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We know how the Ravens look five weeks into the season, but how is the rest of the AFC North shaping up?
The Steelers, who sit a half-game behind Baltimore at 3-1, are coming off their bye week, which couldn't have landed at a more perfect time.
Pittsburgh welcomed Ben Roethlisberger back from his four-game suspension last week, and because of the bye, the Steelers' quarterback has had an extra handful of days to re-acclimate himself to the offense and get back in game shape.
Roethlisberger will return to Heinz Field this Sunday against the Browns, and while I assume he'll get a fairly warm welcome from the Steelers' faithful, I'm certainly interested to see how many boos are mixed in among the cheers.
The Bengals ... well, I guess they are who we thought they were - a team with a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, but chemistry and consistency issues. (I hope to include the link to the Dennis Green clip in at least three entries every season. One down, two to go.)
Cincinnati currently sits at 2-3 and has lost its last two games to the Browns and Buccaneers. Read that last sentence again, and you'll know all you need to know about where this team is at right now.
If you think the Ravens have a somewhat inconsistent quarterback, take a look at what Carson Palmer has done through five games. The two-time Pro Bowler, who was once thought of as one of the elite signal callers in the NFL, posted a 345-yard, two touchdown performance in a Week 1 loss to the Patriots and a 371-yard, two TD effort against the Browns.
But in his other three outings, Palmer has averaged under 200 yards passing, has a combined three touchdowns and five interceptions, and has a quarterback rating under 60, leading those in Cincinnati to question whether the Bengals need to make a move at the quarterback position in the next year or two.
As for the Browns, they have a 1-4 record through five weeks, which shouldn't surprise anyone - unless you thought they'd be 0-5 at this point. But Cleveland's record is somewhat deceiving. They're unquestionably a better team than in the last few years, despite the continued issues at quarterback.
The Browns have faced a tough schedule through five weeks (their opponents are a combined 16-7), and yet, their four losses have come by a total of just 22 points. They played the Ravens tough in Baltimore three weeks ago, beat the Bengals two Sundays back, and hung with the 4-1 Falcons on Sunday before falling by 10.
They won't contend this year, obviously, but who knows, in two or three years, Mike Holmgren might make this team a factor in the division yet again. Or, they'll realize that they're the Browns, and will go into another tailspin.
