The Baltimore Ravens currently lead the AFC North after being the only winning team from Week 1. While the rest of the division looks to catch up to Baltimore’s early lead, the Ravens look to continue their dominance over what appears to be another underwhelming opponent.
If Baltimore can pull off another big win and the rest of the AFC North falters again, it’ll put the Ravens firmly in the driver’s seat for the division crown already.
Let’s take a look at each game within the division in Week 2.
Arizona Cardinals (0-0-1) at Baltimore Ravens (1-0):
It’s a tale of two young, mobile quarterbacks this week and potentially a taste of how the league will look on offense. Both the Ravens and Cardinals are doing some exciting things on offense as they head to more of a college-style scheme. It’s also the return home of former Baltimore players as Terrell Suggs and Michael Crabtree signed with Arizona this offseason.
The Ravens are currently massive favorites for this one and for good reason. They look to be firing on all cylinders on both offense and defense while the Cardinals are still early in their rebuilding phase. Being the home opener for Baltimore only adds to what Arizona is going to be battling Sunday.
San Francisco 49ers (1-0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-1):
The Bengals nearly pulled off the upset last week over the Seattle Seahawks, losing 21-20. They looked more explosive in the passing game and more consistent on defense under new coach Zac Taylor. They’ll have an even better chance to pick up their first win this week as they take on the 49ers. Cincinnati is currently 1.5-point favorites, according to BetMGM.
San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garopolo just hasn’t looked good throughout the offseason and now the regular season. But the Bengals didn’t look like they’d be a competitive team coming into this season and could still very well Bengals it up.
Seattle Seahawks (1-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0-1):
The Steelers got decimated on national television against the New England Patriots. While it was against the Patriots, Pittsburgh just looked slow and outmatched in every category for all 60 minutes. While that might mean very little, it should be concerning for Steelers fans heading into a tough matchup with the Seahawks.
Seattle barely squeaked out their game against Cincinnati but should be tuned up completely for Pittsburgh. If the Steelers look as slow again this week, this game shouldn’t be very close either. But with it being Pittsburgh’s home opener after an embarrassing Week 1, we should see the best the Steelers have to offer. It’s why they’re currently 4.5-point favorites over Seattle, according to BetMGM.
Cleveland Browns (0-1) at New York Jets (0-1):
I called the Browns paper champions before the start of the regular season and in Week 1 at least, they proved me right. There’s little question Cleveland has tons of talent at the skill positions but their offensive line looked dreadful last week against the Tennessee Titans and the defense looked slow to respond.
However, the Jets will be without starting quarterback Sam Darnold as he deals with mono. They could also be without running back Le’Veon Bell, who is getting an MRI on his shoulder. There’s also a chance New York won’t have C.J. Mosley and Quinnen Williams, who suffered injuries in Week 1. Those injuries will give Cleveland the best chance of picking up their first victory of the season this week.
