Baltimore Ravens (5-5)
The Ravens won their fourth consecutive game last week, grinding out a 23-16 win over the Browns for a series sweep over their division rival. Baltimore’s offense struggled for much of the game, and they
were victimized by special teams miscues. Fortunately, the last phase of the game — defense — picked up the slack.
Zach Orr’s unit continued their midseason turnaround with a stifling performance against two rookie quarterbacks, who were flustered by the Ravens’ blitz packages and secondary. To win their fifth straight contest, the Ravens will need to take care of business against another inferior opponent in Week 12.
Awaiting the Ravens back at home are the New York Jets, who are 2-8 with a 1-3 road record. The Ravens will face off against a familiar face in quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who was named the starter over Justin Fields earlier this week. The Jets had actually won two straight games prior to losing again last week, but they are flawed and there’s a reason the Ravens are favored by 13.5 points.
Lamar Jackson has never lost a game (7-0) when the Ravens are favorites of two touchdowns or more. Jackson is seeking a bounce-back performance after a poor game last week in which he threw two interceptions, albeit both not his fault. The Ravens’ offensive line is also in need of a convincing showing too, as they struggled badly in pass protection against the Brown and have been up-and-down all season.
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)
The Steelers earned a much-needed victory over the Cincinnati Bengals last week, evening the season series via a 34-12 rout at home. After leading by only one point after the first quarter, the Steelers outscored the Bengals 27-6 over the final three frames. Defensively, they allowed less than 300 yards and 4.7 yards per play while forcing two turnovers as well.
The casualty of the Steelers’ win was losing starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who left with a wrist injury and did not return. Rodgers was later diagnosed with a fracture that won’t require surgery and he’s now considered week-to-week. If he can’t suit up this Sunday, backup Mason Rudolph would draw the start after completing 12-of-16 passes with a touchdown in relief of Rodgers last week.
Rodgers may miss out on a chance to play the Chicago Bears, who he’s had historical success against. The Bears have won seven of their past eight games since starting the year 0-2 and have pulled off numerous comeback wins. Their recent three-game winning streak have all been one-possession victories by five or less points.
Protecting the ball will be key for the Steelers, especially if Rudolph is under center. The Bears have been one of the league’s best defenses at forcing turnovers. With Jaylen Warren nursing an ankle injury, the Steelers may need to lean on Kenneth Gainwell again out of the backfield. Gainwell recorded over 100 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns after Warren exited early from last week’s game.
Cincinnati Bengals (3-7)
The Bengals midseason slide hit a new low last week with a 22-point loss at the hands of the Steelers. Their defensive struggles continued, but this time their offense found much less success. Cincinnati gained only 17 first downs, sub-300 total yards of offense, and committed two turnovers.
With a 3-7 record now, the Bengals are clinging to hopes of a late win streak that could keep their slim playoff hopes alive. That starts with a tough matchup against the New England Patriots this Sunday, who are tied for the best record in the NFL at 9-2. MVP candidate Drake Maye will pose some significant challenges for the Bengals’ defense to try as they try to right the ship.
The Bengals have allowed 27+ in every game since the season opener. Quarterback Joe Burrow’s potential looming return may lift the spirits of the whole team and give them added juice offensively, but Burrow cannot stop the team’s defense from being gashed. Burrow was a full participant in practice this week, so Joe Flacco’s stint as the starting quarterback is coming to a close.
For the Bengals to have any chance of upsetting the Patriots at home, they desperately need to find a way to slow down New England’s offense enough to give themselves a chance to keep pace. Coming up with turnovers and sustaining longer drives to keep their defense off the field more would go a long way to doing this.
Cleveland Browns (2-8)
Like the Bengals, the Browns also lost a third consecutive game last Sunday, falling to the Ravens at home despite a strong defensive effort. Myles Garrett (four sacks) and Cleveland’s defensive front were dominant for much of the game and they won the turnover battle, while also receiving a few key special teams plays.
Despite this, the Browns were unable to produce enough offensively, in large part because of the struggles of their two young quarterbacks. Dillon Gabriel exited at halftime after suffering a concussion, paving the way for Shedeur Sanders to make his much-anticipated NFL debut. Unfortunately, Sanders completed only 4-of-16 passes in the second half with an interception and fumble.
Sanders is set to make his first ever start this week against the Las Vegas Raiders with Gabriel still in concussion protocol. The Raiders are a much more inviting matchup than the Ravens and with a full week of preparation, there is hope that Sanders and the Browns’ offense will perform better.
Just like with Gabriel under center, establishing the run and blocking well will be key to alleviating pressure off Sanders. The Browns’ highly-ranked defense could be in store for a big day against a struggling Raiders’ offense with Geno Smith at the helm, who has been a turnover machine all season.
