Quotables From Week 7

Mindful of Cam Cameron's history in Miami, the Ravens gave him a game ball. "This is going to go home to my wife Missy and to my kids, because it's a lot tougher on them than it will ever be on us coaches," Cameron said in the locker room, his eyes watery and his voice breaking. "That's why it's a little emotional. ... When you give your heart and soul to something and it doesn't work out, some of that pain comes back."

"I'm angry," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said regarding his offense allowing 7 quarterback sacks. "That's not good. That's not what professional football is all about. We didn't protect the quarterback, and when you do that, you're going to have a hard time getting the ball up and down the field."

"It wasn't easy," Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said. "Those guys brought a lot of different blitzes. I think they blitzed us every play. That's the way we should play offense. That's us when we're really clicking."

"This team reverted back to some of the things they did earlier in the year," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "It's hard to blame one particular guy, but as the quarterback, [Derek Anderson] takes a lot of the blame because he is the guy with the ball in his hands."

Week #7 Scores in the AFC North

Baltimore        27       Miami          13                

Pittsburgh       38        Cincinnati     10   

Washington    14        Cleveland     11

Baltimore Ravens

Miami's lone victory last season came against Baltimore in December, which wasn't enough to save Cam Cameron's job. Since changing teams, he has searched for consistency from the Ravens, and they finally found it with scoring drives of 42, 67, 67 and 68 yards in their victory over the Dolphins on Sunday. The Ravens won for the first time in their five visits to Miami (playoffs excepted) and for the first time in nearly a month.

"This was going to make or break our season," Suggs said. "When you lose three or four games in a row, players are only human, and they stop believing. We've got guys believing."

Baltimore frequently went with no huddle, and the tempo worked for rookie Joe Flacco, who was 17-for-23 for 232 yards. He threw only his second touchdown this season and didn't commit a turnover. Willis McGahee ran for 105 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Matt Stover, who missed a 44-yard field goal in overtime in the loss at Miami last year, was 2-for-2 on kicks of 47 and 28 yards. Terrell Suggs, a sixth-year pro, scored his first career touchdown to put Baltimore ahead to stay. When Chad Pennington threw a short pass under heavy pressure, Suggs stepped in front of the intended receiver and sprinted untouched for a 10-3 lead. Suggs was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Baltimore averaged 5.9 yards per play, punted only three times and went 7-for-14 converting third- and fourth-down situations.

Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati had a 15-yard punt, allowed Pittsburgh a season-high seven sacks, and couldn't get a sack against an offensive line depleted by injuries. They fell to 0-7 for the fifth time since 1991, when Mike Brown took control of the team and the franchise fell into one of the longest stretches of futility in NFL history. Only 18 times since 1991 has a team started a season by losing its first seven games; Cincinnati accounts for five of those. It's not likely to get much better soon. Quarterback Carson Palmer stood on the sideline in sweatpants, missing his second straight game and his third overall with an elbow injury. Backup Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for a touchdown, but was sacked seven times and fumbled once. How bad was it? When Cedric Benson ran four yards for Cincinnati's initial first down of the game with 4:57 left in the first half, Bengals fans gave a standing ovation.

"It's hard to look up at the scoreboard at the end of the game and see 38-10," said Fitzpatrick, who went 21-of-35 for 164 yards. "We hung in there pretty well for three quarters, and we thought we had a chance to pull it out." LB Keith Rivers broke his jaw when blocked by WR Hines Ward on the opening drive. The first-round draft pick is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns, who had won two straight, had their point production drop from 35 against the Giants. Their yards total plummeted from 454 to 236. Derek Anderson went from 310 yards passing to 136 (14-for-37) and was hurt by several drops. Kellen Winslow, back after missing last week's game due to a staph infection, didn't catch a pass until late. Give some much-deserved props to the Redskins defense that gave up only 236 yards and nearly didn't allow a touchdown for the second straight week.

"We might have underestimated the Redskins," WR Braylon Edwards said. "The defense played tremendous, and we've got to give them help. I was a little frustrated early in the game, and it messed me up."

