AFC North QB roundtable: Changes, injuries, trades, chaos

Through five weeks of the 2025 NFL regular season, the AFC North and its quarterback landscape does not resemble what it looked like when the season opened on Sept. 7.

As of Friday, three of the four teams are expected to start a different QB than they did in Week 1. A quick recap for those who might have missed the churn at the most important position:

• The Baltimore Ravens are still waiting to see if veteran Lamar Jackson (hamstring) is healthy to start their Week 6 game. He has missed four consecutive practices. If he's not, Cooper Rush will get his second start of the season.

• The Cincinnati Bengals, who are without the injured Joe Burrow (turf toe), acquired 40-year-old Joe Flacco from the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday in a package that included draft picks. Flacco will start Sunday against the Green Bay Packers after losing his starting spot to Dillon Gabriel in Cleveland.

• The move was expected to elevate Shedeur Sanders to Gabriel's backup, but coach Kevin Stefanski has waited on announcing that designation.

• The Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team in the division that has started the same QB all season as the 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers is 3-1 despite being 25th in QBR.

Rodgers hasn't been the only QB in the division to struggle. In fact, AFC North QBs have posted a 44.4 Total QBR, by the worst of any division. QBs in the division have also turned the ball over 29 times (most of any division) and had 21 interceptions (most of any division).

This isn't how it was supposed to play out when the season started with two-time MVP Jackson in Baltimore and Burrow, who finished fourth for MVP last year, in Cincinnati.

AFC North reporters Jamison Hensley (Baltimore), Ben Baby (Cincinnati), Daniel Oyefusi (Cleveland) and Brooke Pryor (Pittsburgh) break down their respective teams.

Baltimore Ravens (1-4)

Week 6 game: vs. Los Angeles Rams (3-2), 1 p.m. ET, Fox

Expected QB starter: Cooper Rush

Stats of note: Jackson led one of the NFL's highest-scoring offenses in the first month of the season by throwing 10 touchdowns and one interception before injuring his hamstring. Last Sunday, Cooper Rush had a forgettable first start for the Ravens with 179 yards and three interceptions, although only one pick could be blamed on him.

Outlook: Jackson hasn't practiced since injuring his hamstring in a 37-20 loss in Kansas City on Sept. 28. Rush is in line to make his second start for the struggling Ravens, who are in their first three-game losing streak in three years. Baltimore is 4-11 without Jackson. If the Ravens sit Jackson on Sunday, he will get an additional week of rest heading into the Week 7 bye and should be ready to return for Oct. 26 against the Chicago Bears.

The Ravens will need a healthy Jackson to get back into the playoff race. Jackson's 39-11 record (.780) in the final three months of the regular season is second best in the NFL since 2018. Baltimore has a projected 40.3% chance to make the postseason, according to ESPN Analytics.

They said it: "Lamar is one-of-one. There's no one else like Lamar. No one's been like Lamar. But, at the end of the day, we have a core group of offensive guys, and we're going to use everybody." -- Ravens tight end Mark Andrews

Cincinnati Bengals (2-3)

Week 6 game: at Green Bay Packers (2-1), 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS

QB starter Joe Flacco: Cincinnati acquired Flacco via a trade with the Browns. He will be the team's third starter this season after Burrow suffered turf toe in a Week 2 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Stats of note: Flacco has the second-worst QBR (27.6) of any qualified QB this season, ahead of only Tennessee Titans rookie Cam Ward (26.5). In terms of EPA per dropback, the Bengals would be upgrading from the worst QB in the NFL to the second-worst (among 33 qualified quarterbacks). Flacco has struggled under pressure this season, completing 31% of his passes with no touchdowns and four interceptions. The Bengals offensive line has allowed the second-highest pressure rate in the NFL this season.

Outlook: Burrow's timetable to return remains unclear. But by acquiring Flacco, the Bengals are hopeful they can string together enough wins until the two-time Pro Bowl selection is ready to return. Cincinnati has dropped three straight games but does have a stretch in the middle of the season that could help keep them in the playoff hunt. Of course, Flacco hasn't been good, either. He has thrown six interceptions and just two touchdowns this season. However, the Bengals are hopeful his decision-making and arm strength will be enough to lift a beleaguered offense.

They said it: "We're doing everything we can to hit everything we can possibly hit with him, so that we've got enough to go out there and win a football game. That's our objective -- give our offense enough with Joe to be able to go out there and operate and score points and find a way to win the game." -- Taylor said of getting Flacco up to speed quickly

Cleveland Browns (1-4)

Week 6 game: at Steelers (3-1), 1 p.m. ET, CBS

QB starter Dillon Gabriel: The rookie (the No. 94 pick in April's draft) was promoted as the starter for the Browns' Week 5 game against the Minnesota Vikings in London, taking over for Flacco, who was benched after turning the ball over eight times in four starts this season.

Stats of note: Gabriel threw two touchdown passes in his first career start, but it wasn't enough to get the victory as the Browns lost to the Vikings, 21-17, on a last-second touchdown. On Sunday, he completed just 39% of his pass attempts to WRs and 82% of his attempts to RBs/TEs. Both of his TD passes went to the TEs. He gets rid of the ball quick: averages 2.53 seconds before pass attempts, the 3rd-fastest in the NFL among QBs with 30+ attempts. 

Outlook: Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was complimentary of Gabriel's performance against Minnesota, and the rest of the season seemingly serves as an audition with Cleveland possessing two first-round picks in the 2026 NFL draft. In his second start, Gabriel will try to lead a Browns team to a rare road win against its divisional rival Steelers. The last time Cleveland beat Pittsburgh on the road in the regular season was 2003.

With Flacco traded to the Bengals this week, Stefanski was noncommittal if rookie Shedeur Sanders (the 144th pick in this year's draft), or practice squad QB Bailey Zappe would be the backup going forward. Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, though, has said it's important to see both rookies play this season. Deshaun Watson is on the physically unable to perform list as he rehabs an Achilles injury, and the team expects him to miss a significant portion of the 2025 season.

They said it: "I always have to be mindful of our players and our players' development. And I want to make sure that I'm always doing what's best for our players and, of course, our team. But with young players, I'm always thinking about -- last week, making the change to Dillon, you have to think long and hard about that, because these are young players that you are so invested in their development. So, I'll let the decision play out [and] make a decision later." -- Stefanski on Sanders and the QB2 spot

Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)

Week 6 game: vs. Browns (2-1), 1 p.m. ET, CBS

QB starter Aaron Rodgers: After a prolonged courtship, the 41-year-old signed with the Steelers prior to the June mandatory minicamp. Pittsburgh bypassed rookie quarterbacks earlier in the 2025 draft and spurned adding different big-name veteran passers not only because they believed Rodgers would eventually land in Pittsburgh, but also that the 41-year-old could still play at a high level two years removed from an Achilles rupture.

Stats of note: He has thrown eight touchdowns to three interceptions and been sacked nine times. He ranks 25th with a 44.5 QBR, but his 68.5 completion percentage ranks 12th. He has the shortest average pass distance of any qualified QB in the NFL (4.7 air yards per attempt). He has struggled when pressured. He's 9-24 (37.5%) and a 4.0 Total QBR when pressured and 65-84 (77%) and a 68.2 Total QBR when not pressured. His completion percentage when not pressured ranks sixth best in the NFL and when pressured is third worst in the NFL. His Total QBR when pressured is second worst and is 16th best when not pressured.