Last night the Ravens beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in a game that was as boring as Bama-LSU for two and a half quarters, but featured an excellent, redeeming fourth quarter. With the win, the Ravens moved into first place in the AFC North at 6-2. The Steelers, yet to enjoy their bye week, are a half game back at 6-3. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals went and got a win on the road at the Titans (a team that beat Baltimore) to keep pace with the Ravens in the division.
All of this seems to be leading to a hopefully very entertaining second half of the season in the AFC North. The consensus seems to be that the Bengals will fall out of contention as their schedule gets tougher (they still have both games against the Steelers and Ravens to look forward to), but I'm not so sure I agree. Cincy has shown a remarkable ability to have the occasional long, steady drive that slows everything down in a game. They are not a gangbusters offense, but they have put up 23 or more points (enough to win a slower game in the NFL) every week except one so far this season. That is some remarkable consistency. If there is one advantage the Bengals have over their AFC North counterparts, it is that consistency. The Ravens have been on and off this season: some great games, then a 26-13 embarrassment at Tennessee, the Monday night debacle at Jacksonville, and then a barely-squeaked-out comeback win over Arizona at home. The Steelers have looked more consistent the past three weeks, but the week 1 thrashing in Baltimore, a 10-point performance in Houston, as well as escaping with wins in Indy and against Jacksonville doesn't have me convinced that the Steelers are 100 percent themselves yet.
All the stats would seem to indicate that the Steelers and Ravens are superior to the Bengals, and I believe them. I don't think the Bengals are a great team. But they are 6-2 right now, and yes, the schedule will get tougher, but don't they seem good enough to win a home game against Baltimore or Pittsburgh? With the up-and-down seasons those two teams have had, there's almost no way Cincy goes 0-4 in the games against their two rivals. Other than those four, the Bengals close against Cleveland, Houston, St. Louis and Arizona. That should be 3-1 at the worst. We could easily be looking at an 11-5 Bengals team by the end of the year. That seems like it should be good enough to make the playoffs.
Meanwhile, don't discount Baltimore or Pittsburgh's schedule. The Ravens at home against San Francisco, at San Diego and at Cincinnati (I don't see that last one as a gimme game anymore). The Steelers still have to play at Cincy and at San Francisco, and they are behind the Bengals right now. Neither of those are as tough as what the Bengals have lying ahead, but they aren't cakewalks, either. Two or three losses could spell doom for any of these teams, and it is never easy in the NFL to play with that level of perfection.
I'm looking forward to weeks 10-17 in the NFL for a lot of reasons: the Packers' shot at 16-0, the Patriots all-of-a-sudden looking weak, and the NFC East shaking out in crazy fashion like it always seems to do the last three or four weeks of the season. But maybe most of all, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the AFC North. Because I have no idea what is going to.
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