Another wild week in the AFC North as the Ravens, Bengals and Browns were all victorious. The bottle neck of 7-4 teams in the division are chasing the Bengals who continue to sit atop what could be considered the best division in football.
Here is a look at what transpired on game day and a look ahead in this week’s Behind Enemy Lines.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals (7-3-1) kept their stranglehold on the AFC North as their 22-13 victory over the Houston Texans keep them atop of the division with just five weeks remaining.
Wide receiver A.J. Green had his best game since returning to the field from injury, shredding the Texans secondary for 121 yards on 12 catches, averaging 10.1 yards per catch.
Quarterback Andy Dalton was up and down as is the case pretty much every week throwing for 233 yards on 24 completions including a 6-yard touchdown pass early in the 1st quarter. The bad Dalton reared his head, however, in the 3rd quarter when he threw a pick-six to Texans cornerback Johnathan Joesph.
The Bengals run defense thrived against the Texans, allowing Houston running backs (Arian Foster out) a total of just 64 rushing yards.
“Defensively, we need to keep making sure that on every run and every pass, we do a great job of tackling and get the ball carrier on the ground initially, and don’t let them fall forward to make an eventual first down or whatever it may be.” Head coach Marvin Lewis stated post-game.
****Fantasy Note**** Sunday marked the return of running back Giovanni Bernard after he suffered hip and shoulder injuries which resulted in him missing three games. In Bernard’s return (17 carries, 45 yards), the Bengals kept the touches even with Jeremy Hill (18 carries, 87 yards 1 TD) and should follow that trend for the remainder of the season.
Remaining schedule: @Tampa, Pittsburgh, @Cleveland, Denver, @Pittsburgh
Cleveland Browns
Despite 3 interceptions by quarterback Brian Hoyer and no touchdowns, Cleveland on the hands of Josh Gordon (8 catches, 120 yards) and the legs of Isaiah Crowell (12 carries, 88 yards, 2 TD’s) defeated the Atlanta Falcons 26-24 to improve to 7-4.
After what looked like a sure sign that the Browns were on their way to a loss when Hoyer threw his 3rd pick of the game late in the 4th quarter, Hoyer drove the offense on a 7 play, 61 yard drive to set up kick Billy Cundiff’s game-winning 37 yard field goal with 5 seconds left.
“Man, Hoyer is such a tough guy,” said guard Joel Bitonio following the game. “He made some mistakes, but at the end we knew he was going to throw it to the right guy. There’s no panic in Hoyer. He made the right throws and we got the win.”
The Browns got a huge boost on offense with the return of wide receiver Josh Gordon. No longer can teams afford to stick the extra man in the box to contain the run game of the Browns. They need to account for the playmaker Gordon. Per Pro Football Focus, Gordon played in 54 total play counts on offense in just his first game back.
“It means the world to me to be back, but not just to be back, but to be with this team,” Gordon said on Sunday after the win. “I’ve been through plenty of different coaches, owners and GMs and offenses. To finally see us get it going in the right direction means everything to me. That’s what I live for and that’s what I work for.”
Remaining schedule: @Buffalo, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, @Carolina, @Baltimore
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh enjoyed their off week as they are preparing for the final five weeks as they tro to march to the postseason. With a 4-1 record over their last five games, the Steelers will host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers offense is clicking and wide receiver Antonio Brown is creating nightmares for opposing secondaries. Heading into their match-up with New Orleans, Brown already has hauled in 88 receptions for 1,161 yards and 9 touchdowns. More impressively, Brown has registered at least 1 reception in 67 consecutive games in which he has played, including the postseason – dating back to October 3, 2010.
The Steelers defense will look to take advantage of a Saints offense that has been struggling both at home and away. Since Dick LeBeau has been defensive coordinator (2004-present), the Steelers have allowed an average of 16.6 points per game at Heinz Field – the 2nd fewest in the NFL (Baltimore…Burn).
Remaining schedule: Saints, @Cincinnati, @Atlanta, Kansas City, Cincinnati
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