AFC North Preview Week 18: Ravens host banged-up Browns; Steelers take on surging Bengals

Taking a look ahead for the AFC North division in Week 18.

Baltimore Ravens (11-5)

Unlike most division leaders who already have their titles and playoff seeding secured, the reigning AFC North champions are heading into their regular-season finale at home with plenty to play for. The Ravens will kick off Week 18 against the lowly Browns and with a win, they would not only avenge one of their most frustrating upset losses of the season but clinch the division crown in back-to-back years for the first time since 2019. This divisional matchup will be the first of two between AFC North teams on Saturday on ESPN and ABC with a kickoff time of 4:30 p.m. EST.

The Ravens haven’t been swept by the Browns in a regular season since 2007 before the John Harbaugh era. In the first meeting of the season between these two rivals on the road in Week 8, the Ravens literally let the game slip through their fingers with multiple missed interception opportunities on defense before their incredible turnaround that started in Week 11.

The Ravens are in pretty good health heading into this matchup after having what essentially another mini-bye week since they last played on Christmas and got to rest most of their starters in the fourth quarter because they were blowing out the Houston Texans by multiple scores. They had eight players listed on their injury report for non-personal reasons and all but two of them will be available for Saturday’s game. The lone exceptions who were ruled out on Thursday were running back Justice Hill who is still dealing with the same illness that has spread throughout the team and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis who has been limited with a hamstring injury. Despite only practicing just once due to an illness, starting left guard Patrick Mekari is listed as questionable to play. Veteran wide receiver Nelson Agholor is slated to return to action after missing last weeks game with a concussion. Tight end Charlie Kolar is expected to back in action after being out of commission for over a month with broken arm and is listed as questionable as well.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6)

Coming off a mini bye after suffering a third straight loss to a legit Super Bowl contender, the Steelers will be looking to bounce back, gain some confidence heading into the postseason and possibly still win the division depending on what happens in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the nightcap. With a win, Pittsburgh would complete a regular season sweep of their rivals for the second season in a row and possibly secure the fifth-seed in the AFC playoffs if they lose out on winning the division which would mean they’d play the fourth-seeded Texans instead of having to go back to Baltimore of the second time in a month in the wildcard round.

In the first meeting of the season between these two teams, the Steelers had their best offensive outing of the season, with 520 yards of total offense, including a season-high 410 through the air and another 110 on the ground, in a 44-38 win. Even though their defense gave up a season-high in points, they generated three turnovers, including a 21-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

The Steelers are entering this matchup the healthiest they’ve been in nearly a month with eight of the 10 players listed on their injury report with actual ailments and only three won’t be suiting up. The trio who were ruled out on Friday include wide receiver Roman Wilson (hamstring), linebacker Cole Holcomb (knee) and defensive tackle Logan Lee (calf).

Cincinnati Bengals (8-8)

After extending their winning streak to four in a row with their first victory over an opponent with a record over .500 last Saturday, the Bengals will aim to keep their slim playoff hopes alive heading into the final Sunday, needing more help to get in. They will be trying to avoid getting swept by the Steelers and finish with a winning record themselves for the second week in a row.

In the first meeting between these two teams this season, the Bengals got on the board first with a defensive touchdown on a pick-six and Joe Burrow did his best to mount a comeback by throwing for over 300 passing yards and three touchdowns and has since thrown 12 touchdowns to just three picks over the last four games combined. He’ll need another explosive performance in the regular season finale to ensure his woeful defense doesn’t tank their season.

Cincinnati is relatively healthy heading into this must-win game with the most notable player listed on the injury report being second-year running back Chase Brown with am ankle injury but is listed as questionable which usually means he is expected to play. The only player who was unsurprisingly ruled out this week was defensive end Sam Hubbard who is dealing with a torn PCL. The five players who were listed as questionable include tight end Drew Sample (groin), wide receivers Tee Higgins (ankle/knee) and Charlie Jones (groin), offensive tackle Amarius Mims (ankle/hand) and cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt (ankle)

Cleveland Browns (3-13)

Following a fifth straight loss and third in which they failed to score more than 14 points, the Browns are deservingly double-digit underdogs to the division-leading Ravens on the road to close out the 2024 season. Having already been eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago, they have nothing more to play for than pride and the hopes of heading into the offseason on a high note by trying to pull off another shocking upset against an even more formidable version of the Ravens.

Cleveland is back to having a litany of injuries with over a dozen players listed on their injury report including their top two quarterbacks in veteran Jameis Winston (right shoulder) and second-year pro Dorian Thompsn-Robinson (calf). Both signal callers were among the limited participants in practice on the first two days of practice and on Friday, it was announced that the starter for the season finale will be Bailey Zappe. They will be without several key starters on both sides of the ball including running backs Jerome Ford (ankle) and Pierre Strong Jr. (concussion), cornerback Denzel Ward (shoulder), linebacker Jordan Hicks (concussion) and tight end David Njoku (hamstring). They have a half a dozen players listed as questionable along with Winston including defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo (knee), cornerback Cameron Mitchell (knee), defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson(knee). tight end Blake Whiteheart (knee) and wide receiver Mike Woods (knee).