Category: Around the North

Around the North: Steelers reportedly still believe in Kenny Pickett long-term

The team still believes in the former first round pick

The Pittsburgh Steelers enter the final Sunday of the regular season hanging onto playoff hopes with 10 wins on the year. During the team’s playoff push they stuck with quarterback Mason Rudolph over their former first round pick Kenny Pickett once he was healthy.

Rudolph has played well and managed the offense to put them in a position for the playoffs. But reports are coming out of Pittsburgh that the team still believes Pickett is the future after this season. It will be interesting to see how the offseason plays out as Rudolph is set to be a free agent.

Will Pittsburgh bring Rudolph back to have a competition with Pickett or will the team decline competition for their former first rounder? Browns fans know all about quarterback battles and question marks heading into the offseason. For now the Browns prepare for a playoff matchup next week with their own offseason questions at the position looming.

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Around the North: Steelers given a 31 percent chance to make the playoffs

Could a third AFC North team sneak into the playoffs?

The Cleveland Browns have none of the worries that the Pittsburgh Steelers have as the NFL season tolls into Week 18.

Having locked up their playoff spot against the New York Jets on Thursday night of Week 17, the Browns are planning to rest the majority of their starters as they take on the Cincinnati Bengals in what will look like a preseason game.

The Steelers, however, still hang in the wildcard balance and have been given a 31 percent chance to make the playoffs (according to ESPN’s Football Power Index). They will need a win today as they take on the Baltimore Ravens, then some help around the league from the Miami Dolphins or Tennessee Titans.

Luckily for the Steelers, the Ravens are planning to rest up as well, starting Tyler Huntley at quarterback. However, even with a win, the Steelers will need either the Buffalo Bills to lose to the Miami Dolphins, or the Jacksonville Jaguars to get beat by the Tennessee Titans.

As they hit the field on Saturday afternoon, the odds are not in Pittsburgh’s favor.

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Around the North: Veteran running back Dalvin Cook signs with Ravens

An already strong running game adds more talent

The rival Baltimore Ravens have already won the AFC North and first overall seed in this year’s playoffs before Week 18 begins. Though it would have made sense for the Cleveland Browns to sign veteran Dalvin Cook after his release from the Jets he signed with the Ravens instead. The veteran now has a couple of weeks to get up to speed before the divisional round of the playoffs begins.

Cook isn’t quite the player he was a couple of seasons ago he is still a solid player with a ton of experience. He improves on an already strong running game in Baltimore with Lamar Jackson, Gus Edwards, and Justice Hill. They have already rushed for over 2,500 yards on the season with five yards per carry.

It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Todd Monken incorporates Cook into the rushing offense. The Ravens will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers for their final regular season game of the 2023 season.

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Report: Browns cause meltdown in Steelers’ locker room after Week 11 matchup

Following a loss in Cleveland things reportedly got heated in the Steelers locker room.

It has been a frustrating season for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense under Matt Canada. Following the loss to the Browns in Cleveland where they only managed to score 10 points Canada was fired as offensive coordinator.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter that wasn’t the only issue coming out of that loss.

“Steelers WR Diontae Johnson got into a heated post-game locker-room argument last Sunday with teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick, before Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt broke up the altercation and delivered a message that the team needed to stick together.”

This is the opposite of what normally happens when the Browns and Steelers play. It’s normally Cleveland firing coaches and having team scuffles but this time it’s different.

The culture in Cleveland is changing as it’s the Browns that are finding ways to win these games. It will be interesting to see how things play out in Pittsburgh but it could get ugly and fast on the offensive side of the ball.

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Browns fan bye week watch guide: 5 games to watch in Week 5

A watch guide for the five biggest NFL games in week 5. Watch the Steelers and Ravens, Bengals and Cardinals, Rams and Eagles, Cowboys and 49ers, and Vikings vs. Chiefs.

