AFC North Divisional Recap - Week 8
Photo by: Joe Sargent / Getty Images
Jacksonville Jaguars 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 10
On a rainy and gloomy afternoon in Pittsburgh, the first place Jacksonville Jaguars took on the Steelers. Both offenses struggled to get any rhythm going in the first half, exchanging field goals as the Jags took a 9-3 lead to halftime on the back of three field goals from kicker Brandon McManus. Just before half, Steelers QB Kenny Pickett took a hard hit, which did knock him out of the game as the team announced he was dealing with a rib injury. Mitch Trubisky would replace him.
Team offense picked up in the second half a bit on both sides, as RB Travis Etienne brought in a deep 56-yard receiving touchdown along the right sideline to kick off the second-half scoring. The Steelers would go on to answer right before the end of the third with a 22-yard touchdown of their own from their QB Trubisky to WR George Pickens to make it a 17-10 game to end the third quarter. Jacksonville would go on to add one more field goal with just over four minutes to go in the fourth for some insurance points, and that would be your final score as the Jaguars take down the Steelers on the road in Pittsburgh 20-10.
Seattle Seahawks 24, Cleveland Browns 20
The Cleveland Browns head into an always tough environment to play, in Seattle to take on the Seahawks. The Browns would be without QB Deshaun Watson for this game, so they would call on PJ Walker to again start for them. Seattle got out to a quick 14-0 lead with touchdowns from WR’s Jake Bobo and Tyler Lockett, making it look like it could be a long afternoon for the Browns. Cleveland was able to answer with a touchdown of their own to TE David Njoku and trimmed the lead to 14-7. Seattle would sneak one more field goal in before the end of the quarter, to bring the score to 17-7 at the end of the first. The second quarter was all Browns, as their defense kept Seattle in check offensively while RB Kareem Hunt was able to punch in a touchdown from the one yard line and the game would head to halftime 14-17 in favor of Seattle.
The third quarter would see Cleveland’s defense continue to hold strong, their kicker Dustin Hopkins knocked down two field goals in the third to first tie the game, and then take the lead to end the quarter 20-17 with Cleveland leading. The fourth quarter was all defense both ways, including on the last play before the two-minute warning where the Seahawks intercepted PJ Walker on the last play. Upon coming out on the other side of the two-minute warning the Seahawks would take the lead on a touchdown to rookie WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a nine-yard score to make it 24-20 and that would be the final score as the Seahawks take this one in a thriller.
Photo Credit: Kyle Terada - USA TODAY Sports
Cincinnati Bengals 31, San Francisco 49ers 17
One of the most anticipated matchups of the packed NFL Sunday slate saw the Bengals traveling to San Francisco to take on the 49ers. WR Tyler Boyd started the scoring in the game by hauling in a seven yard touchdown to give the Bengals the lead 7-0. RB Christian McCaffrey would answer with a rushing touchdown up the middle for 2 yards, tying the game at 7-7 as well as tying him for the longest streak in NFL history with seventeen consecutive games with a touchdown. Bengals WR Andrei Iosivas hauled in a touchdown as time was expiring in the first to give the Bengals a 14-7 lead to end the quarter. The second quarter was mostly defense from both sides, as the only points on the board came from a 36-yard field goal from 49ers kicker Jake Moody, cutting the Bengals lead to 14-10 at halftime.
The third quarter was very similar to the second, this time the only points allowed in the quarter came on a 56-yard field goal made by Bengals kicker Evan McPherson, making it a 17-10 lead for Cincinnati heading into the fourth quarter. Just about two minutes into the fourth quarter, Bengals QB Joe Burrow again found the end zone for his third passing touchdown of the day, this time to WR Ja’Marr Chase for a 17-yard touchdown to grow the lead to 24-10 for Cincinnati. The 49ers would march down the field and again McCaffrey would find his way into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day making it a one-possession game once again with a little over eight minutes left. From there, the Bengals would go on to put the dagger in the 49ers as Joe Mixon found the end zone for a five-yard touchdown to grow the Bengals lead to 31-17 in what would be the final score. Crucial turnovers hurt the 49ers in this one, as the Bengals were able to capitalize and pick up an impressive road win.
Photo Credit: Mitch Stringer - USA TODAY Sports
Baltimore Ravens 31, Arizona Cardinals 24
The Baltimore Ravens came into this one heavy favorite over the Arizona Cardinals, but QB Joshua Dobbs was unfazed going up against Baltimores defense as he started the scoring in the game with a rushing touchdown about halfway through the first quarter. The Ravens would answer just about five minutes later with a touchdown from QB Lamar Jackson to his TE Mark Andrews which was good for his sixth touchdown this season. The first quarter comes to an end tied 7-7. The second quarter seen little offense from either side and a lot of defense, as the Ravens finally punched in a touchdown with 25 seconds left in the first half with Gus Edwards rushing up the middle to give the Ravens a 14-7 lead.
After not much action offensively from either side to start the third quarter, an interception thrown by the Cardinals QB Dobbs gifted the Ravens with a red zone opportunity and Gus Edwards again punched in a touchdown this time rushing for seven yards to extend the Ravens lead to 21-7. The fourth quarter saw as much scoring as the other three quarters combined, a field goal from Ravens kicker Justin Tucker started the scoring and from there Cardinals WR Trey McBride scored a 17 yard touchdown to make the score 24-15 after the two point conversion was successful. Gus Edwards was the next one to find the end zone in the fourth quarter, this one was his third touchdown of the game to make the lead 31-15 with just under three minutes to go. The Cardinals would put one more touchdown on the board with a little over a minute to go on a touchdown to WR Marquise Brown, go on to recover the onside kick and kick a 47 yard field goal to cut the lead to 31-24 with just 29 seconds remaining. The Cardinals again line up for the onside kick, this time it is recovered by Baltimore as the comeback falls short for Arizona and the Ravens hold on to win the game 31-24.
AFC North Standings:
Baltimore Ravens 6-2
T-2. Pittsburgh Steelers 4-3
T-2. Cleveland Browns 4-3
T-2. Cincinnati Bengals 4-3
