The Pittsburgh Steelers were off during Week 5, but they still managed to pad their lead over the AFC North as all three of their division rivals lost for the second straight week.
At 3-1, the Steelers are the only AFC North team over .500.
The second-place Cincinnati Bengals fell to 2-3 with their 37-24 home loss to the Detroit Lions, losing their third straight game without Joe Burrow. Jake Browning continued to look bad for the Bengals with three interceptions, and all three of his touchdown passes came during garbage time in the fourth quarter. He also took two sacks and a safety.
Cincinnati’s defense continues to be one of the worst in football, allowing at least 27 points for the fourth consecutive week. The porous unit ranks 30th in the NFL in both points and yards allowed per game.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns both dropped to 1-4 with their losses.
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The Ravens got blown out by the Houston Texans 44-10 at home without Lamar Jackson, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury. It was Baltimore’s third straight loss and most lopsided one of the year, featuring season-worst performances on both sides of the ball. The Ravens are off to their worst five-game start since 2005 largely thanks to their horrendous, injury-riddled defense, which ranks 32nd in points allowed per game and 31st in yards allowed per game.
The Browns lost a close one in London to the Minnesota Vikings, 21-17. They lost the game in the final minute, allowing Carson Wentz to hit Jordan Addison for a game-winning 12-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds remaining.
Rookie Dillon Gabriel was solid in his first career start for Cleveland, going 19-for-33 for 190 yards and two touchdown passes without turning the ball over. He was definitely an improvement over Joe Flacco and makes the Browns more dangerous going forward.
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Pittsburgh returns to the gridiron in Week 6 with a home tilt against Cleveland in its first divisional game of the year. The Steelers will get their first look at Gabriel and will look to pick up where they left off before their bye.
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Featured image via Kirby Lee/Imagn Images