The Pittsburgh Steelers (7-3) got just what they needed to jump back into first place in the AFC North. They beat the Cincinnati Bengals (6-3) on their home field (again) and then watched the Baltimore Ravens (6-3) fall apart (again). Heading into a much-needed bye week, the Steelers are looking down at the rest of the AFC North, holding a half game lead on the two contenders. (The 3-6 Cleveland Browns are out of this race.)

Fending off hungry tigers

The Bengals came into the game as one of the good surprises of the first half of the season. With a tenacious defense and the “Rookie Connection” of QB Andy Dalton(notes) and WR A.J. Green(notes), the Bengals had done enough to win five straight. At 6-2, even their often-disappointed fans might have felt a glimmer of hope. But the Bengals had not played either the Steelers or the Ravens.

The Steelers showed no ill effects from the last second loss at home against the Ravens. The offense took the ball into the end zone on the their first two possessions, displaying their wide array of weapons. Although a tipped ball interception and a revival of the Rookie Connection got the Bengals back into the game, the Steelers did not fold or crumble. They just kept to business. In the third quarter, the Bengals tied the game at 17 when Dalton made a great, under-pressure TD throw to Jermaine Gresham(notes). But the Steelers drove 81 yards on their next possession, and Rashard Mendenhall(notes) scored his second TD of the day, a 9 yard romp that showed a tired defense. The Bengals had four chances to score in the fourth quarter, but punted twice and threw two interceptions. After the last interception, the Steelers earned two first downs and ran out the clock. No last second heroics allowed. The Bengals were not laughable, but they were not in the Steelers’ class either.

Ravens fall flat

The Baltimore Ravens are too psychologically weak to be champions. They crumbled again a week after winning an emotional game against their arch-rivals, the Steelers. In week two, they were whipped by the physical, but mediocre Tennessee Titans. This time, they lost to the lousy Seattle Seahawks. The Ravens signature defense looked average again, letting Marshawn Lynch(notes) run through them for 167 all-purpose yards. Instead of stepping up to control the AFC North, the Ravens let the Steelers back in. The Ravens will now have to fight to keep pace with the Steelers. They own the head-to-head tie-breaker against the Steelers, but they just used up their margin for error.

Now the schedule gets interesting! The AFC North race will be featured even as the Steelers take their Thanksgiving bye week. The Bengals travel to M&T Bank Stadium to face the humiliated Ravens on Sunday, November 20. The winner will keep pace with the Steelers (the Ravens would lead by virtue of their tie-breaker; the Bengals would be behind the Steelers). But the Ravens/Bengals loser will fall off the pace and face a tough uphill battle to make the playoffs. The Steelers don’t play until after Thanksgiving. For now, I will sit back, be thankful for first place, and enjoy the desperate struggle between the Ravens and Bengals. I hope they beat the stuffing out of each other.

Sean Durity is a Terrible Towel twirling Steelers fan living in Atlanta. He grew up cheering the 1970s dynasty and appreciates the organization’s excellence even more as an adult.

More from this contributor:

Preview of the three game gauntlet the Steelers just completed

My pre-training camp predictions had the Steelers at 8-2 at this point. 7-3 is pretty close!

SOURCES

Steelers at Bengals recap, espn.go.com

Ravens at Seahawks recap, espn.go.com

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The results are in from our SportsNation poll and the AFC North team with the best defense is … the Baltimore Ravens.

In a poll that received more than 9,500 votes, the Ravens were the winner, even though their defense ranks third behind the Bengals and the Steelers. It wasn’t even close with the Ravens earning 55 percent of the vote.

It’s hard to argue against the Ravens having the best defense. The Baltimore defense is certainly the most aggressive and dangerous.

The Ravens rank third in the NFL in yards allowed (212.o), second in points given up (14.3) and first in takeaways (14). The defense has scored as many touchdowns (four) as it has allowed (four) this season. When it comes to defensive player of the year, the Ravens have four top candidates already in linebacker Terrell Suggs, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, safety Ed Reed and linebacker Ray Lewis.

The biggest difference between the Ravens and the other defenses is forcing turnovers. The Ravens have taken the ball away more than the other AFC North defenses combined: the Browns (five), Bengals (four) and Steelers (one).

BALTIMORE – Chris Carr has signed a four-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Carr chose to return to Baltimore, despite interest from the Jaguars, the Bengals and the Jets.

He started all 16 games last season at cornerback, finishing with 61 tackles, two interceptions and three forced fumbles.

The 28-year-old Carr went undrafted out of Boise State, signing a free agent deal with the Raiders back in 2005. He spent three seasons in Oakland, before signing with the Titans in 2008. He joined the Ravens the following year.

Carr was a standout football player at McQueen high school in Reno. He was named All-State at running back his final three years. He was also the Northern Nevada Player of the Year and the State Offensive Player of the Year his senior season, when he rushed for 1,944 yards on just 206 carries. He also scored 34 touchdowns.

47 percent of ESPN readers currently say the Steelers will win the AFC North. 29 percent say it will be the Baltimore Ravens, which makes sense – the Steelers will depend on a bunch of older players this year, and it’s easy to imagine that a few guys will get hurt and the Steelers will get a couple of bad breaks, while Joe Flacco and company take a step forward. (Not that a 12-4 team like the 2010 Ravens needs to take much of a step forward to contend yet again.) As annoying as the Ravens are, I think picking them to win the division would be a fairly easy decision to justify.

That leaves 17 percent for the Cleveland Browns and seven percent for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Browns are a fun team, but not one that’s yet in a class with the Steelers and Ravens. As for the Bengals, I can only really assume that’s Bengals fans voting.

For more on the Steelers, check out Behind The Steel Curtain.