AFC North teams need to keep pace with the Bengals in Week 5

Article by Gordon Dedman

Cleveland Browns (1-3) at Baltimore Ravens (1-3)

My head tells me that Baltimore should win this one as the bookmakers’ odds suggest, but Josh McCown and Cleveland played with so much heart in their loss in San Diego that I was going to side with them.

 

But the injury to Browns safety Tashaun Gipson swung me back to my original belief that Baltimore should win. Pro Football Focus ranked Gipson as its fourth-best coverage safety in 2014, so his absence will make a difference and Joe Flacco can take advantage.

Gipson will be replaced by Jordan Poyer who said, “My confidence is high. I'm excited for the opportunity to go out and play and compete. It's hard to replace a guy like Tashaun Gipson, Pro Bowler, X amount of picks. I just need to go out there, do my job, play confident and it will be OK.” There’s nothing like a division matchup for your baptism of fire into the NFL.

The Browns haven’t won in Baltimore since 2007. They have the poorest rated defense in the NFL and are second-worse on run defense so the Ravens’ resurgent running back Justin Forsett could be the game breaker for Baltimore who will be missing their star receiver Steve Smith.

Seattle Seahawks (2-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-0)

After four games, the Seahawks haven’t looked like the NFC’s representative in the Super Bowl from last season while the Bengals give the aura of this year’s AFC champions.

Seattle’s quarterback Russell Wilson will be returning to his birthplace to play in Cincinnati for the first time, but it won’t be a comfortable homecoming. The Seahawks spluttered last week against Detroit until a last minute fumble on the Lions goal line gifted them the game.

Seattle’s offensive line has given up 18 sacks this season while Wilson has taken to running out of trouble to become the team’s leading rusher with 177 yards.  The Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch will be out for the second week running and the game gives the assured appearance of a Bengals win.

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) at San Diego Chargers (2-2) Tuesday Morning 01:30 Sky Sports

With ten days between games for the Steelers, quarterback Michael Vick has seen extra time in practice to acquaint him with a Steelers offense that may include Martavis Bryant returning from suspension.

Even without Bryant, who had an outstanding preseason, Vick has the luxury of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell as his main avenues of attack.

Having lost their game against Baltimore because of kicker Josh Scobee, Pittsburgh will be hoping for better things from new boy Chris Boswell, who will be making his NFL regular season debut. He’ll need nerves of steel to be effective in front of a national television audience.         

The Chargers Philip Rivers leads the NFL in passing yards and he will set a new franchise record of 149 straight games when he takes to the field. His main target tight end Antonio Gates is one touchdown away from becoming the ninth player in NFL history to score 100 touchdowns.

The Steelers defense is improving and will need to be at its best if it is to make the difference to Monday’s outcome. In four games, their 14 sacks are almost half of their total for the whole of last year as they continue to develop.

 

On offense, these two teams appear evenly matched and it may depend on the Vick factor to decide the winner. If he is comfortable with the offensive options he has available, the Steelers should edge it.