AFC North: Week 10 Preview
Andy Dalton and the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Perennially one of the best divisions in football, the AFC North is one-step away from needing FEMA assistance in 2013.
In one of the strangest seasons the division has known, only the Cincinnati Bengals look likely to be playing in January. The Cleveland Browns continue to shock all by finding ways to win, and currently sit in second-place in the division heading into a bye week.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers continue to find ways to lose, with only three and two wins on the board respectively. The quality of their rosters though means that a prolonged stretch of wins could have either of them competing for a wild card berth. The problem is, realistically speaking if either loses just one more game they’re done for the year. Both face stiff tests on Sunday.
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD, 1:00 p.m. ET (matchup)
Joe Flacco needs a lot of support.
Baltimore (3-5 2-1 home) will look to keep its slim playoff hopes alive Sunday afternoon as it hosts division-leading Cincinnati (6-3, 2-3 road).
The Ravens are coming off three straight losses, including a pair to division rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland. A win over the Bengals could breathe new life into their season, but they’ll need to protect quarterback Joe Flacco if they’re to get anything out of Sunday’s game.
Flacco has been sacked 25 times this season, a trend that has led to problems throwing the football. His 10 touchdowns re almost offset by nine interceptions on the season. Flacco in turn could benefit from the emergence of a running game. The Ravens are averaging just 71.6 yards per game on the ground, ranking them 29th in the league.
Cincinnati travels to Baltimore on the back of an overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins that saw quarterback Andy Dalton sacked for a safety on the final play of the game. Before that, the Bengals had won four straight and six of seven, including division wins over the Steelers and Browns.
Returning to winning ways will require a stellar performance from what has been an effective offense for much of the season. Dalton has fared well as the Bengals average 273 passing yards per game, good enough for seventh in the league.
The Bengals will need to get past a few injury worries, significantly a season-ending ACL injury to DT Geno Atkins. Cincinnati ranks in the league’s top 10 defensively in rushing yards, passing yards, and points allowed, which should stand them in good stead against Baltimore’s spluttering offense.
Get Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens odds and trends now
Cincinnati (-113) opened as a favorite over Baltimore (+102) when the moneyline opened earlier this week.
The Bengals defeated the Ravens 23-17 last December, snapping a four-game losing streak against their division opponents. Baltimore leads the all-time head-to-head series 19-15, which includes a 12-5 record at home.
The spread opened at 1.5. Some sportsbooks still have it there while others have shortened it to just 1.
Cincinnati (5-3-1 ATS) has fared well against the spread this season, something that is less the case for Baltimore (3-5-0 ATS). The Ravens have failed to cover the spread in three of their last four games. The Bengals are 3-2-1 ATS in their last six trips to M&T Bank Stadium.
The over/under opened at 42 and has climbed to 44.5 ahead of kickoff.
Cincinnati (5-4-0) has marginally favored the over this season while Baltimore (2-5-1) has favored the under. The total has gone under in four of Cincinnati’s last six trips to Charm City.
Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA, 1:00 p.m. ET (matchup)
Ben Roethlisberger leads the Steelers against the Bills.
In recent years, the Buffalo Bills (3-6, 1-3 road) have been horrible on the road. The Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6, 1-2 home) will be hoping that trend remains true after Sunday’s showdown at Heinz Field.
With five of their last eight games at home and two road games against division foes, the Steelers could still turn their own horrible season around. It’s going to take a lot of work. The team lost its second straight last weekend against the New England Patriots, but there were certainly signs of life, offensively at least. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 400 yards in that game with a pair of touchdowns offset by a pair of interceptions. The Steelers scored a season-high31 points, which might have meant a win had the Patriots offense not unexpectedly come alive.
The Bills won’t put up 55 points on the Steelers, and with the status of rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel (knee) still in question – it looks likely he’ll start for the first time in four weeks but nothing has been confirmed – the Steelers should fancy their chances in this one.
The Bills meanwhile will be looking to salvage their own season after two straight losses and four in the last five. A win would send the team to 2-2 against AFC North opponents this season, having beaten Baltimore but lost to Cleveland and Cincinnati.
Get Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers odds and trends now
Pittsburgh (-170) opened as the moneyline favorite over Buffalo (+145), but that gap has started to shrink as we approach kickoff.
The Steelers have beaten the Bills in four straight games and taken eight of the last meetings dating back to November 1993, just prior to the Bills’ last Super Bowl appearance. The Bills are 2-9 all-time in Pittsburgh, with their last win in the Steel City coming in a division playoff game in January 1993.
The spread opened at 4 but has subsequently fallen to 3.
Neither side has fared well against the spread this season. Pittsburgh (2-6-0 ATS) has covered the spread just once at home while Buffalo (5-4-0 ATS) has covered just once on the road. The Steelers are 9-1-0 ATS in their last 10 encounters with Buffalo, including a 5-0-0 ATS record at Heinz Field.
The over/under opened at 41 and has risen to as high as 44 since.
Pittsburgh (3-5-0) has favored the under this season while Buffalo (6-3-0) has favored the over. The total has gone under in 12 of Pittsburgh’s last 14 games all told. The total has also gone under in seven of the last 10 meetings between the Steelers and Bills, including five of six played in Pittsburgh.
Cleveland Browns Take a Bye
Rob Chudzinski’s Browns have been a surprise.
The Cleveland Browns (4-5) enter the bye week sitting pretty in second-place, just two games back of the Bengals and one-half game ahead of the Ravens. That’s a position few people predicted going into the season. In fact, that’s a position few would have expected as this season has progressed.
The Browns have somehow coupled together a respectable season despite starting three different quarterbacks, despite trading former No. 1 pick Trent Richardson, and despite having no discernible running game. Sure the Browns are benefitting from down years for both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but this is a team that has some pride and respect about it.
This week the Browns were visited by Hall of Famer Michael Irving, who administered some supportive and motivational words to a team that is so desperate to turn the corner.
Meanwhile, a war of words (of sorts) broke out between Browns receiver Greg Little and Ravens safety James Ihedigbo after Little accused Ihedigbo of choking him at the bottom of a scrum. The Ravens player denied accusations but video footage doesn’t shed a positive light on these denials. Sadly, the Browns and Ravens are done with each other for the rest of the season, barring some kind of playoff miracle, so these two won’t get to tangle any time soon.
The Browns return to action next Sunday, taking a road trip to Cincinnati in hope of avenging a 17-6 loss to the Bengals in Week 4.
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