2023 NFL final regular-season power rankings: Bills rally to win AFC East, Ravens finish on top

Kevin Stefanski’s club had already locked up the No. 5 seed in this year’s playoffs. With a win on Sunday at Cincinnati, the Browns would win 12 games for the first time since 1986. The team would trot out a fifth different starting quarterback in Jeff Driskel. The team also rested some starters, and the results were highly predictable.

Cleveland trailed 31-0 entering the fourth quarter before tacking on a couple of meaningless touchdowns. Driskel finished with 166 yards through the air and two scores with a pair of picks. It’s back to Joe Flacco this weekend.

No Christian McCaffrey and no Brock Purdy for the NFC West champions as they took on the Rams in a battle of playoff-bound clubs. Sam Darnold got the start for Kyle Shanahan’s top-seeded club, and the 49ers owned a 20-7 lead at intermission. San Francisco amassed an impressive 274 yards of offense in just two quarters of action.

The remainder of the game belonged to Sean McVay’s club, which totaled the final 14 points of the afternoon. Incredibly, Darnold and the offense managed a mere 26 total yards in the second half in this meaningless game.

The top seed in the AFC playoffs opted to rest numerous starters, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, as the Ravens hosted the rival Steelers on Saturday afternoon. John Harbaugh’s club still played tough, but Pittsburgh had more on the line. Tyrone Huntley got the start, and threw for one TD but was sacked four times in rainy Baltimore.

Harbaugh’s club was in this position as a No. 1 seed back in 2019 during Jackson’s MVP campaign but then lost at home to the Titans in the divisional round. The six-year veteran has had his issues with turnovers in the playoffs.