Lots to prove for the AFC North teams this week with tough tests for all

Article by Gordon Dedman

Cincinnati Bengals (5-0) at Buffalo Bills (3-2)

Andy Dalton will be keen to keep the Bengals band wagon rolling when they travel to Buffalo. After their come from behind overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks, it will take something special to stop this momentum.

The confidence within the team is limitless. Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson enthused, "When you have the weapons we have, on any given play anybody can get it - and that makes Andy very confident." The team believes in Dalton and he should command another sixty minutes of offensive power. With doubt over the participation of Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, everything points to the wagon rolling on.

 Baltimore Ravens (1-4) at San Francisco 49ers (1-4)

Two teams, bottom of their respective divisions looking to take something out of the season, although the Ravens appear to be in dire straits even with a win as the strength in their division is possibly the strongest in the NFL.

On the season so far, Baltimore appears to have the edge in offensive yards, but the 49ers have scored more touchdowns. Joe Flacco will want to show the Ravens are not a spent force and the desire to win should be sufficient to take the game. If Steve Smith Jr returns, it will provide additional help to Flacco and the offense.

 

To provide some depth at running back, the Ravens picked up an interesting prospect in Raheem Mostert. An undrafted free agent, he performed well preseason for the Eagles and was placed on their practice squad from where the Dolphins took him, bringing him to the UK for the International Series, before releasing him

Arizona Cardinals (4-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)

If Ben Roethlisberger was to play against his previous offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, now head coach of the Cardinals, it would add more intrigue to the matchup. Roethlisberger is recovering faster than was first projected, but I can’t see him playing Sunday.

That will mean the game will hinge around which Michael Vick turns up to play for the Steelers. He was awful for almost three quarters against San Diego, but maybe he was hesitant, too conservative because he didn’t want to make a mistake. When the pressure was really on, he let rip and put the team into a winning position. If he starts off that way Sunday, it will be a good contest.

The ex-Bengal Carson Palmer will lead the Cardinals and he is on the top of his game. Their one loss was a 24-22 defeat against the Rams when all the stats still went with the Cardinals except for the three turnovers they gave up. Once again, the Steelers defense will need to be at its best if they are to give a chance for Vick to take the win.

Denver Broncos (5-0) at Cleveland Browns (2-3)

The rejuvenated Browns against the unbeaten Broncos. It would be great for Josh McCown to show the Dawg Pound how good he is having won his two games on the road (Johnny Manziel won the game in Cleveland).

If McCown can overcome the tough Denver defense, it will endear him to Browns fans until… well until they lose their next game. The Broncos are +6 in the turnover ratio. If the Browns don’t turn the ball over, an upset does appear on the cards and that’s why we watch the NFL every Sunday.