Inside the AFC North: The Best, Worst, and Reality for Every Team

it's no secret that the AFC North will be the most competitive division in the NFL this season with three returning playoff teams and a Bengals team that was just in the Super Bowl in 2022 an unexpected upbringing or downfall is bound to happen for one of these teams so let's go over some of the best worst and realistic season results for every Squad in the AFC North for the Bengals the best case is simple the Mahomes killer is back this team returns back to Contender form and people forget that even though they SED slow last season they started the heat up towards the end if it wasn't for all the injuries including the Superstar quarterback Joe burrow his offense doesn't slow down at all even with the loss of Tyler boydd as rookie wide receiver Germaine burn is plugged in seamlessly his offense also proved that Joe Mixon was need at all as Zach moss and Chase Brown split the rock effectively to create a multi-dimensional offense in this scenario while Moss is a very capable running back I actually have Chase Brown being a late round gem that succeeds and truly elevates his Run game for Cincinnati the addition of Trent Brown proves levels over the signings of Leo Collins and Ted carass and Alex Kappa hold the for interior to give Joe burrow protection for the first time in his career for the defense they finally find a replacement for Jesse Bates and Gino Stone and regaining Von Bell makes his secondary even more lethal with second-year quarterback DJ Turner turning into a borderline Pro Bowl Logan Wilson Jermaine Pratt still continue to be on top linebacking Court in the NFL and Trey Hendrickson has another Pro Bowl season with over 10 plus sacks best case for this team another Super Bowl appearance ending the Chiefs ASC run and ultimately I can see this team winning the Super Bowl at 13-4 and 12 and5 worst case for the Bengals the offensive line repeats stories from the past Orlando Brown Jr continues to regress to the point where he's ultimately bench for rookie Marius Ms and Trent Brown pulls a layo Collins and can't replicate his former play and while Joe Burl still plays like an elite quarterback the loss of Tyler Boyd proves to be more significant than expected as there's no inside the number threat and the addition of giki doesn't replicate Boyd's ability to break the zone and while I still expect Jamar Chase and T Higgins to be elite people start to figure out this team similar to when the team started playing cover too high like the NFL did to stop Tyreek killing the Chiefs and while this defense did add some key free agents they don't play to the talent that they have G Stone proves to be one- year wonder that happened to be in the right place and the right time with all his interceptions last season and talking about secondary struggles DJ Turner can't replicate the player toobe uer who they lost in the offseason to the titans this defense that struggled to stop the run heavily last season continues to struggle this season and even though this offense may still be elite the defense can stop a fly to save their lives also psychologically this team struggles and continues to believe in the fact that there's always next season and if they have Joe burrow anything is possible discomfort and disbelief in the locker room has the team turned to if Z Taylor is the right coach or not and they could end up in an endless cycle of head coaches that a lot of teams find themselves in today and even though this team struggles worst case this team is too talented and I still see them sneaking in as a seventh or sixth seed in the AFC but getting bounced down the first round and back-to-back underwhelming seasons for this squad realistically this team returns back to being a competitive Squad in the AFC thanks to Joe burrow finally becoming healthy the addition of Trent Brown holds down the four at right tackle and Orlando Brown Jr picks up his play from the latter part of last season as a solid and reliable left tackle while nothing special Zach moss and Chase Brown are able to replicate and be more efficient Runners than Mixon was last season with that all the numbers and to those who don't know Mixon was one of the most in fession Runners last season but his season looked so good because he scored a lot of touchdowns on Prim Time T Higgins and J chizy contining to be the top receiving du in the league with both them eclipsing over a, yards easily and honestly with the added motivation for our contract I can see both wide outs being a pro Bowers despite the loaded receiving room in the AFC and while the Bengals don't need an elite tight end to be a move machine the addition of Mike Kiki gives burrow another threat down the middle of the field to become a safety valve for the defense while not being a stand out the addition of Gina Stone helps to give a center of the field threat for the secondary DJ Turner cam Taylor Brit and Mike Hilton are a solid Trio of corners for this team and they don't need to do much with this stacked pass rush of Sam hubard proo Trey Hendrickson and Sheldon rankins this defense also finally figures out their run defense woses and shes up the defense to where the point they're not an absolute liability realistically this team has a poti to compete for the top spot in the AFC North and whoever wins the AFC North will either be a two seed in the AFC or the number one I see the Bengals beating whoever they face and walk around unless they gain the first round buy and then they make it to the AFC Championship this is the tough part because if they face the Chiefs and even though burrow is known as the chief stopper I don't know if they have what it takes to defeat this team due to their questionable defense this is where I see the Bengals season ending in the AFC Championship with a 11 to6 or 12-5 record to win the AFC North let's move on to the Pittsburgh Steelers and for the best case scenario the Russell Wilson experiment is a success for Pittsburgh as he RS back to Seattle form as he thrives in this Arthur Smith offense George Pickins and Pat fith make huge strides at receiving threats in his offense and become top players at their