Baltimore Ravens (2-5)
The Ravens snapped a four-game losing streak out of the bye last Sunday, earning a desperately-needed 30-16 victory over the Chicago Bears — who had won four straight contests entering the matchup. Baltimore’s defense held the Bears to just one touchdown while scoring three of their own and winning the turnover battle.
The biggest story for the Ravens was Tyler Huntley performing admirably in his first start of the year. Huntley helped soften the blow of Lamar Jackson (hamstring) missing another game by completing 77% of his passes with 244 total yards and a touchdown. It was the Ravens’ best offensive showing since Week 2 by a wide margin.
Now, they’ll quickly pivot to Thursday night, where they take on a Miami Dolphins squad on the road. Jackson is set to make his much-awaited return after a three-game absence. As the Ravens look to climb back to .500, every game is essentially a near must-win at this point. The Dolphins had been playing dismal football up until last week, where they routed the Atlanta Falcons by a score of 34-10.
In that game, the Dolphins finally found an offensive groove and eliminated their turnover woes, while also tightening up a run defense that had been one of the league’s worst through seven weeks. This is still an area that the Ravens can test and potentially exploit, though, especially with Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Pat Ricard set to take the field together for the first time this year. Look for Keaton Mitchell’s role in the backfield to continue expanding after he totaled 43 rushing yards on four carries last week, too.
Cincinnati Bengals (3-5)
The Bengals were one of the NFL’s biggest losers in Week 8. They only lost by one point, but the manner in which it happened was catastrophic. Cincinnati squandered a multiple-touchdown lead and surrendered 23 fourth quarter points at home to the New York Jets, who at the time were the last remaining zero-win team in the league.
The Jets had their way with the Bengals’ defense; they ran for 254 yards on the ground and totaled over 500 combined yards of offense, along with 25 first downs. Squandering a should-be victory was especially costly for the Bengals given their upcoming schedule; of their next six games, four are against teams with winning records currently and the other two are against the Ravens.
That stretch begins this Sunday with a matchup versus the aforementioned Bears, who had a four-game win streak snapped last week. While the Bears are certainly a flawed four-win team and the Ravens exposed some of their shortcomings in Week 8, the Bengals are by no means a favorite in this contest. That’s especially true if Joe Flacco, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, cannot suit up and Jake Browning gets the start at quarterback.
The Bears didn’t force any turnovers last Sunday but had been the NFL’s best takeaway defense through the first seven weeks. Whether its Flacco or Browning under center, taking care of the football will be paramount for the Bengals’ chances of victory. Although the Bears aren’t world-beaters offensively right now, the Bengals will likely need to continue scoring at a high clip to win given their defensive shortcomings.
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)
Three weeks ago, the Steelers were riding high after three consecutive victories and a three-win advantage over the Ravens atop the division. Now, on the heels of two straight losses following a 10-point defeat to the Green Bay Packers in Week 8, the Steelers aren’t sitting as comfortably.
The Packers marked the beginning a tough midseason stretch of games for the Steelers. Four of their next five games are against teams over .500 currently, leading up to a pivotal matchup against the Ravens in Week 14. It starts with an upcoming contest against the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday, who have been the best overall team in the NFL this year with a 7-1 record.
Defensively, the Steelers have played uncharacteristically poor on the year and have surrendered 33 and 35 points in back-to-back weeks, respectively. They’ll be challenged even greater against the Colts, who have an elite offense and have been a well-oiled machine all season — led by a resurgent Daniel Jones and historically good Jonathan Taylor in the backfield.
When the Steelers’ offense is not thrown off by turnovers or penalties, they’ve been able to move the ball and score fairly consistently. The Colts are allowing only 19.2 points per game but have been far more susceptible through the air then on the ground (252 passing yards allowed per game). The Steelers will need to generate some big passing plays while likely forcing at least a turnover or two to have a winning chance.
Cleveland Browns (2-6)
The Browns are next up on a bye week and will not take the field this Sunday. After losing to the New England Patriots, the Browns dropped to 2-6 overall for the season.