The Best Division In The NFL Has Teams Winning With Backup QBs And Making Great OT Decisions
The best division in the entire NFL right now? The AFC North, of course.
Meet the Baltimore Ravens. They have the best record in the entire conference and are the AFC North division leaders.
Meet the Cleveland Browns. They are 8-5 following Sunday's victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars, a win that came despite the fact Trevor Lawrence started the game after nursing a sprained ankle all week.
Joe Flacco Earns Starting Job
The Browns currently own the No. 5 overall seed in the AFC playoffs.
Meet the Pittsburgh Steelers. They didn't play on Sunday after losing their second consecutive game on Thursday night.
But despite the setback, and three losses in four games, the Steelers are the No. 6 seed in the AFC.
And meet the Cincinnati Bengals. They're 7-6 after two consecutive wins behind backup-turned-starting quarterback Jake Browning. The Bengals currently hold the No. 7 and last seed in the AFC.
The four teams in the AFC North are all looking like playoff teams right now. At least they're in if the postseason ended today.
[Update: Following the Bills victory over the the Bengals dropped out of the top 7 and Indianapolis rose back to No. 7 as a result of a six-team tiebreaker.)
Jake Browning Playing Well For Bengals
And, no, the season does not end today. There are still four weeks remaining in the NFL regular season. But the fact all four clubs are relevant is impressive.
Because three of the four teams -- the Browns, Bengals, and Steelers -- have been playing with backup quarterbacks. And two of those -- Cleveland and Cincy -- know there's no hope their starters are coming back this year.
And they're prospering anyway.
Browning, playing in place of Joe Burrow, was asked after the Bengals beat the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday if he believes his team is playoff caliber?
"Damn right," Browning said.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 17: Head coach Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals reacts after a play during the second quarter in the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Paycor Stadium on September 17, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Zac Taylor Knows Bengals Season Not Over
Browning completed 19-of-24 passes for 274 yards with two touchdowns and one interception against the Colts. And coach Zac Taylor praised his backup for consecutive excellent outings against Jacksonville and the Colts on a short week.
But the coach didn't want anyone, including Browning, getting comfortable.
"Jake knows the season doesn't end today," Taylor said.
The Browns are pretty impressive right now. They've been floundering since Deshaun Watson was lost for the season following a Nov. 12 victory at Baltimore.
But losing their QB forced the Browns to turn to Dorian Thompson-Robinson as their starter. And when that didn't work and DTR was injured, they turned to Flacco who they signed Nov. 20.
Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski has been trying to get comfortable with the idea of Flacco being his starter but after Flacco threw for 311 yards with three TD passes and one interception, the coach was asked if Flacco is the starter the remainder of the season.
"Yes," Stefanski said. "Played well. You expect him to get better as he gets more comfortable in our system with our players, those type of things. But we just talked about him and all our guys, doing their job, giving us their best, and I thought that's what he did."
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - DECEMBER 10: Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams and head coach John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens meet prior to an NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Rams at M&T Bank Stadium on December 10, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
John Harbaugh's Great Call For Ravens
The Ravens are doing what practically everyone expects them to do with a healthy quarterback situation. Lamar Jackson had some rough moments where he threw the ball with poor technique resulting in underthrows against the Rams on Sunday.
But Jackson still collected three touchdown passes in passing for 316 yards. He also rushed for 70 yards.
The Ravens are just making good decisions. Like the one coach John Harbaugh made when Devin Duvernay left the game with a back injury. Harbaugh, a former special teams coordinator, selected Tylan Wallace to replace Duvernay as his punt returner.
And Wallace returned a punt 76 yards for a game-winning touchdown in overtime.
"Tylan is a veteran player, fourth-year guy who's kind of been through it," Harbaugh said. "It it just kind of felt like, it wasn't a conscious thing, it just felt like, 'he deserves it. He's ready for that moment.' Did I think he was going to take it back to the house? No. But I thought he'd catch it. Maybe make a guy miss.
"Amazing event."
And right now the AFC North is an amazing division.