The AFC North got a wrench thrown in the perceived order of things during Week 2, where two teams dropped to 0-2 and the Pittsburgh Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger to a season-ending injury.
The standings so far:
- Baltimore Ravens 2-0
- Cleveland Browns 1-1
- Cincinnati Bengals 0-2
- Pittsburgh Steelers 0-2
The news out of Pittsburgh is obviously the biggest item and has already fired up the conversation about whether Big Ben will ever play again.
In the short term, the injury opens up the AFC North a bit more and perhaps gives the Cincinnati Bengals more breathing room than expected after a terrible start.
Pittsburgh starting 0-2 wasn’t overly surprising given games against New England and Seattle. But with Mason Rudolph now the starting quarterback, the outlook is bleak. Those Steelers still have to play Baltimore twice, as well as teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis, not to mention other divisional games.
The Bengals won’t have to deal with Big Ben on Monday Night Football in Week 4. Cleveland has also performed well, well below expectations so far. Baltimore still looks like the divisional winner — but the Bengals do tend to play the Ravens well.
If nothing else, three of the four teams looking average or worse in the AFC North creates more wiggle room than expected for a Bengals team trying to find its way.
Typically, 0-2 is a death sentence for playoff hopes. Big Ben’s injury might slightly move the needle in a better direction for the Bengals, provided they start playing more like the Week 1 version that almost won in Seattle and not the Week 2 version that got laughed out of their own building.
