The AFC North gave us some great weather games over the holiday weekend, but it didn’t necessarily translate to pretty football on the field. Despite that, Cincinnati and Baltimore will continue to battle it out for the division crown, while we had a surprise entry in the potential playoff race in Week 16.
Cincinnati’s tale of two halves
When the first half ended, it seemed like the Bengals were en route to a blowout win in New England. After all, leading 22-0 with only a half to play against a bad Patriots team should be considered fairly secure. Instead, 22-18 was the final, not only putting the Bengals’ victory in doubt, but also the cover as well. Cincinnati was on the verge of delivering one of the worst bad beats of the year. It’s still hard to not like the Bengals going forward, but we should at least be a little concerned with the second half collapse and loss of right tackle La’el Collins for the rest of the season. The road doesn’t get any easier, with a date with the Bills on Monday Night Football looming in Week 17.
Ravens clinch a playoff spot
Lamar Jackson’s return might be imminent, but this Ravens team doesn’t feel like one that is built to last this year. They still have trouble scoring, they lack major weapons on offense, but the defense continues to hold their own. Regardless, they are in the playoffs after a win over Atlanta. However, Baltimore feels like an easy team to fade on Super Wild Card Weekend in a few weeks.
The Steelers just won’t go away
Just when you thought they were done, here they come again. It felt like the Steelers were down 10-3 the entire game, until Kenny Pickett managed to find a way to find some magic on Christmas Eve, leading Pittsburgh to an unlikely victory. Are they a playoff team? Probably not, but it’s impossible to bet against Mike Tomlin and his Steelers in the immediate future. That’s especially true once you consider how this team has rallied, despite clear talent deficiencies at some important positions.
The Browns’ QB experiment doesn’t look promising
All season long, the Browns were saying to just wait until Deshaun Watson came back. Upon his return, the team was supposed to take off, showing what they are capable of for next season. Instead, Cleveland has somehow been worse and using the cold is not a valid excuse here either. It’s ugly right now, and whether Watson is rusty after all that time away or not, there is no one that can be inspired by what they’ve seen. Somehow, the Browns will enter the offseason with more quarterback questions than they had before the season started.