AFC North: Week 3 is a continuation of the craziness in division
The AFC North has been one of those divisions in the NFL in 2018 that has seen some bizarre and crazy things going on. From the Cleveland Browns waiting over 600 days for a victory to the Baltimore Ravens questions about offense, Cincinnati Bengals relevance ups-and-downs to the Pittsburgh Steelers going winless through the first two weeks of a new season and dealing with a Le’Veon Bell holdout. In Week Three, things stayed crazy. Super crazy. But the Browns and Steelers finally got their wins, the Ravens handled the Denver Broncos despite Von Miller and the Bengals finally took a hit to their win streak, losing to the Carolina Panthers. Here’s your AFC North recap for Week 3.
Cleveland Browns 21 – New York Jets 17
Mayfield-Mania in Cleveland
The opening of the beer coolers signalled what the Browns had been waiting for since Christmas Eve, 2016 – a win! They’d come close in their tie in Week One with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’d nearly created something in Week Two. But after Tyrod Taylor struggled and Baker Mayfield took over as the Browns’ quarterback, the 2018 NFL Draft’s No. 1 overall pick shredded a Jets defense that had been dominating Cleveland for the first 28 minutes. Mayfield orchestrated a dramatic comeback that sent Browns fans into a frenzy – and running for the post-game party.
Mayfield completed 17 of 23 passes (73.9 percent) for 201 yards at 8.7 yards per attempt for a 100.1 passer rating in just over two quarters of action.
Cleveland’s defense closed out the victory, intercepting Jets rookie quarterback Sam Darnold twice in the game’s final two minutes. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams should be given a ton of credit for creating a mix of blitzes and tight fields of play that forced Darnold to make rookie mistakes.
Even so, Hue Jackson would not name a starting quarterback for the Browns’ game against the Oakland Raiders after the game. The Browns organization has since remedied that and named Mayfield their starter. The city of Cleveland can now enjoy those celebratory drinks and hope that there are more to come.
Pittsburgh Steelers 30 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27
Roethlisberger works his own magic
Everyone was talking about the miracles Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was working in Tampa while Ben Roethlisberger got off to an “interesting” start this season. After an early interception on Monday night, however, Roethlisberger went to work and led three consecutive scoring drives and an end-of-the-half masterpiece to put the Steelers up 30-10 at halftime. Big Ben’s production has been a bit under the radar early this season due to the glaringly obvious poor play by the Steelers defense but put together his third straight 300-passing yard game for the first time in his career – and he’s 36 years old. He finished the night completing 30-of-38 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns to one interception.
The Steelers defense was improved and took three Fitzpatrick passes away – Mike Hilton, Bud Dupree, and Terrell Edmunds were the recipients of picks with Dupree and Edmunds scoring on their interceptions. Dupree, Anthony Chickillo and Jon Bostic also logged sacks on the night. The Steelers defense still allowed Fitzpatrick to pass for 411 yards and three touchdowns, which allowed Tampa Bay to try to mount a comeback in the second half. The return of Joe Haden to the lineup helped the defensive backfield, but there is still work to do on that side of the ball for Pittsburgh.
JuJu Smith-Schuster once again led the team in receptions and logged his third-straight 100-receiving yards game. Vance McDonald, Antonio Brown and Ryan Switzer all recorded receiving touchdowns. On the ground, James Conner had a tough night against a stingy Bucs defense but still put together 61 yards on 15 attempts (his longest run going for 27 yards).
Baltimore Ravens 27 – Denver Broncos 14
Perseverance pays off for slow-starting Ravens
The Ravens may have finished with a win against the Broncos, but they got off to a very slow start. After Bradley Chubb sacked Joe Flacco, the Ravens were forced into another three-and-out on the next offensive series and watched Joe Jones blast into their backfield and block Sam Koch‘s punt. The very next play was a six-yard touchdown run by Broncos running back Royce Freeman. That wasn’t the direction Baltimore wanted to head and it looked like Denver may have the formula just right to keep them down and out.
Instead, Baltimore went right back to work and was able to get Alex Collins into the end zone on a run after a 37-yard kick return from Tim White (and an unnecessary roughness penalty on Denver) that set it all up. Joe Flacco then orchestrated a 40-yard drive that was capped off by a Justin Tucker field goal. Flacco would finish the game with 25-0f-40 passes completed for 277 yards and a touchdown. Javorius Allen‘s rushing touchdown was the only other offensive score the Ravens put on the scoreboard.
It was Baltimore’s defense that truly saved the game for them. Without C.J. Mosley, the Ravens were able to shut the Broncos offense out in the final three quarters of the game. With much-improved pass rushing, the Ravens logged three sacks (Terrell Suggs, 1.5 – 15th in the NFL career sacks list); Za’Darius Smith and Matthew Judon getting into the action. Denver quarterback Case Keenum was hit nine times and finished the game completing 22-of-34 passes for 192 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Denver’s only offensive scores came from individual runs by Royce Freeman and Emmanuel Sanders.
Cincinnati Bengals 21 – Carolina Panthers 31
Teeter-totter tips out of Cincy’s favor
The early success that the Bengals saw through the first two weeks of the 2018 NFL season has slowed reached a tipping point that came tumbling down in Sunday’s loss to the Panthers. The lack of chemistry between quarterback Andy Dalton and John Ross came to a head when rookie Dante Jackson stole two tosses that many felt Ross should have tried harder to secure. Without Joe Mixon, the Bengals turned to Giovani Bernard who was bottled up for the most part in the run game, finishing the game with 61 yards on 12 carries for one touchdown. Veteran receiver A.J. Green was forced to leave the game twice before a groin injury finally forced him to the sideline permanently. Tyler Boyd and C.J. Uzomah accounted for the other two offensive touchdowns.
Dalton finished the game with 29-of-46 passes completed for 352 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. But, left tackle Cordy Glenn allowed eight total pressures and guards Alex Redmond and Clint Boling allowed two pressures apiece. The offensive line’s weaknesses and penalties led to at least two of Dalton’s interceptions.
With very little pressure up front from the defensive line, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was able to handle the Bengals and complete 15-of-24 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns (via the pass), then put the nail in the coffin using his legs, scoring two rushing touchdowns and amassing 36 rushing yards. He found Devin Funchess and C.J. Anderson for the two pass-and-catch scores. Christian McCaffrey racked up 184 rushing yards on 28 carries.
