AFC North race tightens after Week 7’s results

Jared Mueller
·2 min read
3

The Cleveland Browns have not had the kind of start to the 2021 NFL season that they were hoping for. Their first two losses were close against teams that also have high expectations. While the Kansas City Chiefs have fallen off, the Los Angeles Chargers are fighting atop the conference.

The blowout loss to the undefeated Arizona Cardinals was disheartening and came with the added concern related to Baker Mayfield injuring his shoulder even further.

Despite all of that, after Week 7, all of the Browns goals are still within reach. In particular, the AFC North race tightened up with the Cincinnati Bengals dominating the Baltimore Ravens 41 – 17 on the road.

The Bengals are the big surprise early in the 2021 season. Their week 7 beatdown of the Ravens is their biggest win but they have also taken out the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers this year. Their loss to the Chicago Bears is surprising, looking back, but losing close to Green Bay (a game with multiple missed field goals) is a respectable loss.

The Ravens had ripped off five straight victories with quality wins against the Chiefs and Chargers, both the week after those teams beat the Browns in close games. Baltimore’s season-opening loss to the Las Vegas Raiders was a tough blow but the Raiders have played well this season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a big win in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills before dropping three straight against quality teams. They have bounced back with wins against Denver and the Russell Wilson-less Seattle Seahawks.

Going into Week 8, the Bengals and Ravens are tied at the top of the AFC North with the Browns one game behind and the Steelers a game and a half back. The division is the only one in the NFL with every team at .500 or better.

Cincinnati and Baltimore also sit tied atop the AFC for the best record at 5 – 2 putting Cleveland only one game back of the top of the entire conference.

With the Steelers and Bengals up the next two weeks, the Browns have a chance to stake their claim at the top of both the division and conference. Besides the back-to-back games against the Ravens around their bye, these two weeks could be the most important on Cleveland’s remaining schedule.