Sports

After starting the season with a multitude of injuries and a 1-5 record, the Baltimore Ravens appear destined to win their division.

The Ravens are on a three-game winning streak and have improved their record to 4-5, and are now the heavy favorites to win the AFC North, with -290 odds at DraftKings.

Baltimore is still a game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North standings, but there's not a lot of optimism that the Steelers can remain in first place. The 5-4 Steelers' odds to win the division are +260.

The other two teams in the AFC North are non-factors in the division race; the 3-6 Bengals are at +2800 and the 2-7 Browns are at a whopping +20000.

The Ravens' next three games are against teams with losing records -- the Browns, Jets and Bengals -- so it's easy to see them being on a six-game winning streak when they face the Steelers on December 7. A month from now, the Ravens may have the division all but wrapped up. Not many people would have expected that when they were 1-5.

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was off in Sunday night’s 25-10 loss to the Chargers.

The 41-year-old quarterback looked uncomfortable from the get-go, as Pittsburgh started its first two possessions at the Steelers’ 40 and the Chargers’ 46 but could net only three points.

He ended the contest 16-of-31 for 161 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. But early on in the fourth quarter, he was just 9-of-21 passing for 91 yards.

How does Rodgers explain what happened?

“A lot of stuff wasn’t working,” Rodgers said postgame. “We were bad on third down. I was just a little bit off — missed DK [Metcalf] early, could’ve been a big play. Little high to Jonnu [Smith]. But yeah, we didn’t run the ball super effectively in the first half. I missed, obviously, some throws, for sure. And then we weren’t getting guys open and couldn’t put it all together. Times guys were open, I missed the throws that I usually make.

“Our defense played really well tonight. Offensively, we were pretty bad. So, we’ve got to find a way to get open on third down, I’ve got to find a way to hit ‘em, because that was just some bad ball.”

Through the season’s first eight games, Rodgers had been plenty effective, completing 69 percent of his passes for 1,692 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions. Even as Rodgers is a few weeks away from turning 42, he noted that his body is feeling good.

This performance just happened to be one of those games.

“I expect to play great every single week, and this was not my best performance,” Rodgers said. “I’ve got to play better than this for us to win. Whatever it takes. If it’s better checks, if it’s better throws, I’ve got to play better. I will, but we’ve got to bounce back.

“We’ve got to play better on offense, for sure, but this is part of the season. There’s ebbs and flows, there’s ups and downs. And we can’t ride the wave. It felt like our energy — and it starts with me — wasn’t as great on offense. I felt like were were just kind of struggling a little bit and couldn’t get a play and get going. … We had so many three-and-outs and we hurt ourselves with a couple of penalties, and I didn’t play very good at all.”

If there is a silver lining, though, Pittsburgh is still in first place in the AFC North — which is exactly what Rodgers cited when asked how the team can move forward.

“We’re 5-4, we’re leading the division,” he said.

Rodgers and the Steelers will have to bounce back against the Bengals at home next Sunday afternoon.

Mike Tomlin has been clearly frustrated in plenty of press conferences since becoming head coach of the Steelers in 2007.

With Sunday's 25-10 loss to the Chargers, another one can be added to the list.

"We stunk it up tonight," Tomlin said.

Tomlin cited the offense’s poor performance on third down as a key issue. Pittsburgh started the game 0-of-9 in the category before finishing 2-of-11 after a garbage-time touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.

“You’re not going to win football games not converting third downs and losing the turnover battle,” Tomlin said. “We certainly were loose with the ball in several instances and didn’t convert enough third downs, and so that’s the end result. It’s nothing mystical about it.

“We’ll be back. We’ll be better — we have to be. But we certainly weren’t tonight.”

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was largely ineffective, finishing the night 16-of-31 for 161 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. While Tomlin initially noted that Rodgers was a component of the collective offensive struggles, he was later asked how he would assess Rodgers’ performance.

“How would you?” Tomlin curtly replied after making a face that illustrated his frustration. “Next.”

Tomlin was also terse when asked if the Steelers could have run the ball more. Jaylen Warren finished with 70 yards on just 14 carries, but there’s a reason for that.

“Guys, if you’re 0-for-9 or 10 on third down, you’re not going to have enough snaps [to run it more],” Tomlin said. “Like, we’ve been over that discussion a lot.”

Still, the Steelers are 5-4 and currently own first place in the AFC North.

“I’m not lacking confidence. I don’t need a pat on the back,” Tomlin said. “We’ll be back.”

And what gives Tomlin that confidence?

"Fifty-three years of life," Tomlin said, "in particular in this business."

Pittsburgh will host Cincinnati for a rematch between the divisional foes next Sunday afternoon.