New team claims AFC North power rankings throne entering Week 4

The AFC North crowns a new king as we head into week four of the season. The division remains as chaotic and unpredictable as it was in the first two weeks of the season. 

The teams we thought would win did not. Unfortunately, the Cincinnati Bengals are the team we have in mind here. On the other hand, the team we thought had zero chance of winning had the most significant upset victory of the weekend. And, the Baltimore Ravens are bad, very bad, at defense.

Now that the Week 3 games are in the books, let's take a look at the AFC North Power Rankings heading into Week 4.

4. Cleveland Browns score big upset, but remain at bottom

The Cleveland Browns pulled off the biggest upset of the NFL weekend when they defeated the Green Bay Packers 13-10. 

Cleveland was one of the few teams that benefited from an opponent's kicking snafus. With a chance late in the fourth quarter to win the game, the Browns blocked the chip-shot field goal attempt, which set them up perfectly to score a game-winning field goal of their own. 

They were also the beneficiaries of an excusable late interception thrown by Packers quarterback Jordan Love that led to the game-tying touchdown.

While the Brownies and Ravens are both at 1-2, Cleveland is 0-2 within the division and the conference. Their -22 point differential is the second-worst in the division. Their 46 points scored is the worst in the division and third-worst in the NFL.

So, even though they got the biggest surprise win of the weekend, they came far short of doing enough to climb themselves out of the division’s power rankings seller.

The Browns take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday. They could surprise the NFL world again with yet another upset. But let's hope that is not the case.

3. Baltimore Ravens boast league’s most potent offense and impotent defense

We are unsure if anyone predicted that the Baltimore Ravens would have a defensive problem before the start of the season. And yet, here we are.

Baltimore has been fantastic through the first three weeks of this season. They lead the league in points scored with 111. If it were not for their 1-2 start, we would already be hearing about another MVP season from quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Jackson leads the NFL with a 141.8 quarterback rating. He is completing 72% of his passes. He leads the league with nine passing touchdowns while throwing zero interceptions.

Unfortunately, for the Ravens, their defense has been just as bad as their offense has been good.

The 96 points surrendered through three games are the second-worst in the NFL. Only Miami's 97 is worse. Baltimore is the only team in the bottom nine of points surrendered that has a positive points differential.

The Ravens play the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in a matchup that features two teams with 1-2 records. And as much as it hurts to say, Kansas City can get the better of the Ravens. Unfortunately, we should expect Baltimore's league-best offense to defeat the suddenly floundering Kansas City football team.

2. Cincinnati Bengals still atop AFC North standings by a whisker

We are willing to bet that you have never seen a tiger laying an egg. If you have not, go and watch what happened on Sunday when the Cincinnati Bengals played the Minnesota Vikings.

The Bengals missed a golden opportunity to begin this season 3-0 and take complete control of the division. What should have been a hard-fought victory for Cincinnati, going against a backup quarterback, an injured offensive line, and they suspect run defense, turned into a flogging as they were destroyed by the Minnesota Vikings 48-10.

Minnesota wasn't the only team in that game dealing with a depleted offensive line. It just so happens that Cincinnati's depleted offensive line is its offensive line. 

Nevertheless, despite a turnover-filled, atrocious outing, the Bengals still reign supreme in the AFC North. However, they are by far the worst division leader in the NFL in terms of point differential.

Their -33 point differential is the worst in the division itself. In fact, Cincinnati is the only division leader to have a negative point differential at all. The next closest is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a +6 point edge.

The Bengals' points differential is the primary reason why we can't justify putting them first in this week's power rankings. It is also a cause for concern. Their 1-0 division record and 2-0 conference record are doing enough to sustain their place ahead of the Ravens and Browns. For now.

Next up for Cincinnati is the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. Hopefully, the team will put up a much more determined fight in front of a national audience than whatever that was against the Vikings on Sunday.

Pittsburgh Steelers claim throne, for now

The title of the King of the North heading into Week 4 goes to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers sit in second place in the AFC North standings behind Cincinnati. However, their 2-0 conference record and -5 points differential give them the nod in this week's AFC North power rankings.

Only in a world where the Bengals have a -33 point differential would Pittsburgh's -5 point difference be substantial enough to vault the Steelers into first place over the Bengals.

Pittsburgh's offense was pedestrian in Week 3 against the New England Patriots. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw for 139 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. As a team, the Steelers had 64 rushing yards.

But it was their defense that saved the day for the Steelers after the unit struggled in the first couple weeks. They forced an interception and four fumbles for a total of five takeaways against New England.

The Steelers play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. We can only hope that the Vikings play as well against Pittsburgh as they did against Cincinnati.

When it comes to the AFC North, what the first three weeks have shown us is that we shouldn't try to predict what will happen on any given Sunday.

No one could have predicted that the Ravens would have a worse defense than the Bengals. We hope you did not place a bet on the Browns to lose versus the Packers. And, we know how unlikely it is for the Bengals to be at the top of the division standings after such a humiliating loss in Week 3.

What we should expect is not to get too comfortable with these rankings. They are sure to change after this weekend's games. Let's hope that change will return Cincinnati to the top.

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