Each week during the regular season and occasionally during the offseason, our AFC North beat writers gather for a roundtable discussion on the happenings, player movement and pressing issues facing all four teams. In this Week 2 edition, we sort through what’s real and what’s still unsettled.
Lean into the natural instinct to overreact to one game. What aspect of the team you cover probably isn’t as bad (or good) as it seems?
Mike DeFabo (Pittsburgh Steelers): New Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith felt some heat this week for calling a somewhat conservative game full of quick sideline throws. Justin Fields’ passing chart featured virtually no attempts over the middle of the field and very few passes beyond 10 yards. However, there’s a reason for this. In the preseason (and throughout his career), Fields has been inconsistent when asked to throw with accuracy and anticipation from the pocket. Considering the Steelers’ new play caller faced a late-week curveball when Russell Wilson aggravated his calf injury last Thursday, it was reasonable to keep the ball out of harm’s way, give Fields some easy, confidence-building throws and allow the dominant defense to do its thing. We’ll see if they open things up more in Week 2.
Zac Jackson (Cleveland Browns): It’s easy to overreact to one game because we wait 8-9 months for said game. Sometimes you’re just reacting to what you see, and the only true overreaction is that it comes from just one data point. I could continue to talk/type in circles here and it would still end up as a cleaner operation than the Browns’ offense last week. Man, that stunk. The defense will still wreck shop from time to time, and Amari Cooper will still end up reminding us he’s one of the NFL’s best and most consistent wide receivers. But quarterback Deshaun Watson holds the ball too long and is all over the place with his accuracy, and barring a total change that will continue to be a problem.
Jeff Zrebiec (Baltimore Ravens): All of this talk about how the Ravens played offensively being unsustainable made for some good headlines, but does anybody think the plan is for Lamar Jackson to have 16 carries every week? Or Derrick Henry having only 13 touches? Or Mark Andrews having only two catches? A good Kansas City Chiefs defense took some stuff away. Jackson, who badly wanted that game, was more aggressive than we’ve seen recently with his willingness to run. And the Ravens almost certainly don’t have full faith in their inexperienced offensive line yet, which seemingly impacted their game plan. However, it’s far too early to suggest the Ravens offense has become even more dependent on Jackson playing hero ball. Andrews missed a chunk of training camp. He’ll settle in. Baltimore will get more comfortable incorporating Henry into the offense, too. There are some legitimate questions about this team offensively, but nothing it showed last week needs to be a referendum on its upside.
Paul Dehner Jr. (Cincinnati Bengals): The sky isn’t falling on the Bengals’ passing game just yet. Joe Burrow largely looked like a shell of himself. The decisions and lack of aggression throwing the ball made it easy to go to the dark place asking tough questions about his wrist or mental state as the game progressed. There’s a long way to go and unnerving obstacles to overcome. But, they did have a near touchdown to Mike Gesicki that required a review narrowly overturning it (on a near-perfect throw) and Tanner Hudson inexplicably lost a fumble at the 2-yard line. Either of those changes the entire dynamic of how they played. They were 10th in overall success percentage. That came without Tee Higgins (hamstring) and with Ja’Marr Chase working back for the first time. Plus, Burrow always struggles early in the year. Previously, that was thought to be part of his injury-riddled camps, but perhaps that’s also just his deal as a timing-rhythm processing guy. They’ve turned around the offense after sloppy starts each of the last three seasons, so it’s fair to think that can be the case again.
Keep the fire extinguisher handy. What area of concern from the opener (or August/September as a whole) might confirm your previous concerns?
DeFabo: The Steelers were connected by reports or rumors to countless receivers this offseason, including, of course, Brandon Aiyuk. While that trade failed to materialize, the fact that Pittsburgh was interested and willing to pay the San Francisco 49ers receiver more than it pays T.J. Watt shows how the Steelers themselves must have felt about their depth at the position, even if publicly coaches and players insist they have confidence in those vying for the No. 2 receiver spot. Those concerns were illuminated on Sunday. Receivers not named George Pickens tallied a whopping two receptions for 8 yards. Until someone steps up, the depth at receiver will continue to be a concern. It will especially become an issue if opponents begin double-teaming Pickens more often.
Jackson: As noted above, this Browns offense had little flow or rhythm. The least competitive training camp I’ve ever seen might have something to do with the Week 1 stinker, and getting down put the team’s inexperienced tackles in a bad spot. But the offense doesn’t have much of an identity, didn’t create much of anything downfield and now will play without Pro Bowl tight end David Njoku, who has a knack for turning quick and simple plays into significant ones. Unless the Browns can find a run game, they’ll have to hit a bunch of quick screens and slants that the defense certainly will know are coming.
Zrebiec: The Ravens weren’t discouraged at all about the play of their offensive line in the opener. Chris Jones gave them fits, but he does that to everyone. There were some penalties, but nobody is losing sleep about borderline illegal formation calls. The team going into raucous Arrowhead Stadium against a good and creative defense with three new starters up front had the potential to be disastrous — and it wasn’t that. The offensive line had some issues, but it didn’t stop the Ravens from winning that game. Still, it remains the team’s biggest concern. The run blocking, in particular, has been spotty all summer. The group should continue to improve with experience. However, there will be some growing pains. That’s always going to be a concern.
