ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker

After an interesting week seven in the NFL, let's take a look at who's hot and who's not in the AFC North division:

Who's hot?

1. Mewelde Moore, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Three weeks ago, Moore was buried deep on the Steelers' depth chart as the third-string running back. Now he is leading the way as Pittsburgh races to start 5-1. Moore has 219 rushing yards in his last two starts. When Willie Parker returns, Moore will slide back into his reserve role. But with every strong performance, he is challenging for more and more carries down the road.

2. Terrell Suggs, LB, Baltimore Ravens

There must be a correlation here. When Suggs has a monster game, the Ravens usually win. The defensive end/linebacker hybrid wreaked havoc on the Miami Dolphins during a 27-13 victory Sunday. Suggs had seven tackles, one sack, and one interception return of 44 yards for a touchdown. His performance helped break Baltimore's three-game losing streak and get the Ravens back to .500.

3. Steelers linebackers

It's hard to pick just one when a trio of linebackers had multi-sack games. LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons all recorded a pair of sacks in Pittsburgh's 38-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Once the lead grew in the second half, Pittsburgh brought the dogs and Timmons, Woodley and Harrison were all racing to the quarterback. It also helps to play a winless team that hasn't protected its quarterback since last year. It's a good thing Carson Palmer (elbow) decided to sit Sunday's game out with these three rushers.

Who's not?

1. Cincinnati Bengals

Seven consecutive losses and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. The Bengals likely will be underdogs in every game they play the rest of the way, especially if starting quarterback Carson Palmer decides to shut it down or doesn't return for a significant amount of time. Either way, it's time for fans in Cincinnati to start thinking about possibilities for the 2009 season.

2. Derek Anderson, QB, Cleveland Browns

Although you can't expect Anderson to light it up every week the way he did against the New York Giants in Week 6, Anderson is expected to play better than he did Sunday in a 14-11 loss to the Washington Redskins. He threw for 136 yards, completing 14 of 37 passes. That won't cut it on the road. Cleveland's offense is only as good as Anderson plays as long as he's under center. Anderson has been inconsistent all year and his unit has followed suit.

3. Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Fitzpatrick is somewhat borderline on this list because he did a few nice things Sunday and not much was expected of him when he took over for Carson Palmer. But Cincinnati's offense isn't the same with Fitzpatrick in the lineup. The Bengals can't throw the ball deep, and eventually opponents will get used to the dinking and dunking and shut it down. Fitzpatrick was sacked seven times by the Steelers. He fumbled twice (lost one) and threw for just 164 yards. The harsh reality is Cincinnati will have to play near-perfect football on all phases for it to win with Fitzpatrick at the helm.