We’re barely two weeks away from the kick off of the NFL season, so let’s get back into the prediction business with the AFC North.
This division has been consistently the toughest in the league for the last decade. We’ve had two Super Bowl champions come out of here and teams that contend for that title every single year.
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Here’s your code key for this year’s 2016-17 GMS NFL Football Preview : Z = Clinches home field advantage, Y = Clinches division, X = Clinches wild card spot
Z – Pittsburgh Steelers: 13-3
One thing that’s always mystified me when sportswriters put together their predictions is just how cowardly they are. How many times have you seen someone predict a 13-3 or 14-2 record for any team? Yet, year after year, we usually get a team like that. Last year we had two, the Arizona Cardinals (13-3) and the Carolina Panthers (15-1).
The Steelers are loaded and there’s only a handful of things that could make them stumble on the way to an AFC North crown and one of them has already happened. Le’Veon Bell is suspended to open the season again because he’s an idiot. Pittsburgh, smartly, kept DeAngelo Williams in town and should be OK for those three weeks. What they can’t afford is any lengthy injury to Ben Roethlisbergr. If he missed time, those games are almost guaranteed losses with Landry Jones at quarterback. So this 13-3 prediction comes with a caveat that Big Ben misses no more than two games.
Last year: 10-6, lost to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round
X – Cincinnati Bengals: 11-5
If Andy Dalton hadn’t broken the thumb on his throwing hand before the playoffs last season, there’s a chance the Bengals would be the defending Super Bowl Champions. They were certainly raided in the offseason like one, with teams rushing to sign away their free agents. The core is back for the Bengals, with Dalton, A.J. Green, a loaded backfield and a healthy Tyler Eifert on offense. Defensively, the Bengals probably have the best front four in AFC, led by Geno Atkins.
The biggest stumbling block may be replacing Hue Jackson at offesnive coordinator. Still, the Bengals should be in the division hunt down to the wire and if Roethlisberger does miss significant time, like last season, Cincinnati will probably claim another AFC North crown.
Last year: 12-4, lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round
X – Baltimore Ravens: 10-6
The Ravens had one of those rare nightmare seasons that come along for good teams every so often where everyone gets hurt and every bounce goes the wrong way. It won’t happen two years in a row.
Joe Flacco has already made the case that he and Eli Manning are the best postseason quarterbacks of this generation. And while Flacco is good in the regular season, he has yet to display his playoff prowess from the months of September to December. That usually equals a Wild Card berth for the Ravens, at which time Flacco becomes a nightmare to whatever defense he faces.
Baltimore has added some weapons for Flacco this offseason and done its best to shore up a defense that continues to get older. That all puts more pressure on Flacco, Justin Forsett and the offense. If somebody can just convince Joe it’s January a few months early the Ravens will be fine.
Last year: 5-11, did not make the playoffs
Cleveland Browns: 5-11
Can Hue Jackson resurrect Robert Griffin III’s career? I don’t think he’s gambling on it. The Browns have a long way to go before they can contend in this division and a quarterback of any kind isn’t going to make that happen any faster. The Browns did the smart thing and cashed in on their draft position, stockpiling draft picks to build from a solid foundation. The vast majority of the players that will make Cleveland a contender again are not on this roster. Jackson knows that.
Still, there’s enough talent to win more than three games. If Jackson can keep RG3 from reading his own social media feed and teach him to make pass reads, they may not even have to draft a quarterback at all with their 200 draft picks.
Last year: 3-13, did not make the playoffs