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Dehner: The run defense. New England, with no discernable threat in the passing game, rolled into Cincinnati and did exactly what everyone assumed it would do: run the ball with Rhamondre Stevenson. The Patriots left with 170 yards on the ground, and Pro Football Focus charted the Bengals with 13 missed tackles. Cincinnati consistently got moved with ease from the point of attack. When the Bengals would be in the right place, a missed tackle would allow an explosive run. This looked to be a problem with the departure of DJ Reader from a run defense already lacking, but Sunday was confirmation teams might be able to shove the ball down their throat in 2024 much like in 2023.
The Steelers defense looked great. The Bengals and Browns offenses did not. The Ravens weren’t good enough on either side of the ball to beat the Super Bowl champs. From a divisional perspective, what was your top takeaway from Week 1?
DeFabo: For years, it’s felt like the Browns have been building themselves into a contender in this division. Their defense is stacked. The run game has been dominant. The fact that they were able to win 11 games last season with four different quarterbacks in 2023 shows the overall strength of their roster. But after the way Deshaun Watson played, sorry Browns fans, I fear this team might never turn the corner. Investing so much of the salary cap into a quarterback who has so many issues could set this franchise back years. Of all the questionable decisions the Browns have made at QB over the years, this might be the one that lingers longest.
Jackson: All four offenses have flaws. Some are more egregious than others, and some are probably more fixable than others. The easy answer is that Watson and the Browns need a total offensive turnaround. But I’m also left to wonder what the next step might be for the Ravens’ and Steelers’ passing games. Maybe we’ll just get a bunch of 9-8 divisional bloodbaths in December.
Zrebiec: If Watson doesn’t figure this out soon, a Browns team built to win now will get left behind in the division. And beyond that, there will be major questions, particularly with his contract and the latest legal issues. I’m not convinced Watson is a lost cause as a quarterback, but Week 1 was a disaster by any measure. The Bengals’ pattern of slow starts is well-documented, and we all knew the Steelers’ defense would be good. It’s tough to knock the Ravens too hard based on a one-score loss in Kansas City. But Watson’s spotty play isn’t a one-week development, which makes how he looked in Week 1 more alarming.
Dehner: It has to be the concern about Watson in Cleveland. As enjoyable as a potential season of witnessing the Jameis Winston experience would be for fans of pure chaos, the Browns’ season doesn’t feel salvageable if Watson isn’t playing well. As poor as the Bengals offense was, there’s at least a history suggesting they will straighten things out. Joe Flacco isn’t leaving Indianapolis and walking through that door in Cleveland — or maybe he is, who knows?
The Ravens get what looks like a get-well game. The rest of the division faces road tests. Is there an upset brewing this weekend? Can the division post a winning record for Week 2?
DeFabo: The Steelers’ defense should make life miserable for Denver rookie quarterback Bo Nix. As long as Fields can protect the football again, I like Pittsburgh in another wonky, low-scoring game. The Ravens can get back to .500 against a lesser opponent and will. The Chiefs just might beat every team in the AFC North this season, including the Bengals this week. That leaves it up to the Browns to get this division over .500. I just can’t believe in them right now after what I saw in Week 1.
Jackson: I think it’s much more likely that the division goes 1-3 Sunday than 3-1, but what do I know? And at this still-early stage, what does anybody know? I’ll take the Ravens to bounce back, but the home teams win close ones in Kansas City, Jacksonville and Denver. Specifically, I’ll take the Jaguars to win 15-13 over the Browns, the Chiefs to beat the Bengals 26-24 and the Broncos over the Steelers, 10-9
Zrebiec: My stellar 1-3 mark in picking division games in this spot last week should have me sit this one out. The Raiders won’t be a cakewalk, but Baltimore should win. The Chiefs seem to bring out the best in the Bengals. Cincinnati will bounce back and play well. It just isn’t wise to pick against the Chiefs at this point. It’s hard to see Nix mounting a whole lot against that Steelers defense. Pittsburgh should win relatively comfortably. Jaguars-Browns is one of the most interesting matchups of the week. In the interest of not going chalk, I’ll pick the Browns in an upset, although their tackle situation and the impact of it on Watson gives me pause.
Dehner: Hard to bet against Mike Tomlin facing a rookie quarterback, and the Ravens should take care of whatever the Raiders are attempting to do offensively. Jacksonville facing Cleveland is hard to figure, but Trevor Lawrence made some throws to keep hope alive in Week 1 and can carry the Jaguars. Can’t say the same for Watson right now, so give me the Jags. Hard to see the Bengals team from Sunday all of a sudden finding enough swagger to upset Patrick Mahomes, so I’ll take the Chiefs by three because every Burrow-Mahomes game must be decided by three points in perpetuity.
(Top photo of Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Fields: Cara Owsley, Brett Davis-Imagn Images / USA Today)
