Ravens' Takeaways From Other AFC North Debuts

The Baltimore Ravens could benefit from keeping track from how their AFC North rivals held up in their own season openers.

Aug 15, 2019; Baltimore, MD, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (right) shakes hands with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (left) after the game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images | Evan Habeeb-Imagn Images

Despite entering this regular season as the presumptive AFC North favorites, the Baltimore Ravens are already residing in the division's bottom half.

Granted, we're only through the first weekend of NFL action, and the Ravens' most recent dramatic loss was arrived on the heels of 40 points and highlight-worthy plays from players all across Baltimore's offense. The Buffalo Bills came back from 15-point down entering the game's final four minutes, with Josh Allen contributing his first MVP bid of the young season on Sunday night to stun Lamar Jackson.

But when the playoff picture starts to become a little clearer in a few months, the final result will stand as the most important takeaway from the duel. A loss is a loss, the sort of fate that half of the Ravens' local rivals managed to avoid.

Two of them, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns, duked it out against one another, producing a few final scores that fell considerably short of Baltimore 41-40 shootout. Joe Burrow's Bengals were favored entering the matchup and indeed held on for the win, but warding off the bottom-dwelling Browns didn't look as comfortable as many would have expected.

Cincinnati's developed a reputation for starting slowly since Burrow ushered in their own contention window, and his barely squeaking out a 17-16 victory amidst several costly Cleveland mistakes is a proper representation of the early-season Bengals.

Former Ravens quarterback-turned-grizzled veteran Joe Flacco threw admirably, nearly notching 300 aerial yards in approaching 41-years-old, leading his team to a sufficiently more impressive second half that revealed some major holes in Cincinnati's defense as well as the team's lack of worthy weapons. The Bengals were picked as a potential playoff returner with the starpower they offer at the top of their depth chart, but barely legging out such an ugly win won't register as a sign of confidence for most.

Sep 7, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) shake hands after a game at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Ravens' final AFC North foe, the Pittsburgh Steelers, were viewed as the division's wild card. They added Aaron Rodgers, the only active quarterback older than Flacco, looking to finally captain their regularly-impressive defense into a convincing playoff push.

Rodgers' previous season didn't impress anyone, as he looked to be succumbing to age and mileage in ending an unimpressive stint with the New York Jets, but he instead contributed to a wild back-and-forth battle to topple his former team in starting Pittsburgh's season off with a win. He threw for a quartet of touchdowns in his Steelers debut, enough to lead all Week 1 passers.

He, along with the Bengals, look to make the divisional standings interesting, especially if the Ravens continue coughing up nearly-guaranteed wins like they did in Buffalo. As the win probability chart learned, no perceived win or lead is guaranteed.

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