AFC North Preview Week 4: Ravens face toughest test in prime time; Bengals looking for first win

Taking a look ahead for the AFC North division in Week 4.

Pittsburgh Steelers (3-0)

The only undefeated team in the division will be back on the road for the third time in the first four weeks to take on the Indianapolis Colts (1-2). In this AFC showdown, head Coach Mike Tomlin and Defensive Player of the Year candidate T.J. Watt will have the challenge of trying to limit mercurial yet gifted second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson but can keep him off the field and limit his possessions by pounding the rock in the ground game on offense against one of the worst rush defenses in the league. This will mark the third straight year in a row these two teams will face off with each earning a win and Colts most recently in a commanding 30-13 triumph of Week 15 last season. Pittsburgh won the 2022 matchup decisively in Week 12 with a score of 24-17.

The Steelers are heading into this game relatively healthy, with only eight of the 15 players listed on their Thursday injury report who weren’t just given veteran rest days. Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson remains the biggest name on it as he remains a limited participant with a calf which means Justin Fields is likely to start for the fourth week in a row. Those who have not participated in practice due to injury include running back Jaylen Warren (knee), outside linebacker Alex Highsmith (groin) and tight end MyCole Pruitt (knee). Rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson (ankle) is in line to make his NFL debut after being a full participant on back-to-back days. Veteran starting guard Isaac Seumalo (pectoral) was a limited participant and safety Deshon Elliott (quadricep) improved from being limited on Wednesday to participating fully on Thursday. Veteran wideout Van Jefferson (eye) was also a full participant.

Baltimore Ravens (1-2)

The reigning AFC North champions are coming off notching their first win of the season over the Dallas Cowboys and will face their toughest test to date this week. The red-hot and undefeated Buffalo Bills (3-0) are coming to town for a primetime showdown between two of the AFC’s top contenders on Sunday Night Football. Led by MVP-favorite Josh Allen, the Bills will be playing a second straight nationally televised game on a somewhat short after having just played on Monday Night Football where they thoroughly thrashed the winless Jacksonville Jaguars.

This will be the first time these two teams have met in two years since Week 4 of the 2022 season when the Bills rallied back to erase a double-digit deficit and left Baltimore with a 23-20 victory on a walk-off field goal as time expired.

The Ravens are entering this big game a little banged with nine players listed on Thursday’s injury report including three members of the starting offensive line but only one sat out of practice on both days. After not practicing on Wednesday, Pro Bowl center Tyler Linerbaum (knee) and right tackle Patrick Mekari (neck) returned as limited and full participants while left guard Andrew Vorhees (ankle) missed both days. Third-year pro and starting right guard Daniel Faalele (hip) was the only member of the starting offensive line listed who practiced fully on both days. The only other who didn’t practice both days was cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring). Defensive tackle Michael Pierce (shoulder) and linebacker Roquan Smith (ankle) went from either not practicing or being limited to being full participants on Thursday. Other full participants for both days included linebacker Josh Ross (hip) and defensive back Ar’Darius Washington (ankle).

Cleveland Browns (1-2)

Coming off yet another uninspiring loss to an NFC East team at home, the Browns will begin a three-game road stint by traveling to Sin City to take on the almost equally underwhelming Las Vegas Raiders (1-2) who came down off their high of beating the Ravens in Week 2 and fell flat on their faces this past Sunday. There likely won’t be a lot of eyes outside of Ohio or Nevada on this game but victory will improve to .500 and earn a much-needed win over an AFC opponent to keep slim playoff hopes alive.

This will mark the first time these two teams will have met in three years since 2021 when the Raiders came away with a narrow 16-14 victory and have won each of their last three meetings prior to that dating back to the 2015 season.

The Browns had over a dozen players listed on their initial injury report again including 11 starters between both sides of the ball. Those who did not take the practice field on Wednesday included offensive tackle Jack Conklin (knee), tight end David Njoku (ankle), defensive end Myles Garrett (foot), Jerome Ford (knee), linebacker Jordan Hicks (ribs/elbow), offensive tackle Jedrick Wills (knee) and running back Pierre Strong Jr. (hamstring). The limited and full participants are listed below:

OT Dawand Jones (knee)

OG Joel Bitnonio (knee)

OG Javion Cohen (knee)

OT James Hudson (shoulder)

WR Jerry Jeudy (knee)

DE Alex Wright (triceps/elbow)

LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (hand)

DT Davlin Tomlinson (thigh)

CB Denzel Ward (shoulder)

Cincinnati Bengals (0-3)

After coming up short at home yet against another opponent they were heavily favored to beat, the boisterous Bengals remain the only winless team in the division. They will now be hitting the road in search of notching their first victory of the season over a Carolina Panthers that is riding high after winning their first game of the year. They will be led by a familiar face in former Bengals franchise quarterback Andy Dalton.

This will mark the first meeting between these two teams in two years since the 2022 season when the Bengals hosted the Panthers and trounced them in a 42-21 blowout. Given how poor Cincinnati’s defense looked trying to stop rookie Jayden Daniel on Monday Night Football earlier this week and how much more efficient the Panthers’ offense looked with Dalton under center this past Sunday, this could wind up being a shootout between the current and former face of the Bengals franchise.

The Bengals’ second injury report had nine players listed on it with the only players sitting out of Thursday’s practice being starting right tackle Trent Brown (knee), defensive end Trey Hendrickson (illness), defensive tackle B.J. Hill (hamstring), tight end Tanner Hudson (knee) and Sheldon Rankins (hamstring). Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (shoulder) went from being a limited participant on Wednesday to joining quarterback Joe Burrow (wrist), linebacker Joe Bachie (wrist) and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins Jr. (thumb) as full participants on Thursday.