AFC North matchups for Steelers fans to watch this weekend
While the Pittsburgh Steelers are on their bye week, all three of their divisional opponents are in action with games that could have consequences for the AFC North standings going forward.
The Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns all play at their home venues this weekend, all hosting West Coast based teams. The Ravens and Browns each host opponents with winning records. Also, all three games will be played on Sunday, November 3rd, within the 1:00 PM ET window.
Depending on your coverage, the regional TV broadcast maps at 506sports.com show most of the country receiving the Broncos/Ravens game on CBS, while the Chargers/Browns will be seen in most of Ohio and California. The Raiders/Bengals game also has limited coverage, with the Cowboys/Falcons being the top game in the early window on FOX. Those in the Pittsburgh market will have the Ravens and Bengals games on CBS and FOX.
Here are some more details about the three games on Sunday.
Denver Broncos (5-3) at Baltimore Ravens (5-3)
The Ravens offense has struggled against stronger defenses this season. Following a stunning loss to the Cleveland Browns last Sunday, Baltimore looks to rebound after having their second-lowest offensive output of the season (387 yards, with the other being 383 against the Raiders.)
The Broncos will travel to M&T Bank Stadium with the third-ranked scoring defense in the NFL, ranking fourth against the pass and seventh against the run respectively. They’ll have to slow down Lamar Jackson, who passed for 289 yards and two touchdowns with a 101.8 rating, plus rushed for 46 yards last week. He has a 100+ rating in six-straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL, and leads the league with a 115.4 rating.
Jackson is flanked by RB Derrick Henry, who seeks his eight-straight game with 75+ yards from scrimmage. Henry leads the NFL with 1,012 scrimmage yards (946 rush, 66 receiving) and 11 TDs (9 rush, 2 receiving) this season.
While Baltimore’s second-ranked offense (30.3 points-per-game) is a force, their defense is a coin-flip, ranking dead last in pass defense but ranking first against the run. Some of that has to do with teams playing from behind, but the Ravens can ill afford a flop as they had against Cleveland last week, where they allowed the Browns to score their most points thus far this season. Regardless, the Broncos enter Sunday as nine point underdogs.
Denver’s offense is led by rookie QB Bo Nix, who set several career highs last week including three touchdown passes. Denver enters the game with a two-game winning streak, scoring 33 and 28 points, and have won five of their last six since slugging it out in Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their offense, which posted 789 total yards over their last two games, could pose a threat to the Ravens defense, but they’ll have to keep a cap on Jackson, Henry and company in order to keep the game close.
Las Vegas Raiders (2-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-5)
The Bengals started their 2024 season with three-straight losses, but have since rebounded to winning three of their last five. One of those losses in their last five games was an overtime killer in which they missed a chip shot field goal that would’ve seen them defeat the Ravens.
However, the Bengals bounce back, including three-straight 30+ point games in weeks 3-5, has seen them struggle as of late, averaging around 18 points over their last three games against the Giants, Browns, and Eagles. Following a 37-17 shellacking by the Eagles last Sunday, the Bengals will host another strong defensive unit in the Raiders.
Vegas comes to town with the 7th ranked pass defense and 19th ranked run defense. The Raiders’ biggest problem has been on offense, as they’re next-to-last running the ball, and near the bottom of the league in points scored, yards, and first downs. On both sides of the ball turnovers have plagued them, as they give up the ball and fail to create opportunities.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow is tied for third in the NFL with 15 TD passes and has nearly thrown for 2,000 yards through eight games: on a pace to eclipse 4,000 this season.
His teammates will need that type of output again, as the Bengals rank 28th in rushing offense and are in the 20’s defensively against the run and pass. This game could be ugly, with the Raiders already securing wins in against the AFC North (Baltimore, Cleveland) but even their hometown favors Cincy as 7.5 point favorites heading into this one.
Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) at Cleveland Browns (2-6)
The Cleveland Browns made some sweeping changes last weekend that proved to be beneficial on their way to their second-straight win of the season. First, they had to replace injured QB Deshaun Watson, who suffered a season-ending injury in the previous game. His replacement, veteran Jameis Winston, threw for 334 yards and 3 touchdowns as head coach Kevin Stefanski handed off play calling duties to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
The result wasn’t just a Cleveland win, but the Browns first time scoring 20 or more points (29) this season. The question is whether or not they can maintain their momentum against a Chargers team still searching for its identity.
L.A. is led by Justin Herbert, who has only thrown one interception all season and has started to heat up in recent weeks, notably throwing for 279 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Saints last weekend. He’ll face a Cleveland defense that looks strong on paper but has regressed in 2024, falling to 18th in points allowed and ranking 12th and 18th against the pass and run.
Notably absent from the field is DE Myles Garrett, who hasn’t registered a sack in his last four games.
The Browns will need their defense to step up, as the offense may have found some answers last week but still struggles with 179 passing yards per game (29th) and 92 rushing yards per game (27th). Up against the the Chargers, who allow the fewest points in the league (13 per game) and are ranked 9th and 11th in passing and rushing defense, it could be a tough battle for a Browns team that just found some offensive footing for the first time last week.
