The Pittsburgh Steelers got Week 11 of the NFL regular season underway Thursday night with a big home win over the Tennessee Titans and since then, two other AFC North teams also secured victories on Sunday.
The Baltimore Ravens moved their season record to 5-5 Sunday afternoon with a 23-0 road shutout of the Green Bay Packers, the Steelers next opponent. It was the third shutout of the season for the Ravens, who are currently the No. 6 seed in the AFC.
In Sunday’s win, the Ravens defense intercepted Packers quarterback Brett Hundley three times in addition to recovering two fumbles. The Ravens defense also sacked Hundley six times during the game. Ravens defensive backs Marlon Humphrey, Jimmy Smith and Eric Weddle recorded the team’s three interceptions.
Offensively for the Ravens, quarterback Joe Flacco completed 22 of his 28 total pass attempts against the Packers for 183 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His lone scoring toss of the game went to wide receiver Mike Wallace from 21 yards out in the third quarter and it put the Ravens ahead 13-0. Wallace ended the game with four receptions for 56 yards.
Ravens running back Alex Collins, who rushed for 49 yards on 20 carries against the Packers, closed out Baltimore’s scoring Sunday with a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:12 left in the fourth quarter.
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker connected on three field goals in Sundays win as well.
The Cleveland Browns were the only AFC North team that failed to win in Week 11 as they lost 19-7 at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The loss now dropped the still-winless Browns to 0-10 on the season.
Browns rookie quarterback Deshone Kizer completed just 16 of his 32 total pass attempts for 179 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars. Kizer also fumbled away the football twice on Sunday with the last of the two being ultimately recovered by the Jaguars defense in the end zone for a touchdown with 1:14 left in the fourth quarter.
Kizer’s lone touchdown pass went to Browns running back Duke Johnson with 11:28 left in the second quarter. Johnson, who only rushed for 10 yards on two carries Sunday, caught four passes for 56 yards in a losing effort. Browns wide receiver Corey Coleman led all Cleveland pass catchers Sunday with six receptions for 80 yards.
The Browns defense played reasonably well in their Sunday loss, however, as they held the Jaguars offense to 284 net yards. That unit did, however, allow Jaguars rookie running back Leonard Fournette to rush for 111 yards on 28 total carries. The Browns defense sacked Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, who threw for just 154 yards Sunday, twice during the game.
The Cincinnati Bengals were the third and final AFC North team to notch a win in Week 11 thanks to them beating the Denver Broncos 20-17 Sunday on the road. The win moved the Bengals to 4-6 on the season and they’re currently the No. 10 seed in the AFC with six games remaining.
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton completed 15 of his 25 total pass attempts for 154 yards and three touchdowns against the Broncos. Those three scoring tosses went to wide receivers A.J. Green and Alex Erickson and tight end Tyler Kroft. Green led the Bengals in receiving Sunday as he caught four passes from Dalton for 50 yards.
Bengals rookie running back Joe Mixon rushed for 49 yards on 20 carries in a winning effort and the Bengals offense didn’t turn the football over at all on their way to registering just 190 net yards of offense.
The Bengals defense recorded two turnovers Sunday with one coming via an interception and another via a fumble. That unit also sacked Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler three times on Sunday with defensive end Carlos Dulap registering two of them.
Osweiler, by the way, finished the game with 254 yards passing on 23 total completions with one touchdown and an interception. His lone scoring toss went to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas from 17 yards out with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter. The Broncos only other touchdown in the game, a 3-yard run by running back C.J. Anderson, came late in the first quarter.
As far as Week 12 AFC North action goes, the Bengals will host the Browns Sunday afternoon while the Ravens will host the 4-6 Houston Texans next Monday night. As previously mentioned, the Steelers will host the 5-5 Packers Sunday night.
