AFC North Preview Week 13: Ravens play Eagles in Battle of the Birds; Steelers and Bengals faceoff

Taking a look ahead for the AFC North division in Week 13.

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)

After suffering one of the most shocking upset losses in a surprisingly eventful Week 12 slate, the Steelers will be looking to get back on track with their third straight divisional matchup and first of the season against the other team from Ohio, the Bengals during Sunday’s early slate of games.

Pittsburgh won both meetings between these two teams last season with each being decided by a touchdown or less. Neither matchup featured Cincinnati franchise quarterback Joe Burrow who had suffered a season-ending wrist injury the week prior to the first against Baltimore. This time around, the Steelers will face a much more formidable opponent coming off a week off and desperate for a win.

The Steelers are entering this matchup off a mini-bye in relatively good health despite having played a physical rivalry game in their last game against Cleveland. There are only five players listed on the injury report with actual non-rest-related ailments with the most notable being outside linebacker Alex Highsmith who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.

Highsmith was one of four injured players who were limited participants on Thursday along with defensive back Cory Trice Jr. (hamstring), defensive tackle Montravius Adams (knee) and defensive lineman Keeanu Benton (hip). The only nonparticipant in practice this week with an ailment is veteran safety Damontae Kazee (illness).

Baltimore Ravens (8-4)

The reigning AFC North champions will be looking to soar into their long-awaited Week 14 bye on a high note by coming out on top of a Battle of the Birds with the Philadelphia Eagles in the Sunday late window. This interconference clash of Titans will pit two of the best teams in the league who play and win using similar formulas against each other in what could be a potential Super Bowl preview.

While these two teams faced off a few months ago for an exhibition during the preseason, these teams have only met six times during the regular season since the Ravens became a team in 1996. Baltimore leads the all-time series 3-2-1 and has won the last meetings with the most recent coming in 2020 when Lamar Jackson led the Ravens to a 30-28 road victory over a Carson Wentz-led Eagles squad. This time around, he’ll be squaring off against two-time Pro Bowl signal-caller Jalen Hurts for the first time but the real star of the show for Philadelphia is star running back Saquon Barkley who currently leads the league in rushing.

The Ravens appear to getting healthy heading into the bye week as they prepare for the final stretch of the regular season with playoff seeding and a division crown on the line. They had several injured defenders return to practice this week after missing time with the most notable being two-time All Pro inside linebacker Roquan Smith. He was a limited participant on Wednesday and Thursday with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss last Monday night’s big win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Veteran nose tackle Michael Pierce (calf) and rookie cornerback T.J. Tampa (ankle) had their 21-day practice windows activated although they remain on injured reserve for the time being.

Tight end Charlie Kolar is expected to be placed on injured reserve with the broken forearm he suffered last week. Nickel Arthur Maulet continues to miss practice with a calf injury that has caused him to miss the last two weeks. Outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy (hamstring) has yet to practice this week and defensive tackles Travis Jones (ankle) and Broderick Washington (knee/rest) sat out Thursday. Rookie safety Sanoussi Kane (ankle) is on track to make his return to action after missing his first game of the season last week following being a full participant on Thursday.

Cincinnati Bengals (4-7)

Fresh off a Week 12 bye and with dwindling playoff hopes, the Bengals will be determined to end a two-game losing and stay in the hunt for a potential wildcard berth when they host the Steelers on Sunday. Cincinnati is 1-2 against AFC North foes this season with both losses coming against Baltimore and the lone victory narrowly coming against the Browns. A win against Pittsburgh would mark their first Week 11 of the 2022 season when they were coming off a bye and were led to a 37-30 triumph by a prolific passing performance from Burrow where he threw for 355 yards and four touchdowns.

Despite having last week off, the Bengals still aren’t quite at full strength although five of the seven players listed on their injury report with non-rest-related ailments took part in the first two days of practice in some capacity. The only two who have yet to practice are defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (illness) and inside linebacker Logan Wilson (knee) while the rest are listed as follows:

LB Joe Bachie (hip)

OT Orlando Brown Jr. (fibula)

QB Joe Burrow (wrist)

WR Charlie Jones (groin)

OT Amarius Mims (ankle)

Cleveland Browns (3-8)

Following an incredibly entertaining upset win over the Steelers on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 12, the Browns will wrap up Week 13 with a primetime AFC showdown with the red-hot Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. The Broncos are currently slated as the sixth seed of the wildcard standings and have won four of their last six games including the last two in a row. Meanwhile, the Browns will be aiming to notch back-to-back wins for the first time this season and keeping their slim-to-none playoff hopes alive as they have not yet been mathematically eliminated.

This will mark the second year in a row that these two teams will be playing each other after they each finished as runner-ups in their respective divisions in 2023. Last year’s matchup took place in Denver and saw the Browns get pummeled 29-12. This year’s game will be in Cleveland where the Browns are 2-1 since Jameis Winston took over for Deshaun Watson as the team’s starting quarterback.

Nearly half of the 10 players listed on their initial injury report sat out of the practice on Thursday with the most notable of the bunch being starting left tackle Jedrick Wills (knee) followed by safety Juan Thornhill (calf), wide receiver Cedric Tillman (concussion) and tight end Geoff Swaim (concussion). The limited and full participants are listed below:

OG Joel Bitonio (elbow)

CB Myles Harden (tibia)

DT Maurice Hurst (shoulder)

OG Germain Ifedi (biceps)

WR Jerry Jeudy (knee)

CB Greg Newsome II (abdomen)