respective position Arthur Smith finally learns his lesson from not using his weapons back in Atlanta and turned Naji Harris into a pro bowl running back and this old line as well is completely revamped with first round draft Pi Troy fanu and former first round draft pick brck Jones making huge strides as Premier tackles in this league they're new and proved defense holds a fort and shows flashes that 2000 Steelers defense in addition to Patrick Queen to shanon OT Elevate this team best case for the Steelers is that they win the AFC North as a two to3 overall seed in the AFC and they win their wild card game but get bested by one of the top teams in the AFC in an overall successful season for this young roster I see them winning the AFC North at an 116 to 12 and5 record now for the Steelers worst case scenario both the Russ of Wilson and J on fields experiment absolutely backfires with the Steelers as neither can find their footing in this new Steelers offense Nai Harris continues to prove fans right that he's regressed since his rookie season and this offensive line continues a struggle like it has the past couple of Seasons not helping the new quarterbacks at all George Pickins and Pat fireman don't take that expected Le a play needed for the Steelers offense to truly become Elite and talking about Pickins not to be one to create headlines but the frustrations that players had in Atlanta carry over with Arthur Smith as he continues to not use his Playmakers to the best of their ability only frustrating Pickins make him eventually demand a trade in the season realistically one of Russell Wilson with Justin field gives the Steelers an option at quarterback for the FI feuture while not flashy the AR Smith lead offense continues to be an efficient offense and does enough for this offense to be above average in the league while the numbers won't be what fans want to be the splits will be super efficient for this offense as everyone's getting fed and move the ball down the field effectively enough to win games as well this includes an a, yard season from Pickins and while Naji might barely clipse a thousand yard Mark the steal still get Warren his need to touches as the unit becomes one of the top rushing units in the league thanks to improved offensive line for defense Patrick Queen while not playing an elite level solidifies a linebacker group that the Steelers have struggled with for the previous seasons and TJ Watt and Cameron Hayward Pro to still be a top pass rushing duo in the league realistically this team won't win the AFC North du the immense competition but I can still see them stealing a game Wild Card ground in the playoffs with a N9 and8 record or 10- seven record now let's move on to the Baltimore Ravens in best case scenario Lamar Jackson finally hosts his first Lombardi trophy as the Ravens win the third Super Bowl in franchise history but what goes into this happening it starts with Lamar at the helm as he continues his MVP level play in the league competing with Mahomes for that top quarterback pedigree now people clowned Lamar's passing numbers from last year and the fact that he won MVP forgetting that he was one of the most efficient passes in the league and if you want to bring up his touchdowns numbers they were so low because Gus Edwards took so many goal onine touchdowns away with 13 of them last season now talking about goaline touchdowns how do you replace losing Gus Edwards in free agency and not having Keenan Mitchell for the first half of the Season why not bring in Derrick Henry to make the ultimate read option package in Baltimore now back in Tennessee Henry ran behind one of the worst o lines and overall just least efficient offenses in the league now he moves to the top rushing offense and he arguably isn't the biggest rushing threat as teams are scared due to LaMar's speed and ability and open space now for the receiving threats on this squad Z flowers eclipses the thousand yard Mark to be the first Baltimore receiver since Mark Andrews and Holly rounded in 2021 now for the other side of the field Rashad bamman has the breakout season every Baltimore fan has been waiting since he got drafted into the league and these two create a dynamic passing offense for Lamar we're not even talking about the best option on this team as Mark Andrews returns from injury and returned to top tight end form and the offensive coordinator Todd monin finally finds a way to incorporate the threat of two tight ends in this offense with Isaiah likely getting a share of targets to create the best tight end Duo since grank and you know that guy for this defense while this unit doesn't replicate the same dominant play they did last year due to the losses of Mike McDonald Patrick Queen Javon Clowney and Gina Stone new off defensive coordinator Zack or still has his defense flying thanks to all the talent they have on his Squad Nate Wiggins has a Dy level season and creates a nice trade on the secondary with Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Stevens Marcus Williams has his first healthy season Baltimore as him and all pro safety Kyle Hamilton become the best safety duo in the league now one of ran Smith and Kyle Hamilton will play at a deepo level this whole season as his defense continues to be lethal for this pass rush matab proves that he wasn't a one-year Wonder with another double digit or close to its season and now one of David OJ or d o has to break out this season to become the elite Edge threat the Ravens drafted them to be realistically the Ravens window is closing and if they're going to win at all it has to be this season if they don't it might be time to argue arue that it's time to move on from John Harbaugh in the offseason now wor scores for the Ravens similar to how the Ravens offense under Greg Roman got figured out after the Lamar's MVP season 2019 hisory repeats himself here as defenses start to figure out how to stop this Todd monin Leed offense now how does this happen it starts where Baltimore's offense has been rooted for years with the regression of the Run game now while Derrick Henry is a legendary running back in this league the rumors and talks about him being washed