An Autumn Sunday without the Cleveland Browns feels so empty. Neither college football nor fall chores can fill the void this weekend. The only thing that can even begin to scratch the itch more professional football. This bye week, I examined the Week 5 schedule to identify the five best games to watch on Sunday when missing the Browns. Unfortunately, Sunday’s slate doesn’t seem to boast many exciting matchups. There is, however, a divisional matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals.

When compiling the list of five games, I excluded the Buffalo Bills Jacksonville Jaguars game played in London. My primary focus was on games outside prime periods, aiming to spotlight teams the Browns will encounter later in the season—an introduction for our fans. Consequently, the list features our familiar foes in the AFC North and our future opponents in the NFC West. Rest assured, I’m not solely recommending low-scoring smash-mouth games.

While that’s my preferred style of football to watch, I understand the importance for us fans to witness good quarterbacks in action for once. I made it a point to highlight what Vegas deems the highest-scoring game this weekend. Without further ado, here’s a watch guide to the NFL’s five biggest games on Sunday.

Around the North: Ravens sign former Browns DE Jadeveon Clowney

The defensive end is staying in the division

After spending the past couple of seasons with the Cleveland Browns former number one overall pick Jadeveon Clowney is signing a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens. Ian Rapoport is reporting that the deal is worth a maximum of$6 million for the season.

After a productive first season in Cleveland Clowney saw a massive drop off in his play this past season. He still plays the run pretty well but his juice as a pass rusher is going down. He also had some locker room issues last year that led to the Browns not playing him in the season finale.

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Around the North: Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey will miss time with foot injury

The injury will require surgery with Humphrey expected to miss around a month

The Baltimore Ravens will be without their best cornerback for a little over a month after suffering an injury in practice on Wednesday. NFL Networks Ian Rapoport reported that it will require surgery and he may miss the team’s first couple of games. This is important for Cleveland Browns’ fans as they play the Ravens on October 1 and that may mean Pro Bowler Marlon Humphrey could still be sidelined.

The team is already thin at cornerback so to have their best sidelined for games it may be a struggle for their defense. The Ravens still have a ton of talent at other positions on defense and they’ll look to others to step up in Humphrey’s absence.

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Around the North: Bengals extend standout LB Logan Wilson

The standout linebacker isn’t going anywhere

The quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals defense, linebacker Logan Wilson, isn’t going anywhere. It was announced Friday that Wilson is signing a four-year, $37.25 million extension with the team. He will receive $11.2 million of that per year in the first two years of the deal.

Wilson has had over 100 tackles in the last two seasons as he became a full-time starter. He’s a huge part of the Bengals’ defensive success that help lead them to back-to-back AFC Championship games and a Super Bowl trip in 2021. One of the more talented young players will continue his career with the Bengals long-term.

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Podcast: Breaking down the Bengals to kick off AFC North primer

Get to know the enemy here.

The Cleveland Browns will dive right into the AFC North to start their 2023 season, playing all three of their rivals within the first four weeks. First up in Week 1 is the Cincinnati Bengals, so what better way to get to know the enemy than by having one of the best at covering them break them down for us?

In this episode of Nothing Rhymes with Orange, I sit down with SI All Bengals‘ Mike Santagata (@bengals_sans) to get to know the 2023 Bengals. We discuss their offseason losses and additions, how they do what they do from an Xs and Os perspective, and expectations this season for our friends in Kentucky.

Listen in on either Spotify or Apple Podcasts!

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Around the North: Bengals face difficulties keeping their big three

The Bengals owner was hesitant to talk long term deals for star players

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On Monday, a video was posted where the Cleveland Browns’ rival Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown was asked about the looming extensions of quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. There have been plenty that have voiced concern that the team wouldn’t be able to financially make it work with the offensive trio.

He had tried to shut the questions down about Joe Burrow as he said they had agreed to keep that private. He then went on to talk about the difficulty of paying everyone and keeping them under the salary cap. It is an interesting couple of minutes from the Bengals owner you will want to check it out.

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