AFC North Roundup: October 6, 2017

The first quarter of the season is in the books and the resting state of the AFC North is beginning to reveal itself. Here are the biggest, latest headlines for the Cleveland Browns’ rivals around the division for this week.

Baltimore Ravens: For the past 10 games, dating back to the 2016 season, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has thrown at least one interception. It’s not the kind of milestone any passer wants to reach. But what’s behind the picks? Baltimore Beatdown’s Logan Levy put the tape on to break down each one of Flacco’s interceptions in that span to figure out which were the quarterback’s fault and which resulted from a bit of extra outside influence.

Also: The Ravens’ poor recent track record of drafting wide receivers may be one reason for Flacco’s lengthy interception streak. But while we were all lamenting teh state of Baltimore’s wideouts, were we missing something else? Yitzi Weiss wonders if the Ravens’ ability to properly evaluate and draft running backs is also stunting the offense.

Pittsburgh Steelers: The Pittsburgh Steelers finally leaned on Le’Veon Bell and the run game in Week 4 and the result was a rare road win against the Baltimore Ravens. Behind the Steel Curtain’s Jeff Hartman and 58Steel do a deep statistical dive on what worked in Pittsburgh’s run game and, more importantly, how it worked.

Also: A year ago, Eli Rogers was the Steelers’ top slot receiver. This year, his snaps are dwindling, thanks to the team taking JuJu Smith-Schuster with their second round draft pick. Rogers was briefly used as a punt returner, which didn’t work out, and he was a healthy scratch in Week 4. Hartman wonders if Rogers could be on the trading block, especially if the Steelers can get a draft pick in return.

Cincinnati Bengals: Cincy Jungle’s Rebecca Tobak reports that the Cincinnati Bengals are in the market for a quarterback. It’s not to replace Andy Dalton nor A.J. McCarron, but McCarron is dealing with an Achilles tendon injury; thus, three free agents (none of them Colin Kaepernick) worked out for the team this week.

Also: The big Bengals news a week ago was the return of inside linebacker Vontaze Burfict after he served a three-game suspension to start the season. But muertedeatenas is more excited by another Cincinnati interior linebacker—Nick Vigil. And the film shows why.