AFC North Week Ten Recap

This was just one play made in the game's frantic stretch run

Three games in front of a national audience, and the AFC North once again goes O-fer against non-divisional opponents
 
 
 
The division continued its recent string of out-of-division losses in week 10, dropping the North to 0-17-1 when adding up each team’s last win in this scenario. Pittsburgh had the last non-divisional win on October 9th, and the rest are as follows:
Bengals: September 29th
Ravens: September 25th
Browns: December 13th, 2015
 
In positive AFC North news, the first place team is above .500 (for now). In addition, the Ravens looked like they could actually take on a non-AFC North opponent and make it a contest. The Bengals and Steelers certainly did just that going down to the wire versus a Giants team playing well at home, and a Cowboys team playing as well as any in the NFL.
 
Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
 
This game ended as expected, but how they would get there was in question. Both teams have had 2nd half challenges in 2016, but the Ravens broke through with an aging, oft injured Suggs having his best game of the season, and with the Browns coaching staff gambling with a mid-game QB change.
 

Highlights:
The first half was about as dull as you can get, basically a typical Thursday night NFL game (which have to go BTW for many reasons, and I don’t think players really consider this one of their circled Prime-Time games). The first half started with 3-and-outs, a Joe Flacco trademark bad read that resulted in a Steve Smith aided INT (as he gave up on the play), and a bad read that ended as a field goal instead of a Steve Smith TD. The Browns broke through with their 3rd string QB hitting their 3rd string TE who burned the Ravens 1st string safety. It was a tough half for Eric Weddle.
 
The second half featured Weddle the Good, Suggs playing like a man on Antler Spray, and a running game that helped open up three TD passes from Flacco. The Browns have now been outscored 151-51 in second halves. Don’t get too excited about 1st place, Ravens fans. They still have a lot of work to do. They were expected to be 7-2 or 8-1 at this point in order to win the division considering their tough closeout schedule. But as the North has shown this year, anything can happen.
 

 
Next up, the Ravens head to the Jerry Dome in Arlington, Texas to face the top team in the NFC.
 
 
Dallas Cowboys @ Pittsburgh Steelers
 
This game was wild from start to finish as there were eight lead changes. The last four involved alternating touchdowns without a punt, three in the last 1:55 of the game, and two in the last 0:42. It was kind of like the famous UK/Duke NCAA game where the offense could do no wrong (except converting a 2-pt conversion).
 
Highlights:
As much fun as people seem to be having mocking Mike Tomlin’s propensity to go for two, and despite the fact that he took two points off the board early and two late, it would not have made a difference judging by the scoring. The Steelers would have had the ball with 0:09 remaining down 37-34 instead of 35-30 (because there would be no need for the Cowboys to miss their two attempts late), although with a timeout remaining, it would have been technically possible to throw a Hail Mary to the 30-40 yard line setting up a tying field goal.
 
The bigger issue for the Steelers is that once again they lacked any running game and at least this week, the defense gave up big plays. Le’Veon Bell was limited to 57 yards on 17 carries. On the defensive side, on the game winning drive, the Cowboys were stuck with 0:37 on their own 25 yard line and marched 10, 13, 20, and 32 yards in consecutive plays. On their previous TD drive, the Cowboys methodically marched 10 plays in six minutes for a go-ahead TD.
 
Next up, the Steelers, losers of four straight, head to Cleveland to face a depleted and dejected Browns team coming off back-to-back lopsided losses.
 
 
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Giants
 
An occasional and surprising burst by the Giants running game slowed down the early surge of Geno Atkins and the Bengals defensive line just enough for NY to squeak out a win. The Giants were able to make plays in the 4th quarter, and the Bengals, who deployed a dozen odd formations that netted a single dynamic play out of just 55 total offensive snaps, were not.
 
Highlights:
The Bengals had plenty of chances in this one, and it seemed like a dozen plays from either side of the ball could have changed the outcome, or at least the strategy of the game. Andy Dalton missed critical throws, and was out of sync with the receivers on others (although he did make some surprising plays with his legs).
Bengals WR Tyler Boyd caught a Dalton pass on the NY 5-yardline and took a chance by stretching out to get his first career TD. The risk outweighed the reward. Instead of first and goal inside the 5, the pass was called incomplete. In the 4th quarter, the Giants cashed in on their risky play, 4th and goal pass from the 3, and scored the game winning TD with 14 minutes left to play. The Bengals didn’t come close to tying the game in their 3 subsequent attempts, which included an INT, failing to convert a 3rd and 1, and their last drive ending in back-to-back sacks.
 
Next up, the Bengals host the Bills who have dropped three close games in a row against tough competition after winning three straight.