#afc-north

#afc-north

... I've been instilled by a lot of great players here. I learned from a lot of just special players, Troy [Polamalu], Brett [Keisel], Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, shoot, guys I didn't even play with like Joey Porter. They've all been in my ear. And even when I didn't want to hear it, they were honest with me. ... I'm just honestly jealous of them.

If the NFC South got the ending it deserved, then so too did the AFC North. The division's season finale couldn't quite match the pathetic reality of two 8-9 teams sitting at home rooting for two other losing teams to send them to playoffs, but it perfectly captured that which defined this division throughout the season: the perception of prestige undermined by the cold hard reality of badly played football.

For it to end like that sucks, and I want to do better. Unfortunately, the nature of the job is you have makes, and those are awesome, and unfortunately, you have misses, and for that to happen tonight sucks.

PITTSBURGH -- The Baltimore Ravens ruled out starting wide receiver Rashod Bateman for Sunday night's AFC North title game against at the Steelers. Bateman had been listed as questionable after missing every practice with an illness. But Baltimore downgraded Bateman, the team's fifth-leading receiver, on Saturday after he did not make the trip to Pittsburgh. Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Friday that Bateman was dealing with a "pretty serious" bout with the flu, but he had thought Bateman would be cleared by game day.

Honestly, don't know if I could have said that a week ago, but I feel really good. Feel really confident about the week of practice and excited to play.

My hope is the Bengals find a way to keep Trey Hendrickson on this roster. He's a game changer. Coordinator Al Golden must create a new identity on the defensive side of the ball, too. Limit the explosive plays and win in the red zone. But I'm still making this bet because of Joe Burrow and a pass-heavy Bengals offense that ranked top 10 in scoring last season.