The Bengals had Week 9 off but the two other AFC North teams in the playoff hunt were clashing with the Steelers in Baltimore to play the
Ravens. A Steelers win would mean their hold of first place in the division
would remain
Color Rush Trayveon Williams Jersey , while a win for the Ravens would have put the Bengals in first place in the division coming out of the bye.With the
Bengals hosting the Saints next week, they want every leg up in the standings
that they could get. As the season’s end draws closer, the Bengals will want to
try and take first place from the Steelers so that they can play a playoff game
in Cincinnati. But, the Steelers won and now remain in first place in the
division. Here’s a look at how things played out in Week 9 for the Steelers,
Ravens, and Browns who hosted the Chiefs.Pittsburgh Steelers (First place in the
AFC North)The Steelers led for most of the game thanks to solid efforts from Ben
Roethlisberger and James Conner. Big Ben threw 47 passes, completing 28 of them
and tossing two touchdowns, while Conner gained more than 150 total yards on the
day.Even though the Ravens made a valiant push at the end, the Steelers were
able to hold on and beat their division foes, 23-16.The Steelers are now 5-2-1,
and the tie with Cleveland in Week 1 is making everything more complicated. But
since they have the same number of wins than the Bengals and one fewer loss, the
Steelers will stay in first place by means of a better win percentage. NFL ties
count as both a half win and half loss when calculating standings. The Steelers’
only division game left in the regular season is the showdown with the Bengals
at Heinz Field in Week 17, which could be the first of two such meetings in a
row if the current playoff standings hold.Baltimore Ravens (Third place in the
AFC North)Even though the Ravens were only down by one score, they were unable
to complete the comeback against he Steelers. The Ravens’ running game was
abysmal
Trayveon Williams Jersey 2019 , netting only 61 yards on 16 attempts between four different players. Joe Flacco could not make up for the lack of ground
game, and only passed for 216 yards and no touchdowns. He played one of his
worst games of the season.Ty Montgomery — who the Ravens just traded for this
week — was not active, but should be when the Bengals play the Ravens in Week
11, following Baltimore’s Week 10 bye. The Ravens are now 4-5 with their only
division win coming against the Steelers in Week 4. They could have had a chance
to climb up the standings with a win against Pittsburgh, before going into their
Week 10 bye. With the loss, the Ravens could have a hard time making up the lost
ground, and will now head into their bye with their first losing record this
season.Cleveland Browns (Fourth place in AFC North)With interim head coach Gregg
Williams at the helm for the first time, the Browns predictably lost to the
Chiefs in blowout fashion.Patrick Mahomes passed for 375 yards and three
touchdowns in the Chiefs’ 37-point day, and the Browns losing one of their best
defenders, Denzel Ward, didn’t help. Even though rookies Baker Mayfield and Nick
Chubb had good days on offense, they couldn’t even make it a close game. The
Chiefs came out on top, 37-21. The Browns’ season is all but over after parting
ways with now-former head coach Hue Jackson. They are too far behind to
realistically make a playoff push. They do have two games against the Bengals
and one more game agains the Ravens, so they could play spoiler to one of their
division rivals later on this season.AFC North standings heading into Week
10:Steelers: 5-2-1 (3-1-1 in division
Trayveon Williams Cincinnati Bengals Jersey , 2-2-1 in conference)Bengals: 5-3 (1-1 in division, 3-2 in conference)Ravens: 4-5 (1-3 in division, 4-3 in
conference)Browns: 2-6-1 (1-1-1 in division, 2-4-1 in conference) Andy Dalton
made the Bengals' new offense look like a comfortable fit.Working out of
Cincinnati's reconfigured playbook, Dalton threw a pair of touchdown passes
during a 30-27 victory over the Chicago Bears on Thursday night at half-empty
Paul Brown Stadium.The Bengals (1-0) were last in the league on offense last
season, the worst finish in franchise history. They overhauled their leaky
offensive line, and coordinator Bill Lazor injected more diversity into the
playbook. It showed the first time out."That's what we wanted to do," Dalton
said. "If we go out and play like we're supposed to play, it can look like
that."Dalton went 6 of 8 for 103 yards, completing four passes of at least 20
yards. He also had an interception that wasn't his fault — John Ross fell on his
route and Kyle Fuller returned the pickoff 47 yards to the end zone.The Bengals
are hoping that Ross and running back Joe Mixon — their top two picks last
season — emerge in the redesigned offense during their second seasons.Ross had a
20-yard catch. Mixon — moved into the starring role with Jeremy Hill gone — made
the game's most impressive play. He caught a short pass, stiff-armed one
defender and spun away from another for a 24-yard touchdown .The Bears (0-2)
rested most of their starters during a 17-16 loss to the Ravens in the Hall of
Fame Game, including quarterback Mitchell Trubisky . His preseason debut
Thursday didn't go very well."We expect to be better," Trubisky said. "We were
sloppy and that's not how we want to play."Trubisky was in for two series that
netted minus-1 yard on eight plays. The Bears' only first down on those series
came on Carlos Dunlap's penalty for roughing the quarterback, a late hit on
Trubisky. He missed on a deep sideline pass to Kevin White on his opening throw
and finished 2 of 4 for 4 yards."There was nothing extraordinary
Renell Wren Cincinnati Bengals Jersey , but nothing bad," first-year coach Matt Nagy said. "This is so early for him right now. It'll be fun to get him more
snaps and get him into a rhythm."EMPTY SEATSAttendance was 35,633, slightly more
than half-capacity at the 65,535-seat stadium. Last year, the Bengals drew
44,495 for their first home preseason game. They're coming off two straight
losing seasons.LOOKING GOODTyler Bray had a 56-yard completion to Daniel Brown
during a 92-yard touchdown drive that put the Bears ahead in the fourth quarter.
Bray finished 18 of 27 for 219 yards. The Bears signed him from Kansas City,
where he was familiar with Nagy's offense.INTERESTING CHOICENagy decided to try
for a tying field goal with 45 seconds left. Cody Parkey missed a 52-yard
try.NATIONAL ANTHEMThere were no protests. Bears players, coaches and staff
stood with arms linked for the anthem. Bengals players stood by themselves on
the sideline.PRESEASON TRICKERYThe Bengals pulled off a fake punt in the second
quarter, with safety Clayton Fejedelem going 49 yards after a direct snap. He
finished as Cincinnati's leading rusher with the one run.HEADS UPChicago's
Demarcus Ayers and Fejedelem drew personal fouls for lowering their heads during
tackles.INJURIESBears: LB Josh Woods suffered a hand injury in the first half
and didn't return.Bengals: LB Vincent Rey hurt his right ankle while blocking on
a punt return and was helped off the field in the first quarter. He didn't
return.NEXT UPBears: Play at Denver on Saturday, Aug. 18.Bengals: Play at Dallas
on Saturday, Aug. 18.
