Week 5 AFC North power rankings: Bengals backslide in NFL's worst division

The AFC North was once considered the best division in football. In the 2025 season, however, it is the worst division through four games as a collective. 

All four teams in this cluster have a negative points differential. And two of the four teams are in the bottom four of the NFL in that damning category.

But within the division, one of these teams will make the playoffs. Expecting anyone other than the AFC North champ to emerge with a postseason berth, given the results in hand of the first four weeks of the season, is asking too much. 

Therefore, the only thing that will matter in the larger picture of this season is how well the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers stack up against each other. In other words, which will be the best of the worst? 

The AFC North power rankings, as we head into Week 5, give us a peek into what is happening and which team is the best among the worst.

QB change on the horizon for the Cleveland Browns?

The Cleveland Browns continue their run at the bottom of the AFC North in the power rankings. 

The Browns entered their matchup against the Detroit Lions hoping to pull off another huge upset after defeating the Green Bay Packers last week. They had some confidence that they could, as they were the NFL’s best-ranked defense. 

Unfortunately for the Browns, they got dogwalked by the Lions, 34-10. That lopsided loss means they now sport the fourth-worst point differential in the NFL. However, it’s still not the worst in the division. More on that later. 

Cleveland has the worst record within the division at 0-2. They also have the worst conference record among the four teams. 

While it took longer than one week, there are now reports that the Cleveland head coach Kevin Stefanski is considering going in another direction at quarterback. 

The Browns next play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London. A lengthy trip across the pond after getting pounded by the Lions — especially with the Vikings already over there since they just played in Dublin — doesn't sound like an antidote for what ails Cleveland.

The Baltimore Ravens have clipped wing, err, hamstring

We fully expected the Ravens to rank above the Cincinnati Bengals, departing from last week’s power rankings. But that was before frustrations in Baltimore became a lot hotter as the Ravens crashed back to earth, hard, against the Kansas City Chiefs 20-37.

Adding injury to insult, quarterback Lamar Jackson suffered a hamstring injury in the second half — and let's just say the vibes are weird out of Baltimore. 

While the Ravens’ defense is struggling, the one thing everyone knows they can count on is Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore offense. Baltimore is third in the NFL in points scored, while their defense is last in points allowed. 

The Ravens were unable to rally behind backup QB Cooper Rush against Kansas City. And, as of now, we do not know if Jackson will play on Sunday, or, even if he does, how much a sore hamstring will affect him in their next game. 

If Jackson is not entirely healthy and their defense does not improve, it could be rough sledding for a Ravens team trying to fly out of the bottom of the division, a place they share with the Browns.

The Ravens play the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Texans are coming off a shutout victory against the Tennessee Titans. They are feeling good about themselves and could face an injury-riddled Baltimore squad. 

Nothing is working for the Cincinnati Bengals

Over on the NFL’s website, one headline reads “Bo Nix has career-best 326 passing yards, 3 total TDs as Broncos bounce back with blowout win.” Giving up a career-best game to the quarterback that PFF had as their worst graded QB through three weeks is enough to question both the coaching and the players. So, obviously, the defense did not put up too much of a fight. 

Believe it or not, Cincinnati’s offensive line held up better than we expected it would against Denver’s pass rush. However, that does not mean they were effective in pass protection, as they surrendered three sacks and six quarterback hits. Nevertheless, Cincinnati’s offense only managed three points. So, the offense was not good either. 

A total of 13 points in the last two games under an offensive-minded coach, built upon a roster that is offense-dependent, is also enough to question the coaches and players. 

However, when the offense, defense, and special teams are this problematic, eyes should turn to the GM, Director of player personnel, or whatever the title is that Duke Tobin holds today. 

The Bengals now have the second-worst point differential in the NFL. The only team with a worse point differential is the Tennessee Titans, head coached by former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. 

A theme is emerging. 

Nothing can change enough in six days to give us any hope that the Bengals can pull off a miraculous upset over the Lions when they face off on Sunday. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers stand alone while sitting out Week 5

The Pittsburgh Steelers hold on to the top spot in the AFC North rankings after flying to Ireland and defeating the Minnesota Vikings 24-21. 

It was a crazy game with a crazy ending. But that is par for the course this season for the AFC North. 

As Bengals fans, we were hoping that the Vikings would dispatch the Steelers in the same fashion as they did with Cincinnati last week. Instead, Pittsburgh continued its winning ways and put an even more negative spotlight on Cincinnati’s loss. 

The Steelers are 3-1, and they sit alone atop the division. They are 2-0 within the AFC entering their bye week. 

Next up is an AFC North clash against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. That'll mark Pittsburgh's first division game on October 12th, with a chance to increase their early lead.

However, this upcoming weekend, the Steelers' only job is to sit back and enjoy the cluster-bleep that is the rest of the division.

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