AFC North Preview Week 3: Ravens and Bengals still in search of first win; Steelers seeking 3-0

Taking a look ahead for the AFC North division in Week 3.

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-0)

The only undefeated team in the division will take on its toughest test season thus far when Jim Harbaugh and the new-look Los Angeles Chargers who are also without a loss and are comprised of several former Ravens players and coaches comes to town. It will mark the Steelers home opener and should be a hard-hitting battle between a pair team who like to win in old school fashion with stifling defense and a punishing run game.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Defensive Player of the Year candidate T.J. Watt will have their hands full with a resurgent J.K. Dobbins who leads the league in rushing and is averaging 133 yards on the ground per game and 9.9 yards per carry. This will mark the first meeting between these two teams since the 2021 season when a young Justin Herbert outdueled an aging Ben Roethlisberger in a 41-37 shootout in his final season as the franchise quarterback for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers are heading into this game relatively healthy, with only four players listed on their initial injury report Wednesday who weren’t just given rest days. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson remains the biggest name on it, having been a limited participant with a calf. Tomlin already proclaimed the team is continuing to prepare for quarterback Justin Fields to start for the third week in a row. The most potentially impactful is on the offensive line with starting guard Isaac Seumalo not participating due to a pectoral that has kept him out of the first two games. The only other players listed were rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson who was a limited participant with an ankle injury and veteran tight end MyCole Pruitt who didn’t take part in practice due to a knee injury.

Cleveland Browns (1-1)

After notching their first win of the season in ugly fashion last week, the Browns are poised to potentially start a two-game win streak with an interconference matchup with the lowly New York Giants at home in Week 3. As was the case against the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday, starting quarterback Deshaun Watson likely won’t have to do a lot of work in this one as his defense will feast on the turnover-prone Daniel Jones which probably lead to defensive scores or at least multiple short fields without far to travel to get in field goal range.

Given that these two divisions only play each other during the regular season every four years, this will mark the first time these two teams will have met since 2020 when the Browns came away with a 20-6 victory and the Giants won the previous two matchups in 2016 and 2012.

The Browns had over a dozen players listed on their initial injury report including seven starters between both sides of the ball. Those who did not take the practice field on Wednesday included tight end David Njoku (ankle), defensive end Myles Garrett (foot), offensive tackle Dawand Jones (knee), running back Pierre Strong Jr. (hamstring) and wide receiver Jamari Thrash (illness). The limited and full participants are listed below:

• OT Jedrick Wills (knee)
• CB Martin Emerson (ankle/shoulder)
• LS Charley Hughlett (foot)
• WR Jerry Jeudy (knee)
• DE Ogbo Okoronkwo (concussion protocol)
• OT Jack Conklin (knee)
• DE Alex Wright (triceps/elbow)
• LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee)
• DE Za’Darius Smith (back)
• CB Denzel Ward (shoulder)

Cincinnati Bengals (0-2)

Despite coming off a second straight loss to open the season, most of the league is still high on the Bengals because they nearly beat the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in their own house. The Bengals will have a much easier path to notching their first victory in Week 3 when they host the Washington Commanders in the second game of the Monday Night Football doubleheader.

This will mark the first meeting between these two teams since 2020 during Joe Burrow’s rookie season and it wound up being his last game of the year because he suffered a torn ACL. To add insult to literally injury, the Bengals lost the game by a double-digit margin of 20-9.

The Bengals’ initial injury report will not be coming out until after Thursday’s practice since they don’t play on Sunday but the top injury status to watch will be that of star wide receiver Tee Higgins who has missed the first two games of the season with a hamstring issue.

Baltimore Ravens (0-2)

The reigning AFC North champions are still searching for their first win of the season after suffering a stunning loss to the Las Vegas Raiders in their home opener this past Sunday. They will also be facing an NFC East opponent in an interconference matchup when they hit the road to take on the Dallas Cowboys who are aren’t winless but are reeling from a shocking defeat at home at the hands of the New Orleans Saints this past week.

This will be the first time that these two teams have met since facing off on a rare Tuesday night showdown due to COVID-19 exposures in Week 13 of the 2020 season. That game resulted in a 34-17 win for the Ravens, who have only lost one game to an NFC opponent since Lamar Jackson became the full-time starter midway through his rookie year.

The Ravens are entering this must-win game pretty healthy with just eight players listed on the initial injury report although two were listed with personal preseasons and not any ailments of any kind. Those who didn’t practice included veteran outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (eye/groin), first-round rookie cornerback Nate Wiggins (neck/concussion), defensive back Kyle Hamilton (back) and left tackle Ronnie Stanley (ankle). Third-round rookie edge rusher Adisa Isaac (hamstring) was the lone full participant and former All Pro returner Deonte Harty (calf) was a limited participant.