With the AFC East out of the way, it’s the AFC North’s turn to fall into the crosshairs. Outside of the New England Patriots or teams quarterbacked by Peyton Manning, the other five of the six AFC Super Bowl representatives over the last 17 seasons have come from the AFC North. That’s three appearances for the Pittsburgh Steelers and two for the Baltimore Ravens.
Key = Z – Home Field Advantage, Y – Division Champion, X – Wild Card
O/U wins: 10.5
My Prediction: 12-4
The Steelers have boasted one of the top offenses in the NFL over the last half decade and nothing about this year’s team looks to change that. Pittsburgh’s chances to put up 12 or more wins in the regular season all come down the health of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. If he plays all 16 games, they could be a 13-3 or 14-2 team. He’s not played a full season’s slate of games for the last two seasons and only done it three times in his entire 13 year career.
This is probably Pittsburgh’s final season with Le’Veon Bell in the backfield, so they’ll hopefully make the most of it. One guy they’ll never let leave town is Antonio Brown, who might be the best wide receiver in the sport. At worst he’s in the Top Three. Martavis Bryant returns from his suspension to add a legitimate NFL speedster to the outside. My money is on JuJu Smith-Schuster to end up the third guy, but early on it’ll be Eli Rogers and Darrius Heyward-Bey trading off depending on the play offensive coordinator Todd Haley calls.
It was the defense that really let the Steelers down in the AFC Championship game and this unit is still being built up from the formidable one that ruled the AFC North five years ago. With the addition of Joe Haden, Mike Mitchell and T.J. Watt, it looks to me like the Steel Curtain could make its third appearance in the Steel City.
O/U wins: 8.5
My Prediction: 8-8
Two seasons ago the Bengals might have been the best team in football. Andy Dalton was the best weapon in fantasy sports and they rolled up points and wins all up until Dalton broke his thumb late in the season, ruining their chances to do anything in the playoffs. Cincinnati is the perfect example of a team that has to strike in their Super Bowl window or miss it forever.
If all the pieces stay healthy, this is a team that can still put up plenty of points. A.J. Green might not be in that Top Three conversation with Antonio Brown, but he’s easily in the Top Five. Brandon LeFell is a solid receiver on the other side, but that job will eventually belong to rookie first round pick John Ross when he’s healthy.
Cincinnati found its running back of the future in April’s draft with Joe Mixon, but still has the running backs of the present in his way. Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard will carry the load early, but I expect Mixon to take over full time after midseason. The issue in Cincy is a rebuilt offensive line. Their two best guys, Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler left town via free agency. Andre Smith’s return will help and Cedric Ogbuehi should be a solid starter, but early on it could be tough sledding.
Defensively the Bengals will see what William Jackson III can do after a redshirt year. They’re solid all the way through the defensive backfield and up front on the defensive line. With Vontaze Burfict suspended, they’ll be breaking in an entirely new linebacking crew than took the field last season.
BALTIMORE RAVENS
O/U wins: 9.0
My Prediction: 8-8
Joe Flacco’s injury kept him out of the entire preseason, but the team expects him to suit up and play for the regular season and that will make a difference. Flacco is one of the best postseason quarterbacks of his generation, but the same magic he displays in the playoffs rarely shows up in the regular season. He’s good from September to December. He’s outstanding once January hits.
There’s a big hole and running back on this team and that will keep their offense from working the way they need it to. Terrance West is probably more suited for a back up role and Danny Woodhead is a third down back. Mike Wallace, a healthy Breshad Perriman and Jeremy Maclin will be the best set of receivers Flacco has played with since his Super Bowl win.
Up front, the Ravens are solid with maybe the best guard in the game in Marshal Yanda. Last season’s first round pick Ronnie Stanley will hold down left guard.
The defense, in which the Ravens hung their be-feathered hats on for so long is the weakness on this team. They have star players at every level, but not across the board like they did during their two Super Bowl runs.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
O/U wins: 4.5
My Prediction: 3-13
By cutting Brock Osweiler and going with rookie sack machine DeShone Kizer, the Cleveland Browns officially waved the white flag on the 2017 NFL season. It’s not that they would have won a ton of games anyway, but with Kizer under center they’ll give the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills a run for their tanking money.
With that said, this is a better team than the one that went 1-15 last year. Kenny Britt is an upgrade at wide receiver of Terrelle Pryor and should be a solid possession target that helps open the field up for 2016 first round pick Corey Coleman. The sooner the Browns can work rookie tight end David Njoku into the offense the better. Isaiah Crowell is a bellcow back that was a solid value in daily fantasy last season.
On defense, anyone predicting Myles Garrett will win Defensive Rookie of the Year didn’t watch him play in college. He’ll be as good as he wants to be and no one has figured out, to my satisfaction, how often he keeps his head in the game. This will be a better unit under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams simply because he seems to coach better with less talent. The more pieces the Browns add, the more useless Williams and his blitz-happy schemes will become.
To make a wager on any sport, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here.