and getting up there in age happened and Henry can't find his footing in his new offense Ken Mitchell is also a great running back gets delayed in his rehab process and can't show up to him way later in the season as the Ravens greatly Miss Gus Edwards and JK dolins now while Z flowers will continue to be a stud Rashad bman continues his post injury struggles as him and Lamar can't play on the same page another key factor for this Ravens team will be the ability to keep Mark Andrews and Isaiah likeley fed on the field in the past two seasons it always took Mark Andrews to be injured for Isaiah likeley to get his reps how can Todd monin figure out how to keep both of them on the field together in this worst case scenario I don't have them figuring this out and while one of them will be a star not having both on the field productive hinders this offense of its weapons and potential what halted this Ravens team from a championship last year was their horrible o line if you look at basic statistics you would question the statement because the Ravens o line was one of the highest ranked units in the league now while the Run blocking was great last season the P blocking was pure last season and the reason why this o line ranked so well was Lamar's ability to maneuver and work the pocket and Escape if needed if you look at film from last season you would see that during passing situations that the tackles would constantly be beat forcing Lamar out of the pocket and if this wasn't the case the interial O linan would be beat at the moment the snap as well and if it wasn't for that then the play would often be called back due to holding for example the Ravens had two guys in the top five in offensive line penalties but Ronnie Stanley having 12 calls against him and left guard John Simpson having 13 Morgan Moses even though he missed time last season wasn't far behind him as well the only assured piece on his offensive line right now is Tyler lindom and with this the offensive line continues to struggle heavily which doesn't help the offense move at all for the defense the loss of Mike McDonald proves to affect Baltimore mightily Zack or is not capable of replicating the same schemes and in-game adjustments as defensive Mastermind Mike McDonald could and while the Ravens have been hyping out Trent and Simpson as a replacement for Patrick Queen ssim struggles heavily in this scenario and even though Ron SPI great play is great he can't hold the four down forever for this linebacker unit now another concern for the Ravens last season was that they struggle with secondary dep while the casuals will say that Marlon Humphrey is watched he really isn't and only had one bad game last season against the Rams where he was coming off an injury and the rest was just him either missing time because of injury as well however in this scenario Martin Humphrey's play does drop off and Brandon Stevens who was Elite last season can't replicate his play from last season and rookie Corner Nate Wiggins struggles in his first season similar to the Bengals even if these squads struggle I still can't see a scenario even in a stacked AFC where this team misses the playoffs due to their immense Talent even if it is as a six to seven seed however in the worst case scenario I have the Ravens postseason struggles since Lamar era continued the struggle and they get boun B in the wild card in another underwhelming season where tension start the rise and B har Ball's future in Baltimore now realistically for the Ravens this team replicates his player from last season and while the defense might slow down a little bit due to the losses of the after mentioned Mike McDonald I believe the Ravens did enough to fill in the holes needed for this defense to function smoothly that Trenton Simpson is no Patrick Queen but learning under ran Smith should help his play now a secondary depth was a huge problem with the Ravens last year but draing Nate Wiggins and TJ Tampa should help this issue along with two safeties in the draft with Sosi Kane and undrafted safety from Maryland o bra they can make some noise as well now losing J Davian clown is going to hurt but in this situation I have van noi continuing his play from last season along with odaf o away becoming a threat across the edge with a job of getting some run there where the Ravens might not lead in leagues in sacks again but they could still be up there for the offense I don't see a world where Lamar Jackson and Company slow down I don't think the loss of Odell should affect the Ravens that much allowing Rashad band to finally get more looks with him Lamar finally being on the same page not to repeat what I said from the best case scenario because I gener believe that the realistic scenario for this team is a Super Bowl appearance or Victory anything short of that should be valued as a failed season for the squad with this much talent now for the Cleveland Browns the best case scenario this offense finally clicks with deshun Watson on the helm for the first time since he's arrived there deshun Watson will finally play and win his first Pro Bowl since 2020 and the return of Nick chub allows tansy to return to a scheme allowing the aggressive run and play action to come back to full throttle now Mari Cooper showed no signs of slowing down last year and this continues as well with Jerry Judy as well finally showcasing his first- round talent in in this best scenario season Elijah's more role in this offense might decrease with not as many targets but he'll become way efficient with a higher yards per reception his offensive line will always be great but Joel bonio and Wyatt teller always playing at an allp Pro level while Jack hackin has his first healthy season in forever to help fortify this already Elite offensive line now for this defense they already proved to be a top unit last season thanks to a dangerous pass rush High by Deo miles Garrett and zider Smith on the Ash and on the inside they also have Davin thomsson and Shelby Harris who should continue to be interior threats now Jeremiah wosu coraya had the breakout everyone has been waiting for last season and they gave the Browns a true Mike linebacker and