The AFC North was widely considered the toughest division in the NFL heading into the regular season, but there certainly have been some bumps in the road where the division played poorly. Every NFL team was in action, obviously, in Week 2, but the AFC North had games on multiple days. When all was said and done, the Steelers were the lone undefeated team through two weeks of action.

Time to take a look at how the AFC North played out in Week 2, the latest standings and the upcoming schedule in Week 3.

Kansas City Chiefs – 26
Cincinnati Bengals – 25

A wild game in Arrowhead Stadium Sunday resulted in a last second Harrison Butker field goal to give the Chiefs their second win of the season. And it knocked the Bengals further down the standings in the AFC North, but the bigger story might be how the Bengals lost. Sure, there were questionable penalties throughout the game, but that’s become the standard around the league. What isn’t the standard was Ja’Marr Chase getting a 15-yard personal foul for using “abusive language” towards the head referee in the game. When the dust settled, the Chiefs were victorious and the Bengals remain searching for their first win of the 2024 season.

Las Vegas Raiders – 26
Baltimore Ravens – 23

You can log this game into the “didn’t see this coming” category. The Raiders trailed in this game for the vast majority of the contest, but when it mattered most the Raiders made plays necessary to claw their way back into the game. Slowly, but surely Maxx Crosby and Gardner Minshew chipped away at the Baltimore lead and made enough plays to pull off the upset. Baltimore losing at home in their home opener was not expected, just like no one saw the Ravens starting the year 0-2. A tough road lies ahead for the Ravens, and falling to 0-3 would be a challenging hole to crawl out of.

Cleveland Browns – 18
Jacksonville Jaguars – 13

The Browns and Jaguars went head-to-head in Florida and there were times when neither team looked like they wanted to claim victory. Nonetheless, the Jaguars new 100 million dollar man, Trevor Lawrence, was unable to make enough plays to win the home game, and their first win of the season. Lawrence had mediocre numbers, without a touchdown or an interception. Meanwhile, DeShaun Watson had an equally mediocre game, but it was the Cleveland defense which proved too much for Jacksonville on their way to their first win of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers – 13
Denver Broncos – 6

Ugly wins are the Steelers’ MO this season, but it’s only been two games. However, if someone were to ask me what the high profile Steelers defense would do to rookie quarterback Bo Nix, I would have suggested multiple turnovers and keeping them under 10 points. Mission accomplished as they got two interceptions off Nix, one of them being the red-zone variety. There are still concerns over the offense, and that’s justified at this juncture; however, the Steelers have done enough to win their first two games on the road. Are brighter days ahead for the offense? I think we can expect improvement, but with that dominant defense firing on all cylinders it seems like it wouldn’t take a huge outburst for the Steelers to continue to win games.

AFC North Standings

Pittsburgh Steelers – 2-0
Cleveland Browns – 1-1
Baltimore Ravens – 0-2
Cincinnati Bengals – 0-2

AFC North Week 2 Schedule

New York Giants at Cleveland Browns – Sunday, 1pm EST
Los Angeles Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers – Sunday, 1pm EST
Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys – Sunday, 4:25pm EST
Washington Commanders at Cincinnati Bengals – Monday, 8:15pm EST