AFC North in Review (Week 1)

AFC North in Review (Week 1)

After week one, the AFC North is setup to be Pittsburgh's to lose.  While Pittsburgh stepped up and answered several questions, the rest of the division did not.

Pittsburgh - W 38-17 vs. Texans:

The match up of the game was supposed to be the Steelers offensive line against the Texans defensive front.  The Texans were mauled from the get go and Houston was down 21-0 by midway through the second quarter.  The Steelers easily controlled the tempo of the game allowing Big Ben and Fast Willie to be efficient in their duties.  Ben finished 13 of 14 for 137 yards with 2 TD's and no INT's (147.0 passer rating).  Parker finished with 138 yards on 25 rushes (5.5 yd/rush) and 3 TD's.  Ward nabbed 6 balls for 76 yards and 2 TD's to cash in on Ben's efficiency.

Defensively, the effort was solid but not stellar, though, as Houston averaged 3.8 yd/rush and Schaub completed 25 of 33, or 75.8%, of his passes.  But, Houston managed only 234 total yards (75 by ground, 159 by air), while giving up 5 sacks and turning the ball over 3 times (2 INT's, 1 fumble).

Special teams were pretty much a wash which equates to a win for the Steelers.  Both teams were held to solid at best kick returns and only 2 total punt return yards.

Cleveland - L 28-10 vs. Cowboys:

Cleveland drew a tough home match up for week one having to square off against the Dallas Cowgirls who are picked by many to win the 2008-2009 Super Bowl.  Cleveland had a solid start and the game was even at 7-7 early in the second quarter.  Dallas turned up the juice, though, scored twice in the second quarter and mounted an insurmountable 21-7 lead.  Dallas never looked back and sealed the game 28-10; a final score that does not accurately reflect the way Dallas controlled the game.

Offensively, Cleveland managed only 205 total yards (91 by ground, 114 by air).  Jamal Lewis ran for a solid 62 yards on 13 carriers for a 4.8 yd/rush average but had a long run of 24 yards -- take that one rush away and he averaged a sub par 3.2 yd/rush the rest of the game which pretty much tells the tale of how the game played out.  Anderson was a mere 11 of 24 for 114 yards and 1 TD (QB rating of 74.0).  He was sacked only once and threw no INT's but was still ineffective.  Braylon Edwards was little to no factor. Kellen Winslow was one of the few notable offensive performers grabbing 5 passes and a TD.

Defensively, Dallas controlled the game as described by very telling stats: 487 total yards, 5.4 yards/rush average, converting 8 of 11 third downs, punting only twice and controlling the ball 37:29, or 62.5% of the game!  Can you say �pure dominance?�  Cleveland's D is surely not as bad as their week one performance but it does expose the fact that they are susceptible.

Baltimore W 17-10 vs. Cincinnati:

This is hardly worth the effort to write about and is exactly what I expected from the bottom half of the division.  Baltimore out gained Cincy 358 total yards to 154, held the ball 36:15 (over 60% of the game) and still only squeaked out a 17-10 win � a win that required a 38 yard sloth-like QB run for TD and a 42 yard TD on a gadget play to secure the win.  The two teams combined for a meager 228 yards of passing on 54 attempts.  While the Ravens racked up 229 yards rushing, the Bungles had only 65 yards.  The final score would seem to indicate a number of turnovers, especially by Baltimore, yet each team had only two.  I expect a great deal more ineptitude from these two teams throughout the year.  At the same time, it's still the AFC North and you cannot afford to take anyone lightly.  Assuming Pittsburgh puts their game face on, the bottom half of the division should yield 4 wins.

Division Power Rankings:

1. Pittsburgh
2. Cleveland
3. Baltimore
4. Cincinnati (now we know why Chad wanted out so badly)