OTL: A Perfect Sunday in the AFC North!

Baltimore, this wasn’t a Sunday. This was therapy. The Ravens are still locked and shackled in the doldrums of their 1-5 start in many ways, yet their victory over the Chicago Bears served as proof of life. This is proof of concept, life support for the high hopes of this beleaguered season. Pairing with this delicious taste of life was the Cincinnati Bengals crumbling a huge lead to the winless New York Jets, the Cleveland Browns continuing on their miserable track, and the Pittsburgh Steelers surrendering a 16-7 lead to lose to 35-25 to the Green Bay Packers. The Steelers are suddenly 4-3 and coming back down to the murky waters of the AFC North competition. Lamar Jackson very well could be back Thursday against the Miami Dolphins, along with the idea that this season still means something. Dare I say things are looking up?

Let’s start with the purple and black.

Zach Canter of Baltimore Beatdown highlighted the Good, Bad And The Ugly from the Ravens showdown with Chicago. The most important thing he noted for the good was an improved sense of what is going on defensively:

Pressure Schemes: Outside of Green’s quick win, the best of the pass rush came on blitzes. The Ravens only had the one sack today, but forced multiple incompletions and intentional grounding penalties (which should be counted as sacks for the player who causes it). The blitzes seemed to work, and multiple guys got free rushing lanes up the middle. Zach Orr will need to keep this up until and unless the Ravens figure out a reliable four-man rush.

Canter hits the right notes here. The Ravens were able to make a difference with schemed pressure, a concept that seemed lost on Orr for much of the 1-5 start. Kyle Hamilton needs to be able to be in attack mode. If this game proved anything, it’s that. While I would still like the defense to turn up the heat a couple more levels, I like the idea that some blitzes got things cooking.

Canter notes that the coaching staff deserves big time kudos for their performance:

The weekend brought drama involving Lamar Jackson’s practice status. But the staff came up with a great gameplan and pulled out a win to keep their season alive. Orr’s defense played some of its best football all season, Monken’s offense dropped 30 points with a backup quarterback, and Harbaugh kept the team together for the win. I even liked Harbaugh’s challenge on the Marlon Humphrey should-have-been turnover. Now, they’ve got to keep it locked in for a game in five days in Miami.

I’ve been as hard on Harbaugh as anybody, but the Baltimore Beatdown writer is absolutely correct. The coaching staff should be proud of their work this week. Things went imperfectly, but the team rallied around each other and got where it needed to be. This is the first time of the season where there is something the Ravens can use to build from. This is the first time this season the Ravens had a rhyme to their reason. Harbaugh needed this one. The team was done for if they lost. Give him and his staff credit, you wouldn’t know that the Ravens have been an epicenter for dysfunction based on their Sunday performance.

The Baltimore Ravens official website columnist Clifton Brown had some very high praise for Tyler Huntley, in his efforts to steer the Ravens’ ship as the backup quarterback:

Regardless of the circumstances, Huntley plays with freedom and confidence that resonates with his teammates. It has been difficult for the Ravens to win without Jackson since he became their starting quarterback in 2019, but when Huntley plays this well, they can certainly win.

The Ravens hope Jackson will be back for Thursday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins, but Huntley deserves credit for rising to the occasion. Teammates said he was cooking all week during practice, and it carried over into the game. He made short, long, and clutch throws that led the Ravens to victory.

Huntley did everything he could in this game to show the team could be competent without Lamar Jackson. Nobody thought the Ravens would be dropping 30 without Jackson. Huntley was tasked with somehow doing enough to give Baltimore a chance and he did more than enough to propel a compelling victory. You could argue that it was the most efficient the Ravens have looked this season. He deserves all the credit that Brown gives him and then more.

Energy pic.twitter.com/Sr2eAGgTWw

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) October 26, 2025

We can breakdown the game until we’re deep into our Monday, with the crumbs of our lunches hanging close by, yet let’s just take a moment to enjoy the energy of this moment. The Ravens have a victory Monday to revel in. Don’t think too hard on the record. The next game is up quick. Take today just to be a happy fan. See the smiles. See the spirit of a win. We just found out that we can’t take it for granted, didn’t we?

Feels good to enter club dub!! Let’s work! pic.twitter.com/zXNpgYkLY6

— Kyle Van Noy (@KVN_03) October 26, 2025

LMAOOOOOO @Bengals YOU GUYS LOST TO THE 0-7 JETS pic.twitter.com/5lGJMDNHam

— #EGE Sammy (@VSammy3_) October 26, 2025

So the Bengals gave the Jets their first win? Priceless. But how did it happen? They had a huge lead. Cincinnati local TV man Caleb Noe has a great breakdown of the craziness here.

2-minute recap of the Bengals’ total collapse in the last 8 minutes of today’s loss to the previously winless Jets.#Bengals @WCPO pic.twitter.com/tZWvNqprjD

— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) October 27, 2025

For what it’s worth, the Bengals seem to be the same team they were last year with a different Joe under center. The defense of the Bengals and questionable coaching decisions by Zac Taylor continue to waste great offensive performances. You cannot blame Flacco and the offense when there are 38 Cincinnati points on the board.

How about them Steelers? First off, their alternate uniforms were a crime against vision itself. Secondly, they squandered a halftime lead at home. The Packers got the win. The Steelers get the memes:

Steelers look like they lost a bet wearing those pic.twitter.com/vT2avzLaaV

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 27, 2025

If you thought I could be mature about uniforms this bad… I probably could be for any other team.

Fresh off a 12 hour shift pic.twitter.com/w3kzTsm0xC

— Saint Denis (@Ldog3325451) October 27, 2025

One more, for good measure. Though I want to apologize. You’re too good a man for this Charlie Brown.

What in the Charlie Brown is going on with the Steelers uniforms? pic.twitter.com/oURnU386Fa

— Crazy Stalker Mom (@texasstalkermom) October 26, 2025

Alright, we should probably get out of here while we’re still having fun. Happy Victory Monday. Enjoy it.

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