AFC North Week 1 standings
AFC North Week 1 standings
Entering the 2026 season, the AFC North was viewed as a division that could — and should — have three playoff teams.
Then, there are the Cleveland Browns.
After one week, the AFC North has three teams with a win, while the Browns were blown out on the road.
Here’s the updated AFC North standings post-Week 1 with all four teams having played.
AFC NORTH STANDINGS THROUGH WEEK 1
1. Baltimore Ravens: 1-0
2. Cincinnati Bengals: 1-0
3. Pittsburgh Steelers: 1-0
4. Cleveland Browns: 0-1
The Steelers opened up the Mike McCarthy era with a hard-fought 20-13 win over the visiting Atlanta Falcons Sunday at Acrisure Stadium. Pittsburgh had a monster defensive performance led by outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, who each recorded a pair of sacks.
Watt created a game-changing splash with his 35-yard pick-6 on a swing route from Falcons quarterback Cooper Rush. It lifted Pittsburgh to the win as the new-look offense worked out some kinks.
While Pittsburgh picked up a season-opening home win, the Ravens traveled to the Colts. Baltimore flat-out dominated in Jesse Minter’s head-coaching debut.
Baltimore romped to a 41-23 win, holding a 31-13 lead at the half and never looking back. Under new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, Baltimore racked up 506 yards of total offense. Lamar Jackson threw for 324 yards and had one touchdown pass, while Derrick Henry rushed for 144 yards and three scores. Jackson added 40 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
KING HENRY RUMBLES IN FOR ANOTHER TD!!
BALvsIND on CBS/Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/4h8WpRsLW5
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
Zay Flowers led all receivers with five receptions for 150 yards and a touchdown, carving up the Colts. Baltimore’s defense held Colts quarterback Daniel Jones to 166 passing yards with one touchdown pass, one interception, and two sacks.
The Cincinnati Bengals had a strong defensive performance before hanging on late for a 33-27 win over the Buccaneers.
Cincinnati forced four fumbles and recovered all four, with linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. scooping and scoring on one fumble 27 yards out.
BENGALS WITH THE SCOOP AND SCORE!!!
TBvsCIN on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/XV5FjYppBP
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
Offensively, Joe Burrow threw for 254 yards and had a touchdown pass to tight end Mike Gesicki, who had a team-high five receptions for 78 yards and the score. But Burrow also had a 45-yard pick-6 to linebacker Josiah Trotter that kept Tampa Bay in the game.
Cincinnati held Baker Mayfield to just 216 passing yards and sacked him four times in the win. The Bengals will travel to Houston Week 2 to take on the Texans.
The Cleveland Browns were on the road Sunday to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars to open the Todd Monken era. Things went about as poorly as expected.
Much-maligned starting quarterback DeShaun Watson was dreadful, throwing an early interception and never recovering.
.@Jaguars INT ALERT 🚨
CLEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/L0oXz3R29V
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
He threw for just 205 yards with one touchdown pass and one interception. The Jaguars boat-raced Cleveland early, taking a 24-0 lead into the half. They went up 31-0 before Cleveland got on the board.
Cleveland rookie receiver Denzel Boston led the Browns with two catches for 59 yards and a touchdown reception, hauling in a 46-yard pass from Watson late in the fourth quarter. Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence carved up the Browns with 245 yards and four touchdown passes, throwing just five incompletions.
The Browns travel to Tampa Bay in Week 2.