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I am going to confuse here: the Pittsburgh Steelers will win the AFC North. Again.
Their routine strike against the Ravens Sunday in Baltimore, in a match that was not as close as the score of 23-16 could be indicated, was their last statement of intent that they were not, in fact, team that stumbled in September that included an uninspired defeat against the Ravens at home. But they have become a much more balanced team on both sides of the ball, the one with the most talent in this division, and they will hold at least one playoff game.
There are some truisms in the north of the AFC. The Steelers own the Bengals. And the Bengals, more than ever before, own the Ravens. And everyone has the Browns. This will happen again this season, and will probably continue to do so for years to come. And in the evening, their season series with Baltimore, and with a win over the Bengals already in their pocket, and a 1-0-1 mark against the Browns – well, the calculations are already complicated. At 5-2-1, the Steelers shot to the front; the Ravens (4-5) and the Browns (2-5-1) will not catch them, and if you think the Bengals (5-3) will be able to beat Pittsburgh in a big place, well not lent much of Pay attention to North AFC.
The dirty little secret has always been that there was no chance that the Ravens, 7-25 against the 2013-17 playoff teams and 1 to 5 against the teams that would be in playoffs Present time, were going to sweep the Steelers. Pittsburgh has a better talent in virtually every group of positions. The decline of Joe Flacco and his inability to function against a decent opposition are well documented, and Baltimore does not have a single real explosive game on both sides of the ball. That's what they've been since their last Super Bowl win, and big changes are going to happen in Baltimore.
But, again, they were not going to beat Pittsburgh – at home or on Mars – without one of the starting points on Sunday. What will really decide their season – and maybe even the kickoff of this massive overhaul beginning to prepare for the first round pick, Lamar Jackson – is the 11th week match against the Bengals, the The team that ended their playoff hopes He never played in the 17th week a year ago and the team that has so often had an impact on the Baltimore season has been worse.
If the Ravens lose this match – which would mean a 4-6 record and an untenable 1-4 division record – they could also start preparing for the 2019 draft. This game is everything, an epitaph on the Flacco / John Harbaugh era if they lost it. This would effectively kill their tie-breaking opportunities. It would be a fourth consecutive loss after a 4-2 start. This game is everything.
Baltimore goes to see him again, licking his wounds. As I have been doing for a long time, they can not defend screens, check-downs, wheel roads, sewing routes that require linebackers or security to defend the pass. They can not do it. Even with a group of receivers as talented as Pittsburgh, you do not need to take deep balls, risk passes and interceptions. Just throw 60 to 75% of your passes in the back and the tight ends to slowly bleed Baltimore.
The Steelers dominated the third run (10 for 16) and the ball possession time (36: 29-23: 31) and the Ravens' offense was lukewarm and uninspired as the Steelers played 20 games. additional. Time of Opposite Possession in the Baltimore Defeat Series: 36:29, 34:01, 33:31; his attack remains among the least productive of the NFL and his aging defense is on the ground for far too long. QB's on the assists for the RBs and TEs against Baltimore in the last three weeks: 31 for 40 (78%) for 305 yards and four touchdowns for a score of 131.77. You think Joe Mixon could see 15 targets in the 11th week? Yeah me too.
Two teams from this division will receive the playoffs. But not three. The Steelers leave. The Browns are not. The AFC North is the same as it has always been.
Conner looks like a black horse MVP
How about James Conner as a MVP candidate? He did not see the ball enough while the Steelers stumbled until September. But he made a total of 25 hits in a three-game winning streak at Baltimore on Sunday, taking the lead in a season in which the Steelers did not have the hard ball followed. Everything he did in Baltimore was run 24 times for 107 yards against a defensive defense against the race, as well as for the team's top with seven receptions, including his first career goal.
He joined Veon Bell as the second Steeler to rank among the top 1000 scrum years in his first eight games of the season. He now has 10 touchdowns in total over the season already. I understand, he's not going to miss out on guys like Todd Gurley and Patrick Mahomes, but he should be part of the half-dozen players who deserve real consideration if he keeps up the momentum.
Make no mistake: the Steelers are running this offense through him. It is the most consistent piece that guides them out of their first trouble. He gives them everything Bell could and even looked like him during his more patient races on Sunday.
Redskins is crushed?
For the first time this season, the Skins were totally beaten on both sides of the scrum. This could be disabling.
Injuries on their offensive line are a potential season destroyer. Trent Williams should be back soon, but if Morgan Moses and Brandon Scherff remain indefinitely absent, the composition of this football team will be completely changed. Because without the ability to fight in the line of scrimmage, this offense can not work. Alex Smith can not play from behind and this passing game will not develop on the fly. The Eagles must come out of the farewell thinking that there is a showdown in the East of the NFC.
More than week 9
- Thank God, the Browns received the memo that Duke Johnson could be a special return in the passing game. They presented it for the first time in years and he carried the offensive for a while. Duke in the game on the screen should be a staple while trying to develop Baker Mayfield. He was perpetually underutilized during the reign of Hue Jackson.
- Deshaun Watson is quite indented from a knee operation. I want to say all the way back. He goaded the defenders and exploded in small holes with the ball in his hands and used jerking steps to set up the defenders. It takes a good half season to trust this knee. He feels it, in the best way possible. Great to see.
- Nathan Peterman can not start another game for the Bills. It just can not happen. It's like it's pre-programmed to launch pick-six. The ball bounces on the hands of the receivers and on the other team two to three times per game. It's just right. Return to his first pass against the Chargers a year ago. So brutal.
- You may not see a better pitch all season than the incredible ball that Mahomes sent to Travis Kelce to go up 27-15 in Cleveland. Three Browns were everywhere and Mahomes whipped a ball of Kelce's shoulder is at a place where he and he alone can score or score a goal, or else he would fall out of the game safely. Strange stuff. He is my MVP until now.
- No shame among working Rams. This draw against the Saints in New Orleans has always been a bad match. We'll see if Dante Fowler gives them an outside pass. Otherwise, I think they may have difficulty meeting this NFC challenge in January.
- I can not help but wonder if Lions are about to break down. A weird team to handle, but I think it's going to be disturbing not to see two consecutive losses with the Bears, Panthers, Bears and Rams in the next four weeks. Matt Patricia pays attention to his posture.
- The Chargers will be the team of AFC generic cards that no one wants to face.
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