AFC North Preview – Week 13

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on December 2, 2017

SCU’s AFC North Preview is a quick overview of the Steelers division opponents and their upcoming games.

Amazingly, it’s Week 13 and two AFC North teams are not entirely eliminated from postseason contention: the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.

Also, amazingly, the winless Cleveland Browns were finally eliminated from the 2017 playoff race with a loss to the Bengals last Sunday.

This week, the Bengals host the Steelers on Monday Night Football, so we’ll focus our preview on the Browns and Ravens. Cleveland will travel to Los Angeles, to face the only team they defeated in 2016: the Chargers.

The Ravens host the Detroit Lions in a battle of two teams in a must-win situation. The Bengals are also in the same situation, as a Steelers win, especially paired with a Ravens loss, will all but seal the division crown for Pittsburgh this season.

Here’s a breakdown of the state of the AFC North headed into Week 13.

AFC North Standings

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Browns Preview

	Browns	Chargers
Last Week	L 30-16 at Cincinnati	W 28-6 at Dallas
Coach vs. Opp.	Hue Jackson: 2-1	Anthony Lynn: 0-0
PTS. For/Against	15.1/26.3	22.6/18.4
Offense	310.2	357.1
Passing	DeShone Kizer (R): 166-313-1823-5-14-57.2	Philip Rivers: 241-388-2948-20-7-95.2
Rushing	Isaiah Crowell: 145-554-3.8-2	Melvin Gordon: 188-698-3.7-5
Receiving	Duke Johnson, Jr. (RB): 50-446-8.9-2	Keenan Allen: 67-927-13.8-4
Defense	318	339.5
Sacks	Myles Garrett (R): 5	Joey Bosa: 10.5
INTs	Jason McCourty: 3	Tre Boston, Casey Hayward: 4 (T3L)
Take/Give	-17 (11/28)	+9 (19/10)
Punting (Net)	Britton Colquitt: 48.8 (41.0)	Drew Kaser: 48.9 (41.3)
Kicking	Zane Gonzalez (R): 50 (17/18 PAT; 11/16 FG)	Nick Novak: 44 (17/18 PAT; 9/13 FG)

Game Notes

LEADER: Chargers lead all-time series, 15-9-1
LAST GAME: 12/24/16: Chargers 17 at Browns 20
STREAKS: Browns have won 2 of past 3
LAST GAME AT SITE (SAN DIEGO): 10/4/15: Chargers 30, Browns 27
QB DE SHONE KIZER (rookie) had career-high 268 pass yards & rushed for TD last week. Aims for 4th in row on road with rush TD. Ties for NFL lead among QBs with 5 rush TDs.
RB ISAIAH CROWELL had 105 scrimmage yards (95 rush, 10 rec.) in Week 12. Has 95+ scrimmage yards in 3 of past 4. Had 2 rush TDs in last meeting. Had 125 scrimmage yards (63 rush, 62 rec.) in last road game at Chargers. RB DUKE JOHNSON, JR. had 85 rec. yards & TD in last road meeting. Since 2015, ranks 2nd among NFL RBs with 164 catches.
WR KENNY BRITT has TD in 2 of past 3 on road. WR COREY COLEMAN has 144 rec. yards (72 per game) in past 2. TE DAVID NJOKU ties for 3rd among rookie TEs with 3 rec. TDs.
LB CHRISTIAN KIRKSEY has 14 tackles & sack in past 2 meetings. Has 3.5 sacks & 5 TFL in past 6 on road. Is 1 of 2 in NFL (DEMARIO DAVIS) with 90+ tackles (93) & 3+ sacks (3.5). LB JOE SCHOBERT led team with 13 tackles in Week 12. Has 10+ tackles in 5 of past 6. Schobert (99) & Kirksey (93) are only pair of teammates with 90+ tackles each. Rookie DE MYLES GARRETT had sack last week. Ties for 2nd among NFL rookies with 5 sacks. CB JAMAR TAYLOR had 3 PD & INT in last meeting. S DERRICK KINDRED ties for lead among NFL safeties with 9 TFL. LB JAMES BURGESS, JR. has 21 tackles, 4 TFL & sack in past 2. CB JASON MC COURTY had 9 tackles in last game vs. Chargers (11/6/16 with Ten.).
QB PHILIP RIVERS completed 27 of 33 (81.8 pct.) for 434 yards with 3 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 149.1 rating in Week 12. Has 9 400+ pass yard games since 2009, tied for 2nd most in NFL. In 5 career meetings, has 1,418 pass yards (283.6 per game) with 7 TDs vs. 1 INT for 97.1 rating. Has 20+ pass TDs in 12 consecutive seasons, tied for 3rd longest streak in NFL history.
RB MELVIN GORDON had 88 scrimmage yards (65 rush, 23 rec.) in Week 12. Is 1 of 2 players (ALVIN KAMARA)
with 4+ rush TDs (5) & 4+ rec. TDs (4). Has 21 TDs since 2016, tied for 2nd in NFL. Rookie RB AUSTIN EKELER has 247 scrimmage yards (82.3 per game) with 3 TDs (2 rec., 1 rush) in past 3. Aims for 4th in row at home with TD.
WR KEENAN ALLEN had 12 catches for career-high 172 yards & TD last week. Has 23 catches for 331 yards (165.5 per game) & 3 TDs in past 2. Had TD in last meeting. Ranks 5th in NFL with 927 rec. yards. WR TYRELL WILLIAMS had TD last week. Had rec. TD in last meeting. TE HUNTER HENRY has 11 TD catches since 2016, tied for 4th most among NFL TEs. TE ANTONIO GATES led team with 94 rec. yards & TD in last meeting.
DE JOEY BOSA has 8 sacks in past 7. Ranks 2nd in AFC with 10.5 sacks. Had 2 sacks in last game vs. Cle. DE MELVIN INGRAM has 2.5 sacks in past 2 meetings. CB CASEY HAYWARD aims for 3rd in row with INT. Has 3 INTs in past 2. Since 2016, leads NFL with 11 INTs. Rookie CB DESMOND KING had 90-yard INT-TD last week.

