Tim Benz: Bengals have seized control of AFC North — and humiliated Steelers, Ravens in the process
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On one sideline of Paul Brown Stadium stands the hometown Cincinnati Bengals. Seconds away from sweeping their AFC North rivals. With 41 points on their side of the scoreboard. Not to mention a roster with the AFC’s leader in passer rating and Pro Bowlers at running back, wide receiver and pass rusher.
On the other sideline are the slumped shoulders of a twice-vanquished division foe, watching as their once-proud defense is shredded by the Bengals’ skill.
Again.
Their run game, which had at one point been feared by Cincinnati fans, is now neutered. Their former All-Pro quarterback is among the top five in sacks. And their Super Bowl-winning coach is looking on with no answers.
Seriously. What has become of the Baltimore Ravens?
Oh. Whoops. I’m sorry. Did you think I was comparing the Bengals to the Pittsburgh Steelers? My bad.
Then again, what’s the difference between the Ravens and the Steelers right now?
Wait. Don’t answer that.
Half a game in the standings, and two points against the stinking Detroit Lions … thanks to the foot of wunder-kicker Justin Tucker.
That’s the difference.
Aside from that, the Ravens and Steelers — who have combined to win the AFC North each of the past five seasons and nine of 11 times since the start of 2010 — are very similar.
Most years, that’s always been the case. Most years, that’s a mutual compliment.
Not so much this season. The Ravens and Steelers are both mediocre at best, and are clinging to flickering playoff hopes in 2021.
Thanks to a four-game losing streak, Baltimore has dropped from 8-3 and the potential top seed in the AFC playoff bracket to 8-7 and the first team under the postseason cutline with two weeks to go.
The Steelers are in even worse shape at 7-7-1, currently good for just third place in the division and 11th place in the conference.
The two franchises play each other in Baltimore the last week of the season. That’ll be a game that could mean everything for both teams in their hunt for the playoffs or nothing at all, depending on how they do this week.
And how the Bengals do.
Cincinnati faces a blistering Kansas City Chiefs team that just whitewashed the Steelers 36-10 on Sunday to extend their win streak to eight games. The Ravens host the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams (11-4) on Sunday, while the Steelers welcome the AFC North cellar-dwelling Cleveland Browns (7-8) on Monday night.
Strangely, the Browns are the only team in the division to beat the Bengals this year. Cleveland thumped the Bengals 41-16 in Cincinnati on Nov. 7. They’ll rematch in Week 18 in Cleveland.
Aside from that blemish, though, the Bengals have been dominant against those other two teams that usually own the AFC North.
In four games against the Ravens and Steelers, the Bengals are a combined 4-0, winning those contests with a combined score of 147-58. In those games, coach Zac Taylor’s team has posted 41 points three times, drubbing the Ravens 41-17 and 41-21. They also slaughtered the Steelers 41-10 in Week 12.
In the other meeting with the Steelers, the Bengals cruised to a 24-10 win and probably could’ve scored at least 35 if they needed to do so.
“We’ve (been) beaten up over the last few years, so our guys just have all the confidence in the world right now. And they’re not done yet,” Taylor said after the win against the Ravens.
It’s not just that the Bengals have outplayed Pittsburgh and Baltimore. They have rubbed their noses in it. After Cincinnati’s Week 3 win at Heinz Field, ex-Pitt and WPIAL star Tyler Boyd said that the Steelers quit.
That was probably an exaggeration by the Bengals wide receiver. But he sure looked pretty accurate after their second matchup when the Steelers whimpered their way to a 41-10 defeat after getting trucked 31-3 in the first half of play.
Then there was Sunday afternoon’s beat down of the Ravens. With two minutes left on the clock and a 20-point lead, Joe Burrow threw a 52-yard bomb to Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon. That gave Burrow 525 yards passing, setting the franchise record for most passing yards in a game and placing him fourth in NFL history.
Joe Burrow has 525 passing yards ????
????: #BALvsCIN on CBS
????: NFL app pic.twitter.com/CPqtRWUrTr— NFL (@NFL) December 26, 2021
After the game, Burrow admitted that breaking the 500-yard barrier felt especially good after Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale said in advance of the game that “I don’t think we’re ready to buy a gold jacket for Joe.”
Take that Wink Martindale. Yes, Joe Burrow heard the hold off on the Gold Jacket for Canton #Bengals pic.twitter.com/LGQ1rlkkaG
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) December 26, 2021
“You play until the final whistle,” Burrow told ProFootballTalk. “I don’t care what the score is. We’ve been in spots where teams go out and do that to us. They did it to us last year. No sympathy from me.”
The Steelers and Ravens haven’t passed the torch to the Bengals. The Bengals have ripped it away.
Now let’s see if they avoid burning themselves with it.
Because — aside from the one game against Cleveland — the biggest hurdle for the Bengals has been the Bengals themselves. Five of their six losses have come against teams that have a worse record than they do.
Two of those defeats were at the hands of the lousy Chicago Bears and dreadful New York Jets. Those two franchises have a combined record of 9-21.
Based on what the other teams in the division have seen from Cincinnati over the years, that would be a very Bengaltastic thing to do.
So would be giving up the chokehold they have on the division right now. After all, if the Bengals win either of their last two games, they win the division. So, Steelers fans, if the Browns stink so badly that you aren’t worried about them coming to Heinz Field and winning, how are they going to upset Cincy in Week 18?
For much of the season, Steelers fans have rationalized away the reality of their team’s record by pointing out how the division has kept them alive. The other three teams are flawed, too. No one has maintained momentum for multiple weeks in a row. The Ravens are even more injury-addled than the Steelers. The Browns have been as well. Plus, they are one-dimensional on offense.
And the working theory on the Bengals has been that they perhaps “arrived too soon” on the AFC playoff scene and would fade in December after winning just four games a year ago.
The more pragmatic wish at this point is that Bengals fall apart a year too early.
Perhaps three or four years from now. I think this year the division is Cincinnati’s.
A year early, or not.