It’s time to preview the best division in football. The AFC North boasts four teams with playoff expectations and last year was the only division to have all four teams have winning records. Each team has a good chance of improving or at least keeping their winning record as no team seems to have taken a big step back, and many of these teams are getting key players back from injury. Like always, the AFC North is going to be an absolute bloodbath as this division has three of the best defenses in the league (sorry Bengals), and some of the best rivalries in league history. Without further ado, let’s get into my record predictions for the 2024 AFC North Division.
Baltimore Ravens: 12-5
Baltimore was the best team in the league during last year’s regular season, and may be getting better after bringing in Derrick Henry to pair with Lamar Jackson. They should be a nightmare together especially in the red zone. It is exciting thinking about how offensive coordinator Todd Monken pairs Henry and Jackson’s elite running ability with last season’s expanded passing game. Lamar was playing the best football of his career last season and should continue to dominate with a healthy Mark Andrews, a second year Zay Flowers, and Isaiah Likely coming off his breakout season. The key questions with their offense is them losing three starting offensive lineman and their reliance on Rashod Bateman, who is set to be their number two receiver after losing Odell Beckham in free agency. If their line takes a step back it will be hard to be as reliant on the run as Henry’s addition would suggest. The offense should still be amazing though, it’s on defense that I’m much more concerned. They had the best defense in the league last year, but their defensive coordinator was a major reason for their dominance, and Mike Macdonald is now in Seattle. His defensive scheme allowed just about every player to have a career year and now that he’s gone, and they lost both Patrick Queen and Jadeveon Clowney, it seems likely that their defense falls off a bit. With the second best linebacker (Roquan Smith), a top tier defensive tackle (Justin Madubuike), and the best safety (Kyle Hamilton) they’ll still be a top ten defense. With a top ten offense and defense they should win the division even if they’re a bit worse.
Cincinnati Bengals: 11-6
Joe Burrow is finally healthy! If he manages to have a fully healthy season they could easily win this division, and I was close to putting them above the Ravens, but Burrow’s long list of injuries keeps me from picking them to win the division. This team has one last shot for this core of players to win a Super Bowl, after keeping Tee Higgins on the franchise tag. Losing Joe Mixon was a sneaky big loss, but any offense with Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, JaMarr Chase and a good offensive line will be a top five unit. Them going out and signing Trent Brown and drafting Amarius Mims gives me faith that their offensive line will do a better job of keeping Burrow upright. Defensively, they were a mess last season, but should be at least slightly better after bringing in safeties Geno Stone and Vonn Bell, and DT Sheldon Rankins. I don’t think this defense will be in the top half of the league, but with a potentially MVP level Joe Burrow, their offense will carry them to the playoffs as long as he stays healthy.
Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-9
The Steelers finally have a QB! Or two? They signed Russell Wilson and traded for Justin Fields and theoretically solved their biggest problem on the roster with one of the quarterbacks. The hesitation I have from crowning them in the AFC North is that they weren’t confident in either player enough to not bring in the other. I would feel much more confident in their plan if from day one they said Fields was the guy, or if they were unwilling to trade for Fields after signing Russ. Their offense should also be better after bringing in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith after finally letting Matt Canada go. As of now it’s just a big question mark and will be the biggest training camp battle in the league. I am excited to see how improved their offensive line will be after drafting two of the better lineman in the draft in OT Troy Fautanu and C Zach Frazier. George Pickens with a solid QB with a better offensive line is going to dominate, especially considering he might be their only good receiver on the roster. Luckily Pittsburgh doesn’t have to worry about the defense. TJ Watt is still one of the most dominant and unstoppable pass rushers in the league when healthy. They also fixed their linebacker position by bringing in the ultra athletic Patrick Queen, and still have Minkah Fitzpatrick and Cameron Heyward. If either Fields or Russ proves they can be an above average starter in this league then Pittsburgh will be a playoff team, but of course they will only go as far as their QB takes them.
Cleveland Browns: 7-10
The Browns have one of the best rosters in the league but have a massive hole at QB. Deshaun Watson was supposed to finally fill that void but after coming back from his sexual assault suspension he has been terrible. He was outplayed by Joe Flacco last season and Jacoby Brissett the season before. I don’t believe he can ever become the QB that dominated in Houston again, and I am completely expecting one of Cleveland’s backups they acquired this offseason, Jameis Winston or Tyler ‘Snoop’ Huntley to end up starting and outperforming Watson by the end of the year. The good news about the Browns is that their defense is probably the best in the league and Myles Garrett might be the best non QB in the league. He is unstoppable and a superhuman and the rest of the defense is still very good. They are sure to dominate on defense. After getting Nick Chubb back from injury, adding Jerry Jeudy to the offense, and having a great offensive line, their offense should be good. Such a talented team but with as little confidence as I have in their QB I struggle to view them as anything more than a game or two above .500. Jameis in December is going to be a ton of fun to watch though.
Comments