On The Airwaves

TV: CBS (4:05 PM ET): Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta
SIRIUS: 93 (Cle), 145 (LAC) | XM: 380 (Cle), 225 (LAC)

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Ravens Preview

	Ravens	Lions
Last Week	W 23-16 vs. Houston	L 30-23 vs. Minnesota
Coach vs. Opp.	John Harbaugh: 2-0	Jim Caldwell: 1-1
PTS. For/Against	21.5/17.0 (2L)	26.7/24.0
Offense	281.1	333.9
Passing	Joe Flacco: 229-351-1875-9-11-74.2	Matthew Stafford: 247-395-3010-21-6-97.3
Rushing	Alex Collins: 129-630-4.9-2	Ameer Abdullah: 150-505-3.4-3
Receiving	Benjamin Watson (TE): 42-323-7.7-2	Golden Tate: 63-698-11.1-3
Defense	305.7	359.4
Sacks	Terrell Suggs: 9.5	Anthony Zettel: 6.5
INTs	Eric Weddle: 4 (T3L)	Darius Slay: 4 (T3L)
Take/Give	+11 (1L) (26/15)	+5 (19/14)
Punting (Net)	Sam Koch: 46.1 (41.5)	Sam Martin: 43.1 (39.3)
Kicking	Justin Tucker: 90 (21/21 PAT; 23/26 FG)	Matt Prater: 100 (28/28 PAT; 24/27 FG)

Game Notes

LEADER: Ravens lead all-time series, 3-1
LAST GAME: 12/16/13: Ravens 18 at Lions 16
STREAKS: Ravens have won past 2
LAST GAME AT SITE: 12/13/09: Ravens 48, Lions 3
QB MATTHEW STAFFORD is 1 of 3 in NFL with 3,000+ pass yards (3,010) & 20+ TD passes (21). Has 3,000+ pass yards in 7 consecutive seasons. In past 3 vs. AFC, has 950 pass yards (316.7 per game), 3 TDs & 1 INT for 100.2 rating. Has 660 pass yards (330 per game), 4 TDs & 0 INTs for
127.1 rating in past 2 on road.
RB AMEER ABDULLAH aims for 3rd in row on road with TD. In 3 career games on road vs. AFC, has 217 scrimmage yards (72.3 per game) & 2 TDs (1 rush, 1 rec.). RB THEO RIDDICK has 4 TDs (3 rec., 1 rush) in past 4 on road vs. AFC. Since 2015, leads NFL RBs with 167 receptions.
WR GOLDEN TATE has 241 rec. yards (80.3 per game) & TD in past 3 on road. Since joining Det. in 2014, ranks 3rd in NFC with 343 receptions. WR MARVIN JONES, JR. ties for 2nd in NFL with 8 rec. TDs. Had 6 receptions for 109 yards & 2 TDs last week, his 2nd 2+ TD game in past 4 weeks. Has 30 receptions for 547 yards (91.2 per game) & 6 TDs in past 6.
DE EZEKIEL ANSAH had sack in Week 12. Has 5 sacks, FF & FR in his past 6 on road. LB TAHIR WHITEHEAD led team with career-high 13 tackles last week. Aims for 3rd in row with 8+ tackles. S GLOVER QUIN has sack, FF, INT & 3 PD in his past 2 vs. Bal. Has 16 INTs since 2014, 2nd most among NFL safeties. CB DARIUS SLAY ranks 2nd in NFL with 15 PD & ties for 3rd with 4 INTs. Has 5 PD & INT in past 3. Aims for 6th in row on road with PD. LB JARRAD DAVIS ties for lead among NFL rookies with 56 tackles.
QB JOE FLACCO passed for TD & had 120.8 rating in only home meeting. Has completed 49 of 67 (73.1 pct.) with 2 TDs in past 2 vs. NFC.
RB ALEX COLLINS has 356 scrimmage yards (89 per game) in past 4 at home. Had rush TD in Week 12. RB DANNY WOODHEAD has 16 rec. TDs since 2012, most among NFL RBs. RB JAVORIUS ALLEN had rush TD last week.
WR JEREMY MACLIN aims for 4th in row vs. Det. with TD. Has TD in 2 of past 4 at home. WR MIKE WALLACE has TD catch in 2 of past 3. Has TD in 2 of 4 career games vs. Det. TE BENJAMIN WATSON had rec. TD in last
game vs. Det. (12/21/15 with NO). Has 4 TDs in past 5 at home vs. NFC.
LB C.J. MOSLEY has 49 tackles (9.8 per game), INT-TD,
FF & FR in past 5 at home. Aims for 6th in row vs. NFC with 7+ tackles. LB TERRELL SUGGS had 2 sacks & FF in Week 12. Has 5 sacks & 2 FFs in past 3. Ranks 4th in AFC with 9.5 sacks. S TONY JEFFERSON had 11 tackles & 2 FFs in last game vs. Det. (10/11/15 with Az.). Had INT last week. S ERIC WEDDLE has INT in 2 of past 3. Has 5 PD in past 3 vs. Det. Is only active player with 25+ INTs (27) & 7+ sacks (7.5). LB MATTHEW JUDON has 3 sacks in past 2. Has 10 TFL in past 6. S ANTHONY LEVINE, SR. had 1st career INT in Week 12.
K JUSTIN TUCKER converted all 6 FG att., incl. GW 61- yard FG with 38 seconds remaining, in last meeting.