NFL Power Rankings: Division rankings after Week 2
By Brad Rowland
5) AFC North
Prior to Week 2, it looked for all the world as if the AFC North was stuck in the muck of mediocrity, but there were some encouraging signs on the field. First, the Cincinnati Bengals improved to 2-0 with a somewhat dominant victory over the seemingly red-hot Atlanta Falcons, and despite the overarching presence of Andy Dalton, it appears as if the Bengals could be for real. That presents the division with appears to be a legitimate contender to the thrones of Denver and New England and establishes legitimacy.
On the “bottom” side of the group, the always hapless Cleveland Browns upended the New Orleans Saints in a thriller, and the Browns continue to be dangerous. This is a club that likely won’t reach the .500 mark for the overall campaign, but Cleveland’s defense is feisty, and I continue to believe that Brian Hoyer is far better than the majority of pundits believe.
The one match-up between division rivals yielded mixed results, as the Ravens slaughtered the Steelers on Thursday evening. Frankly, this game reeked of a contest in which Pittsburgh was simply that bad, and as such, it is tough to credit Baltimore with a blazing victory. At this stage, I am not a full-fledged believer in the Joe Flacco-led Ravens offense, especially without a proven rusher, and on the Steelers side, their defense appears to be fully putrid at this point, limiting their upside greatly.