Cincinnati Bengals (3-6)
The Bengals are returning from their bye week on the heels of back-to-back catastrophic losses, in which they scored 80 combined points but blew two late leads. Cincinnati’s defensive woes have been the team’s
downfall for most of the season. They did receive very positive news earlier this week that star quarterback Joe Burrow is set to make an unexpected early return from injury, possibly later this month.
In the meantime, Joe Flacco will look to continue doing his best Burrow impression under center as the Bengals seek a bounce back win against the Steelers. The Bengals earned a two-point upset victory over the Steelers on Thursday night a month ago, which started their streak of scoring 30+ points in three consecutive weeks. They will likely need to do again in order to win this Sunday.
The Bengals have done just about everything possible offensively to win the past two weeks, but running the ball effectively will once again be key. In their win over the Steelers, Chase Brown rushed for by far a season-high 108 yards on just 11 carries, and Semaje Perine added 31 yards as well on 4.4 yards per carry.
The hope is that the Bengals used the bye week to clean up things defensively in a major way and will play better on that side of the ball in this game. At the very least, if they can find a way to force a turnover or two and give their offense an extra possession, that could go a long way towards their chances of victory.
Pittsburgh Steelers (5-4)
On the other end of Sunday’s first divisional contest is the aforementioned Steelers, who will return to Pittsburgh for their third home game in the past four weeks. The Steelers failed to build off a huge victory over the Colts two weeks ago last Sunday — falling flat in primetime to the Chargers and losing 25-10. It was their worst offensive performance of the season, as they gained just 211 total yards and went 2-for-11 on third down.
The Steelers have been inconsistent during the middle stretch of the year and are now losers of three of their past four games, which has dropped their division lead to just one game. Losing to the Bengals again would be damaging to their tiebreaker advantages and divisional record. So, this is a big spot for the Steelers to show up.
Defensively, the Steelers have shown improvements over the last two games. Even in their loss in Week 10, the Steelers limited Los Angeles to just 4.6 yards per play and 18 first downs. They forced no turnovers, though, after recording six takeaways against the Colts in the prior week’s contest. The Steelers should in theory be able to corral a turnover against Flacco and the Bengals’ pass-happy offense that isn’t afraid to take risks.
Pittsburgh’s rushing attack on offense also remains up-and-down. They’ve only had one 100-yard rusher all season back in Week 7 while their leading rusher has been sub-50 yards four times this year. The Bengals are susceptible to both the run and pass, giving the Steelers an opportunity for an offensive breakthrough.
Baltimore Ravens (4-5)
The Ravens won their third straight game last week, defeating the Minnesota Vikings in a 27-19 road win that brought them within one spot of the division lead. After they looked dead in the water just a few weeks ago, they have a chance to get back to .500 with a win over the Cleveland Browns this coming Sunday.
Baltimore’s clean bill of health was short-lived and they will be without two key positional playmakers on both sides of the ball. Starting cornerback Marlon Humphrey (finger) and wide receiver Rashod Bateman (ankle) were already ruled out for Week 10. More concerningly, quarterback Lamar Jackson missed practice on Wednesday with knee soreness — but then returned to practice on Thursday.
Assuming Jackson will play, the Ravens are in good position to continue their win streak against a reeling Browns team. However, while they beat the Browns handedly by 24 points earlier in Week 2, Cleveland still have a talented defense that could pose some challenges for a shaky offensive line and unit missing its No. 2 wide receiver.
The Ravens can’t afford to overlook any opponent right now, especially given the Browns are in the division and winning would improve their divisional record to 2-0 on the year. Baltimore needs to prioritize avoiding mistakes on the road, forcing turnovers against a young quarterback, and finding more offensive consistency.
Cleveland Browns (2-7)
The Browns came out of their bye week and squandered a good opportunity for a win, losing to the New York Jets by 10 points despite entering the fourth quarter tied 17-17. Cleveland won the game in just about every way except on the scoreboard: they outgained the Jets in yards (278 to 169), had 11 more first downs, won the turnover battle, and possessed the ball for almost nine more minutes.
Defensively, the Browns gave up only one passing first down and surrendered just 54 yards through the air. Despite their statistical dominance, the Browns lost the situational battles and did not do enough offensively to pull out a victory — which has been a recurring theme this season.
The Browns haven’t fared great against the Ravens historically, but they’ve quietly won three of the past four meetings at home in this rivalry. Their home field advantage will be paramount on Sunday in order to try to fluster the Ravens’ offense into mistakes and make life difficult for Jackson and company.
Baltimore’s defense has been turning a corner in recent weeks on the strength of forcing turnovers. Dillon Gabriel will need to continue keeping the ball out of harm’s way in this matchup, and they’ll almost surely need a huge performance from Quinshon Judkins on the ground to have a chance at an upset win.
