Chaotic Week 1 shapes Bengals' standing in AFC North power rankings

It was a thrilling week for each of the AFC North teams. The Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers both won by one point. On the losing end, the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns lost by two and one point, respectively.

Each of their games came down to the last second, with self-destructing errors playing a critical role in each of their outcomes.

Now that Week 1 is in the books for the division, here are this year's first AFC North power rankings.

4. Cleveland Browns collapse with mistakes in narrow loss

Sitting comfortably at the bottom of the AFC North power rankings after week one are the Cleveland Browns. They lost to the Bengals, 17-16.

In a divisional matchup that they should have won, they continuously got in their own way. A plethora of mistakes, which included a couple of missed kicks, led to Cleveland's week one demise.

Cleveland’s wide receivers also contributed to the loss, as they suddenly lost their ability to catch the football in critical situations. One of those drops passes came on a crucial fourth down. Another drop pass popped up into DJ Turner's hands for an interception, helping to seal the game for Cincinnati.

Now, the elves start this season at 0-1 and also have a loss within the division.

Next step for the Browns is their second consecutive divisional matchup as they face the Baltimore Ravens. Let's hope Cleveland finds a way to pull off what feels like a monumental upset. However, we should not count on it.

If Cleveland does not win next week, a 0-2 record and starting the season with two divisional losses would be a disastrous start for a team with Joe Flacco at its helm. And while the coaching staff won't bench him after one game, that start will surely have their fans questioning whether the Browns should roll out one of the rookies, Dillon Gabriel or Shadeur Sanders, come Week 3.

3. Baltimore Ravens’ win flies coop after Bills stampede

In one of the most shocking turns of events that we might witness this season, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Baltimore Ravens 41-40.

With 11:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, Baltimore led 40-25. The Ravens took a lead at that point with a touchdown. However, like with the Browns, the Ravens missed the extra point. Rookie kicker Tyler Loop went two for two on field goals and four of five on extra points. That one miss proved critical.

The score remained the same when Buffalo began a drive with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter. Then Buffalo began their stampede. Keon Coleman caught a touchdown pass with 356 left to go, closing the gap to 40-32.

Then, the Buffalo defense forced a Derrick Henry fumble on the next possession, which led to a Josh Allen touchdown, making the score 40-38. The Bills failed to convert the two-point conversion, however.

Buffalo’s defense forced a three-and-out on the subsequent Ravens drive. And with one minute and eight seconds left, Josh Allen led his team down the field for a game-winning field goal.

The Bills scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to stun the Ravens, snatching victory from their talons. 

Next Sunday, the Ravens have their first division game with the Browns flying into Baltimore. The pressure will be on the Ravens to not fall to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 within the division. 

2. Pittsburgh Steelers win thanks to late turnover

The Steelers land in the two spot thanks to their victory over the New York Jets 34–32. Pittsburgh's margin of victory, two points, represents the most significant point differential among all of the matchups that included an AFC North team. 

Like the Bengals, the Steelers were beneficiaries of their opponent’s mistakes. The most crucial of which came in the fourth quarter when Xavier Gibson fumbled on a kickoff return. 

The fumble came immediately after a Pittsburgh touchdown. At that point, the Steelers were trailing by two points. That turnover immediately led to an Aaron Rodgers touchdown pass, giving Pittsburgh the lead. The result was a 14-point swing in Pittsburgh's favor.

Also, the exaggerations of Rodgers’ demise were greatly exaggerated. The 41-year-old quarterback threw for 244 yards and four touchdowns.

The Steelers play Seattle next week. With the Seahawks traveling east to Pittsburgh for a 1 o'clock kickoff, we can guess that the Steelers have an excellent opportunity of starting their season 2-0.

1. Cincinnati Bengals escape Dawg Pound with AFC North lead

The Cincinnati Bengals were criticized all offseason for their notoriously slow starts to the season. On Sunday, against the in-state rival, the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati won 17–16 to get off to a 1-0 start to its 2025 campaign.

Even though the game wasn't aesthetically pleasing to watch at all times, the Bengals did just enough to come away with the victory and drive Cleveland fans even crazier than they usually are.

If you were to argue that the Bengals' victory over Cleveland had more to do with their opponents' failure, we would be hard-pressed to push back against that argument.

However, when the team needed to make plays with the game on the line, Cincinnati's often maligned defense came up with big stops and bigger turnovers. 

The Bengals take the top spot in this week's power rankings thanks to their victory over a divisional foe. That's why they edge out the Steelers in the rankings and the standings. 

Next up for the Bengals are the Jacksonville Jaguars in what will be the home opener for Cincinnati, dubbed as ‘Open in Orange.’ The Jaguars will be a challenge for the men and stripes, as they are coming off an impressive win against the Carolina Panthers, 26-10.

It was a crazy weekend full of surprises for the AFC North teams. Look for the craziness to continue the route this season for one of the best divisions in the NFL.

The Cincinnati Bengals sit atop the week one power rankings. However, as we know, the NFL is a week-to-week league. Things are sure to change by the week, day, half, and quarter.

Or, Cincinnati could go wire to wire like it was 1990. Wouldn't that be nice.

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