The two Saturday games played yesterday exclusively featured AFC North teams. Now, we know who won the division title, although the second game left more questions than answers.
Let's take a look at the games set for tomorrow:
Baltimore 35, Cleveland 10 - This game pretty much went the way that most of us expected it would. The Browns came in having experienced serious offensive woes, and not having won a game in quite some time. Meanwhile, the Ravens came into this regular season finale red hot, and needing a win. Everything was on the line for them. A win would secure the AFC North title and the third overall seed. A loss would throw everything into question, and leave the possibility of the Steelers taking the division title with a win. So the Ravens kept their starters in, and dominated. True, there was a moment there when the Browns seemed to make it at least somewhat interesting when they scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. It was their first offensive touchdown in a number of games, and pulled them to within 21-10. But the Ravens scored another touchdown quickly, largely with the power running of Derrick Henry, who scored yet again later on to remove all doubt. A dominant performance by the Ravens, who clinch the division title, and will see whether they get to host either the Chargers or, funnily enough, the Steelers next weekend.
My pick: Accurate
Cincinnati 19, Pittsburgh 17 - The Bengals were dominating what was largely a low-scoring affair for most of this night. Then, the Steelers began to make it interesting right towards the end. Cincy was winning, 19-7, about midway through the fourth. The Bengal defense had pretty well shut down Pittsburgh's offense, limiting them to under 100 yards and just one touchdown to that point in the game. Then suddenly, the Steelers made it interesting by producing an impressive drive which resulted in a touchdown, closing to within 19-14. As if that did not make it significantly more interesting, the Bengals turned the ball over on the kickoff, deep in their own territory. The Steelers could not have asked for a better gift. They produced points, although again, Cincy's defense stepped up, forcing Pittsburgh to settle for a field goal, thus maintaining the lead, albeit a slim one. A field goal would win the game for the Steelers now. But the Bengals held them off and iced the win, For Cincy, this marked their fifth straight win following a 4-8 start to the season, which means that they ended hot. Whether or not they make the playoffs - and they still need a lot of help - they can be proud of that. As for Pittsburgh, this marked their fourth straight loss to end the regular season. Once again, their offense looked suspect, frankly. True, they produced two touchdowns, and they did get 10 points late in the fourth to make this game very interesting at the end. But part of that was luck with the special teams turnover, and the Steelers then failed to fully capitalize with a touchdown, instead settling for the field goal. Ultimately, that cost them, and actually underscored why this team has struggled so badly in the last month of the season. They will head to the playoffs, but it feels more like they are stumbling in, off the strength of what they did earlier this season, rather than charging in bravely and with serious momentum. They will likely hope for a Chargers loss later today, which they need to keep the higher seed, to secure a playoff date at Houston. That feels like a game that they could win. Otherwise, they would drop to the sixth overall seed and have to face the red-hot Ravens, which I frankly doubt that they are ready for at this point.
My pick: Accurate
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