AFC North Power Rankings after Week 13: Can Bengals get out of basement?

3) Pittsburgh Steelers

All of the feel-good that the Pittsburgh offense felt after accumulating more than 400 yards against the Bengals did not last long.

Their offense had decent production, with 317 total yards. However, they could only manage 10 points. It took them late into the fourth quarter to conjure a touchdown after scoring a field goal early in the first quarter.

In the end, the Steelers fell to the Cardinals, 24-10. But the game was not the only thing they lost.

Pittsburgh joined the Browns and Bengals as teams with injuries to their starting quarterbacks.

Pittsburgh's -37-point differential is still the worst of all the teams in the playoff picture. It is also the worst in the AFC North. Their 192 points scored rank 28th in the NFL. It is, by far, the worst in the division.

Despite their loss and struggling offense, The Steelers are still in fifth place in the AFC. Hopefully, like the Bengals, the Patriots can pull off an upset over the Steelers on Thursday night football.

2) Cleveland Browns

Unfortunately, the Bengals have become accustomed to their last-place position in the division’s rankings but the Cleveland Browns are just accustomed to their place in the rankings.

The Cleveland Browns have occupied the second spot in the AFC North Power rankings since Week 6. And they will continue to do so heading into Week 14 of the NFL season. But just barely.

Despite being below their rival in the NFL standings, Cleveland remains above Pittsburgh in the power rankings. The future would appear brighter for the Elves than for the Steelers. They got competent quarterback play from Joe Flacco in his Browns debut. He threw for 254 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in their loss against the Rams.

The Browns are in the midst of a two-game losing streak. Before that, they got crucial wins against the Steelers and the Ravens.

As Bengals fans, it is not immediately clear who Bengals fans should cheer for when the Browns face the Jaguars on Sunday. Either way, unless there is a tie, Cincinnati will have a chance to gain ground on the Browns or Jaguars in the wildcard playoff race. But it might as well be the Browns who take the loss. Overtaking any team in the playoff hunt would be amazing. It would be even sweeter if it were an in-state rival.