) since entering league in 2015.
RB DE MARCO MURRAY rushed for 93 yards in only career meeting (10/14/12 with Dal.). Has 8 rush TDs in past 10 at home. Since 2013, leads NFL with 39 rush TDs & ranks 2nd with 5,327 rush yards.
RB DERRICK HENRY has 209 scrimmage yards (104.5 per game) with rush TD in past 2 at home.
TE DELANIE WALKER leads team with 32 catches. Since 2015, has 191 catches & 2,212 rec. yards, both 3rd most among NFL TEs.
WR TAYWAN TAYLOR is 1 of 4 rookie WRs with 10+ catches (10) & 175+ rec. yards (178).
WR RISHARD MATTHEWS has 341 rec. yards (85.3 per game) with 2 TD catches in past 4 at home.
WR ERIC DECKER had 133 rec. yards & TD in 12/16/12 meeting with Den.
LB AVERY WILLIAMSON led team with 14 tackles in Week 7. Had 2 TFL in last meeting.
S KEVIN BYARD tied franchise record with 3 INTs in Week 7 & was named AFC Def. Player of Week.
LB WESLEY WOODYARD has 2 sacks in past 3 at home. Aims for 3rd meeting in row with 9+ tackles.
Since 2013, DT JURRELL CASEY ranks 4th among NFL DTs with 29.5 sacks.
CB LOGAN RYAN had career-high 2 INTs in 12/22/13 meeting with NE.