AFC North Preview Week 16: Ravens host Steelers; Bengals play Browns in 2nd Battle of Ohio

Taking a look ahead for the AFC North division in Week 16.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4)

Coming off a loss in a physical interconference matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, the AFC North-leading Steelers’ will have a second-straight away game on a short week when they travel to Charm City to face the Ravens on Saturday evening with a chance to all but sew up the division crown in Week 16. Pittsburgh has won eight of the last nine matchups in this storied rivalry including each of the last four and with a win, would pull off a regular-season sweep for the second year in a row.

In the first meeting of the season between these two teams saw the Steelers forced three tide-turning turnovers and bottled up the Ravens running game compared to their usually dominant standard, yielding 124 yards on the ground to a team that averages 178.4 per game.

The Steelers are entering this matchup with some key injuries and have already ruled out two players on Thursday. The most notable and impactful was wide receiver George Pickens (hamstring) who leads the team in receiving yards and will miss his third straight game. Backup quarterback Justin Fields (abdominal) was also ruled out and starting safety DeShon Elliott (hamstring) is listed as doubtful to play. All Pro outside linebacker TJ Watt (ankle) is expected to play after being removed from the final report while defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (groin) and cornerback Donte Jackson (back) are listed as questionable.

Baltimore Ravens (9-5)

The reigning AFC North champions are heading to a must-win home game against their archrivals with not only their pride on line having lost four straight to the Steelers dating back to the 2022 season. If they want any chance of repeating as division champs and hosting at least one playoff game, they have to come out on top on Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. Unlike Pittsburgh who is coming off a hard-fought loss to an NFC East team, Baltimore was able to notch a dominant tune-up win over the New York Giants this past Sunday in which they got to pull most of their starters early in the fourth quarter.

The Ravens haven’t won a home game against the Steelers since the 2019 regular-season finale in which several starters sat after the team had locked up the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage. A Robert-Griffin III-led squad of mostly reserves defeated a Steelers team with everything to play for on a rainy night 28-10. A win on Saturday would mark the first home win over Pittsburgh of Lamar Jackson’s career since becoming the full-time starter midway through his rookie season in 2018.

The Ravens are in pretty good health heading into this huge matchup despite having nine of the 11 players listed on their injury report for non-personal reasons. Only two players were ruled out on Thursday’s final report with cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) being the only one dealing with an actual injury while wide receiver Diontae Johnson won’t be playing after mutually agreeing to not partake in team activities this week. Despite not practicing all week, wide receiver Nelson Agholor (concussion) is listed as questionable to play as is wide receiver Rashod Bateman (foot), outside linebacker Odafe Oweh (ankle) and offensive guard Daniel Faalele (knee).

Cincinnati Bengals (6-8)

Fresh off of notching consecutive victories for just the second time this season, the Bengals will be aiming to keep their slim playoff hopes alive for another week in the second edition of the Battle of Ohio. While they remain winless against teams with a winning record, after dispatching the Tennessee Titans last week, they are now 6-1 this season against teams who are below .500 and the Browns are coming to town with a measly record of 3-11 so the odds are likely in their favor to pull off a regular season sweep for the first time since the 2017 season.

The first meeting between these two teams this season was all the way back in Week 7 in what would be the last start of Deshaun Watson’s 2024 campaign and likely final as the Browns’ starter as he suffered a season-ending torn Achilles. While the Bengals got a glimpse of the Jamies Winston Browns experience in the second half of that game, they’ll get a full four quarters on Sunday. With how putrid their defense has been this season, a shootout between Joe Burrow and his fellow former No. 1 overall pick is very plausible.

Cincinnati is pretty banged up heading into this pivotal divisional matchup with nine players listed in Wednesday’s initial injury report for not-rest-related reasons. Of the four players who sat out of practice, defensive end Sam Hubbard certainly won’t be suiting up as he suffered a torn PCL in Week 15 while. The other three were defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) and Kris Jenkins Jr. (illness) and offensive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula). The limited and full participants are listed below:

WR Charlie Jones (groin)

DB Geno Stone (shoulder)

QB Joe Burrow (right wrist/knee)

OG Alex Kappa (concussion)

OL Cody Ford (illness)

Cleveland Browns (3-11)

With a season-high six turnovers that started on the first punt of the game and ended on their final possession, the Jameis Winston-led Browns could not pull off an upset of the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at home last week. Now they will hit the road looking to avenge their loss earlier in the season and at least split the regular season series for the second year in a row on Sunday afternoon.

For the first time in a while, Cleveland doesn’t have anywhere near a dozen players listed on their initial injury report. Of their seven players dealing with ailments, only three sat out of the first day of practice while the rest were either limited or full participants. The trio who didn’t participate consisted of cornerback Martin Emerson Jr. (concussion), defensive tackle Shelby Harris (elbow) and tight end David Njoku (hamstring). The limited and full participants are listed below:

QB Jameis Winston (right shoulder)

CB Cameron Mitchell (knee)

WR Cedric Tillman (concussion)

WR Jerry Jeudy (knee)