Who will win the AFC North division this year and why?

New Jersey – The AFC North division will be the division behind the NFC West that many people will say is up for grabs for all four teams in the division.

If I had to pick the division that will be the toughest to win this year, it’ll be the AFC North due to them having at least three high power teams (on paper) coming out the division. Regardless of that, the question is not who can win the division, but who will win the division.

Where will your team finish in the AFC North this year? Look below

Cincinnati Bengals

Even though they have made some progress this past offseason, they are still miles away from becoming once again a complete competitive team due to both offensive and defensive line still being a need for this team, along with that they are need of at least two more cornerbacks to be able to stop the receivers of divisional teams like the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and even the Baltimore Ravens.

You will not be able to tame athletes like Juju Smith Schuster, Chase Claypool, Odell Beckham Jr., or Mark Andrews without a secondary that can compete and besides star safety Jessie Bates, the Bengals does not have that right now regardless of picking up free agent CB Mike Hilton from the Steelers.

Looking at their schedule, they are on the road against all three divisional teams, who I do not see them beating, along with having to play Kansas City, Miami, San Francisco, and the LA Chargers, that’s at least six losses of the season right there.

I do not see them beating anyone in the AFC North this year, especially if all teams stay healthy.

With that being said, they will once again finish last in the division and below .500 for the six consecutive season.

Projected Record: 7-10

Cleveland Browns

Even though they’ve had an impressive victory in the playoffs last versus division rivals and kryptonite’s the Pittsburgh Steelers, they are still a team coming together with missing chemistry. On paper the Browns are the best team in the division due to the talent they have both on offense and defense, along with special teams, which is why they’re a favored by many to come out on top , but unfortunately that won’t be case this year.

In order for them to win the AFC North division they are going to have either sweep the Steelers or sweep the Ravens or all the above, even with their talent I do not see them doing either one.

With that being said, both defenses care capable of naturalizing the running game, which is most likely will happen this year due to everyone possibly picking up on them this year. Along with that, they have a questionable secondary and linebacker core that is still need of work on health and coverage. That leaves Baker vs Ben and Baker vs Lamar in a throwing contest, and based on history Baker doesn’t have a great shot of winning that.

The Browns having to play Kansas City, Arizona, Pittsburgh (2x), Baltimore (2x), New England Patriots, and the Packers, that can be at least 6-7 losses this season, but only time will tell.

The Steelers seem as if it’s now or never for them and the Ravens have had the Brown’s number from recent matchups. I don’t expect them to win the AFC North division this year, if anything they’ll place second due to more chemistry still needing to be built within the team.

Projected Record: 11-6

Baltimore Ravens

As the new era of Lamar Jackson continues to rise in Baltimore with his athletic ability, his throwing ability is still questionable even with being a starting QB in the league for three seasons.

Those with a brain knows that Ben Roethlisberger still have an arm, Baker’s arm is coming along, and Burrow is still to be seen due to having a short season caused by an ACL & MCL tear last year.

Along with that, not having a wide receiving core nor a running game entering this year, along with issues on both the defensive and offensive line, the Ravens will be the most questionable team in the division due to you not knowing what you’re going to get from this year, but yet it’s Ravens so it’ll be foolish to count them out.

With John Harbaugh’s history of building competitive teams, the Ravens will be back in the playoffs this year, just not as the AFC North champions.

Projected Record: 10-7

Pittsburgh Steelers

Starting the season strong, but ending it in a weak fashion is something that can be alarming and have many questioning you entering this season. That’s the story of the defending AFC North champions the Pittsburgh Steelers who many expect to have a different identity than they did last season.

Losing key players such center Maurkice Pouncey (retired), slot cornerback Mike Hilton (Bengals), offensive left tackle Alejandro Villanueva (Ravens), running back James Conner (Cardinals), and linebacker Bud Dupree (Titans), right guard David Decastro (FA), you can be a questionable team entering this season.

If there’s one team that can make the best of that, it’s Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh Steelers.

This team has taken care of practically everything in the offseason that was a problem for them last season, starting with their running game when they drafted Alabama’s star running back Najee Harris with the 24th overall pick in the draft.

Along with that, they drafted the second best tight end in the draft Pat Freiermuth (Penn State) , C Kendrick Green (Illinois) who ranked #5 of the top centers in the draft (Sports Illustrated) , and picking pro bowl LB Joe Schobert, along with hiring Matt Canada as their new OC. It’s can be legit argument that offensive line will be much better than last year when they went 11-0 and ended that year with a 12-4 record.

Having at the least a top three to top five defense can also help balance out the teams as well with players such as LB TJ Watt, DE Cameron Heyward, DT Stephon Tuitt, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB Joe Haden, and LB Devin Bush, along with wideouts Juju Smith Schuster, Chase Claypool, Diontae Johnson, Eric Ebron, and James Washington, this team can one to be reckoned with and that’s my prediction.

I don’t see this team losing more than 4-5 games this year, especially if they stay healthy. With that being said, I expect them to repeat as the AFC North champions again this year.

Projected Record: 13-4