• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Baltimore Sports Today

Baltimore Sports News Continuously Updated

  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Johns Hopkins
    • Morgan State
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland

AFC North Recap: Week 1

September 15, 2021 by Baltimore Beatdown Leave a Comment

Minnesota Vikings v Cincinnati Bengals
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The first week of the 2021 NFL season is officially in the books. Two teams from the AFC North emerged victorious to start the season, while the other two fell just short in the two best games of the week.

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0)

The Steelers came out on top against the Bills by a score of 23-16 in an ugly, defensive battle. Concerns regarding Pittsburgh’s offense featuring an almost entirely new offensive line were not eased on Sunday. It was the defense and special teams that pulled this game out for the Steelers.

Pittsburgh’s ferocious pass rush, led by outside linebacker T.J. Watt, made life extremely difficult for quarterback Josh Allen. The 2020 MVP candidate was limited to just one touchdown on a day with 51 pass attempts. It was a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown that made the biggest difference in the game, however.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 188 yards and one touchdown, but like Allen, struggled throughout the game. The offensive line of the Steelers was unable to open holes for first-round rookie running back Najee Harris as he averaged just 2.8 yards per carry on 16 rushes.

Cincinnati Bengals (1-0)

The Bengals won a thriller in overtime against the Vikings, 27-23. Quarterback Joe Burrow laid to rest any concerns after returning from a season-ending ACL injury.

Despite being sacked five times, Burrow had a solid day through the air, throwing for 261 yards and two touchdowns on 27 attempts. Rookie first-round wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase made everyone forget his preseason struggles as he caught five passes for 101 yards and a deep touchdown in his debut. Running back Joe Mixon had a strong day as well, rushing for 127 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries.

Defensive end B.J. Hill had two sacks on quarterback Kirk Cousins. Cincinnati traded for the 2018 third-round pick from the Giants in August.

Cleveland Browns (0-1)

After jumping out to an early lead, the Browns could not prevent the Chiefs from marching back. Cleveland went blow-for-blow with Kansas City until a fumble by running back Nick Chubb swung the fate of the game, leading to a 33-29 loss.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield played an efficient game until throwing a game-losing interception with just over a minute left in regulation. The Browns ran the ball effectively on offense for much of the contest, but crucial mistakes cost them the game in the end.

Patrick Mahomes torched Cleveland’s defense for 337 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tyreek Hill while the Browns led by nine in the fourth quarter.

Baltimore Ravens (0-1)

The Ravens opened the season on the wrong foot with a 33-27 overtime loss to the Raiders on Monday Night Football. In the end, Baltimore could not overcome poor pass blocking and critical mistakes on both sides of the ball.

The new-look offensive line struggled mightily against defensive ends Maxx Crosby and former Raven Yannick Ngakoue. The duo of left tackle Ronnie Stanley and right tackle Alejandro Villanueva allowed 19 pressures on the night, according to PFF. Quarterback Lamar Jackson made some incredible plays despite this, including a dazzling highlight-reel touchdown throw to wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. Jackson was not without fault, however, as he fumbled twice in the game, including in overtime.

Baltimore’s defense started the night strong. Slowly over the course of the game, however, quarterback Derek Carr found a rhythm and the defense was unable to contain tight end Darren Waller. In the end, the defense allowed a walk-off touchdown to wide receiver Zay Jones, who was wide-open behind the defense in overtime.

Filed Under: Ravens

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Vancouver Whitecaps Coachella Invitational Preview Part Two
  • Everything MLS Fans Need to Know About MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
  • Commanders announce interview with Anthony Lynn for OC
  • Jerry Jones confirms Mike McCarthy will call offensive plays
  • Bucs interview Ronald Curry for offensive coordinator

Categories

  • Baseball
    • Nationals
    • Orioles
  • Basketball
    • Mystics
    • Wizzards
  • Capitals
  • Colleges
    • George Mason
    • George Washington University
    • Georgetown
    • Howard
    • Morgan State
    • Navy
    • Towson
    • University of Maryland
  • Football
    • Ravens
    • Redskins
  • Soccer
    • Blast
    • D.C. United
    • Spirit

Archives

Our Partners

All Sports

  • 247 Sports
  • Bleacher Report
  • CBS Baltimore
  • Forgotten 5
  • NBC Sports Washington
  • Maryland Sports Blog
  • OurSports Central
  • PressBoxOnline.com
  • The Baltimore Sun
  • The Baltimore Wire
  • The Sports Daily
  • The Sports Fan Journal
  • The Spun
  • USA Today
  • Washington Post
  • Washington Times

Baseball

  • MLB.com - Orioles
  • MLB.com - Nationals
  • Baltimore Baseball
  • Birds Watcher
  • Camden Chat
  • District On Deck
  • Federal Baseball
  • Last Word On Baseball - Nationals
  • Last Word On Baseball - Orioles
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Nationals
  • MLB Trade Rumors - Orioles
  • Nationals Arm Race
  • Orioles Hangout

Basketball

  • NBA.com
  • WNBA.com
  • Amico Hoops
  • Bullets Forever
  • High Post Hoops
  • Hoops Hype
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Last Word On Pro Basketball
  • Pro Basketball Talk
  • Real GM
  • Wiz Of Awes

Football

  • Baltimore Ravens
  • Washington Redskins
  • Baltimore Beatdown
  • Baltimore Gridiron Report
  • Ebony Bird
  • Hogs Haven
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Washington Commanders
  • Last Word On Pro Football - Baltimore Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Ravens
  • NFL Trade Rumors - Redskins
  • Our Turf Football - Ravens
  • Our Turf Football - Redskins
  • Pro Football Rumors - Ravens
  • Pro Football Rumors - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Redskins
  • Pro Football Talk - Ravens
  • Redskins Gab
  • Ravens Wire
  • Redskins Wire
  • Riggos Rag
  • Total Ravens

Hockey

  • Washington Capitals
  • Elite Prospects
  • Japers Rink
  • Last Word On Hockey
  • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Talk
  • Stars And Sticks
  • The Hockey Writers

Soccer

  • Baltimore Blast
  • Black And Red United
  • Last Word on Soccer - DC United
  • Last Word on Soccer - Spirit
  • MLS Multiplex

College

  • Big East Coast Bias
  • Busting Brackets
  • Casual Hoya
  • College Football News
  • College Sports Madness
  • Fourth Estate
  • GW Hatchet
  • Saturday Blitz
  • The Diamondback
  • The Hilltop
  • The Hoya
  • Testudo Times
  • Zags Blog

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in