By virtue of their last second 23-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers late last night, the Baltimore Ravens sit atop the standings in the AFC North after week 9 of the 2011 NFL season. Despite having the same 6-2 record as the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore leads the division based on their 2-0 record against AFC North opponents.
The Ravens have now swept the season series with the Steelers, yet have two games each left with both the Bengals and Cleveland Browns. The Bengals host the Steelers next weekend then travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens the following week. The next two weeks will prove if the amazing turnaround by Cincinnati is worthy of post season consideration or is the bottom ready to drop out on their Cinderella season.
With three of the teams in the AFC North having six wins, it is the only division in the league able to say that. At the same time, the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers rank among the top defenses in the league and with so much attention on offenses, it still proves that while offense make highlights, defense can still win championships.