it interesting to see how newe linebacker Devin Bush does in his new role as the will linebacker the secondary also play an elite level thanks to the dline with Den award in the breakout of Martin Emerson Jr last season and we should see continued play with Greg Newsome as well in this best case scenario the Browns win the AFC North for the first time ever and a win their wild card game that they host but get knocked off in the divisional round to one of the chiefs of Texans in this season I had them as an 11-6 or 12-5 winning a gritty AFC North race now worst case for the Browns Deshawn Watson proves he isn't able to function in the sansy offense I've always said this the that the sansky offense does not need an elite quarterback to be able to operate at an elite level in my opinion the sansky scheme Works off establishing the run and being able to make easy throws off play action and it doesn't take the best quarterback to operate as Baker even though he is a pretty good quarterback was able to function and I believe Joe fos and Lin sanity run last year proved this as well I generally believe that Watson is too good of a quarterback and in Houston was so used to having to make his own place the transition as Cleveland offense explains the struggles he's had with that being said I believe this carries on over into this season as the offense remains stagnant even when chub's return the addition of Jarry dudy doesn't contribute much the offense similar to his play in Denver as the offense struggles to have any really real receiving threats while his offense might struggle even in the worst case scenario I don't see a world where this defense ever aggresses or even plays at a subpar level like stated before this pass rush is a top unit in the league and a secondary is Young and developing and already played an elite level last season in this worst case scenario I see the Browns narly missing the Playoffs or with a 7 to 10 record or just completely just come dropping off with a 6 11 or 5-12 record due to loaded AFC North and just AFC in general the AFC North is already slated to have the hardest strength of schedule and every team this division just gets un luggy due to this now before we get on to the realistic scenario for the Browns I just want to say it's so hard to judge the season from last year they had a roller coaster for this season playing at a top level all season even Watson not playing the best then it seemed like it was all over after his injury just for them to have PJ Walker and Dorian Thompson Robinson give them not they look forward to and then they sign Joe Flac off the streets and go on a four-game winning streak to end the season almost winning the North and stealing the one seed from the Ravens the offense has only improved since then with the additions of Jerry Judy and we'll see if adding Ken dorsy helps him out realistically I see Watson finally starting to settle in and find his role in his offense maybe not the Pro Bowl level but still a top half quarterback play in the league like I said the offense doesn't need Watson to be anything special and I believe Watson needs to get acclimated to this I believe that Des Wat B will come into the season with a chip on his shoulder especially with how good Joe flaca played last season and this defense's play should Carry On from last year in the addition of Juan Thornell and the continue improved play by Grant delpit should play huge in the secondary with this realistically I don't know if the Browns can make the playoffs and if they do it's going to be at the seven seed with a 9-8 record now best case they will get like a 10- six or maybe they can even flat out fail with a 6 and 11 record this is due to the overall tough nature of the AFC North like I mentioned before and just the overall tough nature of the AFC as every team the AFC North has the hardest strength to schedule now with this let's go over my predictions of how the AFC North will play out this season now at the top I have the Baltimore Ravens winning the AFC North in back-to-back Seasons with a 13-4 record again I just don't see a world where this offense and defense just continues to not play at the level they did especially with all the talent they have now just behind them I have the Bengals at a 12-5 record and what's going to matter the most is how they split in their games this year those two games where they play each other is going to come huge for these teams on who's going to win the AFC North and number three I have the Cleveland Browns now even though I said all these good things about the improvements of the Pittsburgh Steelers I'm not buying into it yet until I see them officially and the Browns have still a more proven talent and just proven players on their squad for me to give them that three seed and even though I give them the three seed they still are going to finish the season with a 9 and8 record and finally at the bottom we had the Pittsburgh Steelers this team just simply lacks the talent that the rest of the AFC North does and just have the worst quarterback play here which is going to come huge for AFC FC competition I have the Steelers ending with a 7- 10 record at the bottom of the AFC North which is still going to become a top half team in the AFC which is crazy to think about now even if you're a dieh hard fan or just a casual NFL fan everyone knows that the AFC North is in store for a blood bath this season and with every team in the north ranking the top of the league and strength of schedule every team's going to come out battle testing while it's impossible to count for every metric that goes into an NFL season it's going to be interesting to see where our takes land after the season end stay tuned this season and thank you all for watching I'll see youall next time

Channel: Football TDAY

Views: 4,128

Keywords: NFL, AFC North, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinatti Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Joe Burrow, Deshaun Watson, afc north talk, afc north predictions 2024, afc north predictions, afc north winners

Id: vamNXry_x4A

Length: 18min 27sec (1107 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 07 2024