Clinton Portis put the Redskins ahead 14-3 early in the fourth quarter with an 18 yard scoring catch. But the Browns nearly recovered. Unable to score despite a first-and-goal at the 1, they got the ball back after Portis' fumble and found the end zone on Joshua Cribbs' 1-yard catch. They then added a 2-point conversion. Cleveland then forced Washington to punt and drove to the Redskins 36 in the final minute, but Phil Dawson missed what would have been a career-long 54-yard field goal with 25 seconds to play.

Pittsburgh Steelers

RB Mewelde Moore scored a career-high three touchdowns, and Pittsburgh piled up seven sacks in a 38-10 victory that solidified the Steelers' hold on first place in the AFC North and left the Cincinnati Bengals wallowing without a win at the bottom of the league. Moore ran for 120 yards and caught five passes filling in for the injured Willie Parker who re-aggravated his sprained knee in practice last week. Thousands of Steelers fans in the crowd of 65,860 twirled their yellow Terrible Towels when Moore bounced off a tackler, landed in the end zone on his back after a 2-yard run, then spiked the ball during a 21-point burst in the fourth quarter that finished off the Bengals. Ben Roethlisberger improved to 11-0 in his native state of Ohio. With his separated passing shoulder much better after a bye week, Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes, including a 50-yarder to Nate Washington that started the fourth-quarter scoring spurt. The 38 points matched Pittsburgh's season high. It was the Steelers' most lopsided win since a 38-7 victory over Baltimore last Nov. 5. CB Bryant McFadden and S Troy Polamalu got hurt on the same play in the fourth quarter. McFadden suffered an arm injury and was expected to have tests. Polamalu lost his helmet while tackling Cedric Benson and was unsteady as he walked off the field with a concussion. Neither player returned to the game although Polamalu is expected to play in Week 8 against the Giants.

Week #8 Match-ups and Predictions

Baltimore vs. Oakland

The longest carry by a Baltimore RB this season is 17 yards. The teams last played in 2006, with Baltimore winning 28-6 at home. This is the Ravens last home game until November 23^rd.

Oakland RB Darren McFadden has rushed for 46 yards or less in 5 of 6 games. WR Javon Walker caught 5 passes for 75 yards and 1 TD last Sunday versus the NY Jets. PK Sebastian Janikowski has kicked 3 FG in 4 of 6 games.

ITH PREDICTION –    Baltimore   24     Oakland   10

Cincinnati at Houston

Cincinnati has started 0-7 five times since 1991 (1991, 1993, 1994, 2002, and 2008). In 2002, when they were 0-7 the Bengals snapped their losing streak in game 8 at Houston, 38-3. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has been sacked 15 times in 3 starts. RB Cedric Benson rushed 14 times for 52 yards in week 7 versus the Steelers.  

Houston WR Andre Johnson has caught 30 passes for 450 yards and 2 TD in the last 3 games. The Texans have a minus-9 turnover ratio. They have never won 3 consecutive games in the same season.

ITH PREDICTION –     Houston   30     Cincinnati   27

Cleveland at Jacksonville

Cleveland QB Derek Anderson is completing just 49.2% of his passes. RB Jamal Lewis has rushed for at least 79 yards in his last 3 games. The Browns are surrendering 146.3 rush yards per game.

In his last start before the bye, Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew rushed 22 times for 125 yards and 2 TD. WR Matt Jones has at least 5 catches in 5 of 6 games this season.

ITH PREDICTION –   Jacksonville   24     Cleveland   20

Pittsburgh vs. New York Giants

The teams last met in 2004, with Pittsburgh winning 33-30. Steelers LB LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison have combined for 16 sacks. RB Mewelde Moore has rushed 37 times for 219 yards and 2 TD in 2 starts.

Eli Manning threw for a season low 161 yards in week 7 versus San Francisco. RB Brandon Jacobs is averaging 86 rushing yards a game. 4 of New York’s next 6 games are on the road.

ITH PREDICTION –   Pittsburgh   27     New York Giants   20

Last Week Record:    2 - 1

Season to Date:     13 – 6