AFC Injuries: Bengals, Steelers, and Browns ALL lost their BEST player in Week 2

Boy, oh boy, what a murderous week we have just put an end to with the final games of it taking place on Monday Night Football and pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns against each other in an inter-divisional AFC North matchup.

The Ravens entered the 2023 season as the most banged-up team among those part of the division, and things got even worse for the Flock following the games played in Week 1. Baltimore couldn't count on CB Marlon Humphrey and TE Mark Andrews, lost J.K. Dobbins for the season, and also saw Marcus Williams torn a pectoral muscle and two linemen get out with "week-to-week" designations.

That was horrible, of course, but at least the Ravens can say they escaped Week 2 (nearly) unscathed with just a few players (Odell Beckham and Odafe Oweh) getting banged up but none of them lost for long.

That is something that the other three teams (all of them!) part of the AFC North can't say on Tuesday, Setp. 19, as the best individual player of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals suffered a mid-to-long-term injury on Sunday or Monday.

Baltimore is already 2-0 in the AFC North, and while you hate players to go down injured, this cannot be better news for a Ravens organization that must be licking their chops entering Week 3 leading the division and facing another team expected not to have its RB1 and starting quarterback available Sunday.

Here's a breakdown of what happened to each franchise, the players injured, and how much time they are expected to miss while rehabbing.

Cincinnati Bengals: QB Joe Burrow (calf)

First things first, the Bengals are the no. 1 sore losers from Sunday's action as they hosted the Ravens, lost to Baltimore, and now face the longest possible odds to make the postseason.

As if that wasn't enough, the Bengals turned their starting quarterback into the then-richest NFL player in history just hours before Week 1, only for him to put up a stinker.

Then, in Week 2, Joe Burrow completed 27 passes for 222 yards but still lost the Bengals their Week 2 game throwing an interception that all but sealed the defeaft.

Speaking after the game, Burrow said he would need "a couple nights, a couple sleeps" to assess the soreness of his calf, per Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. Then, late Monday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed the team is "still in the evaluation process" of Burrow's nagging calf injury.

The Bengals have a little bit of extra time as they won't play football until next Monday when they'll face the Los Angeles Rams. Coach Taylor said on Monday that it's "hard to say right now" whether or not Burrow will play.

There is no timeline for Burrow's comeback as he's not even been left out of the team plans at any point yet while completing the first two games in full (barring his benching in Week 1 because of bad play, not injury concerns).

According to Dehner, Burrow "was at the [Bengals] facility" on Monday and walking "briskly" without any "significant impediment." Dehner contacted an injury analyst and quoted her in his story.

"At this point, it’s something he’ll have to manage the entire season," said Dr. Jessica Flynn. "This is not going to go away. He will still be dealing with it most likely in December."

The Bengals have two options: keep playing Burrow, or sit him for a week or two to give his calf some recovery time. As Dr. Flynn put it, "That is a finesse kind of a call," and Burrow can be considered out/available indefinitely at this point.

Cleveland Browns: RB Nick Chubb (knee)

One thing happened on MNF that tells you all you need to know about Nick Chubb's injury: the broadcast team of ESPN decided not to show the replay of it.

According to an ESPN spokesperson contacted by The Athletic, the decision "was made by the production onsite. “We viewed the replays in our production truck immediately after the play and decided to use discretion out of respect to the viewers and Nick Chubb,” he said.

Chubb suffered a "significant" knee injury, per Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, and he later confirmed that the running back is set to miss the remainder of the season, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Chubb was removed from the field in the second quarter following a hit delivered by Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who was also ruled out for the game later (more on him later). Chubb left the game with 64 rushing yards on 10 carries.

In Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, the four-time Pro Bowler carried the ball 18 times for 106 yards already.

There is no sugarcoating this for Browns fans. Yes, the franchise acquired QB Deshawn Watson to lead the team and nobody believes in running backs as the best performers of a football team these days, but Chubb is widely regarded as one of the NFL's premier rushers and the clear no. 1 player of Cleveland.

Last season, Chubb scored 12 touchdowns and racked up a monster 1,525 rushing yards. He will enter his recovery process having recorded 48 rushing touchdowns during his first five NFL seasons to go with four touchdown receptions.

You can't consider the Browns cooked strictly because of this injury, but there is no possible replacement for such an important part of Cleveland's offense available two games into the regular season.

Pittsburgh Steelers: S Minkah Fitzpatrick (chest)

On the other end of the field on Monday Night Football's AFC North clash, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their own best player in three-time Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

This happened following the Steelers' announcement of the franchise having put fellow star and WR1 Diontae Johnson on IR, thus forcing him out for the next four games including the Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

Speaking after the game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters that Minkah Fitzpatrick is "being evaluated" at a hospital for a "chest injury," per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Fitzpatrick tackled Browns running back Jerome Ford preventing a 69-yard touchdown by the rusher in the third quarter of the game against Cleveland but he was unable to continue on the field following that action.

In the darkest of plot developments, Fitzpatrick was the player who injured Nick Chubb earlier in the game. He exited the intra-division Week 2 game logging a team-leading six tackles and defending two passes.

Fitzpatrick, same as Chubb, is one of the best players at his position across the NFL, and his numbers from 2022 speak for themselves. Fitz intercepted a league-leading six passes last year, tackled 96 foes, and defended 11 passes successfully.

The Steelers also placed DE Cameron Heyward on Injured Reserve before Week 2, and even if Fitzpatrick can return soon to the field they will miss Heyward and Johnson for the next three and four games respectively at the very least.

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