Who will win the AFC North?
As we come near the end of our division predictions series we have two divisions remaining, the AFC North and the AFC South. Today we will be predicting who will win the AFC North, a division that was home to three playoff teams last season in the Steelers, Browns and Ravens as well as the Cincinnati Bengals. Last year the Steelers were the team that gained the most attention, as they were the last team to lose a game and were thought to be Super Bowl locks. Though this didn’t pan out in the long run the Steelers still had a successful year and came out on top as the close division champs, but can they repeat this success in this competitive division?
The Steelers, as we previously stated, were the last team to suffer a loss this past year. Was it Juju’s dancing or Big Ben’s age that cost them their first loss? We may never know. However, this offseason, Pittsburgh has made several moves that will hopefully contribute to a successful 2021 season. The Steelers came into the offseason in cap hell, as they housed the largest cap hit in the NFL with Big Ben’s monstrosity of a contract. Since then the Steelers have been able to cut that number down and have been able to sign a few free agents, while still losing plenty of starting talent. The team signed names like Cam Sutton, and Juju Smith-Schuster. The signing of Juju was surprising to some across the league, as he turned down offers from other teams that definitely exceeded that from the Steelers, however he was willing to take a homecoming pay cut to return to the team that drafted him, hoping that they will be able to return to the playoffs as division champs. But will they?
The Baltimore Ravens came in as a close second, one game behind the Steelers. This offseason has been kind to the Ravens as well, more specially Lamar Jackson. After most of the quality receivers had signed with a team the Ravens were able to to sign Sammy Watkins, a veteran pass catcher that can help Lamar get back to that MVP level. The Ravens also extended Derek Wolfe, signed Tyus Bowser and traded for Josh Oliver. The flock also said goodbye to Mark Ingram, Mr. big truss, as the team released him, and he later signed with the Houston Texans. This move gives the Ravens’ young running backs the opportunity to flourish and become the one-two punch that the offense needs behind Lamar. So will these moves give the Ravens the chance to take back the throne of division champs which they rightfully claimed back in 2019? Only time will tell.
The Cleveland Browns came in as a close third in the North in 2020, with the same record (11-5) as the Ravens and the same division record (7-5) as the Ravens as well. But due to the point differential tie breaker the Browns came third, but that didn’t matter too much considering they still made the playoffs and even got a playoff win when they demolished the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The offseason started with Browns fans expecting JJ Watt to come to Cleveland to play his brothers twice a year, but when he signed with Arizona the fan base pivoted to Jadaveon Clowney, who they are expected to sign as of now. The team has also made more improvements, as they signed Josh Johnson, Takk McKinley, Rashard Higgins, Troy Hill, Cody Parker and Anthony Walker. The Browns defense is set to look different and definitely improved, but will these improvements fix their record and point differential to give the city of Cleveland the opportunity to host a playoff game?
The fourth and final team is the Cincinnati Bengals. 2020 was a wash for the Bengals, as their future franchise quarterback, Joe Burrow, who they drafted with the first overall pick in 2019, went out with injury midway through the season. The Bengals are picking fifth in the draft later this month and are poised to select either the best offensive lineman in this years draft, Penei Sewell, or the standout LSU receiver, Ja’marr Chase. The Bengals have also been busy in free agency this offseason, as they signed names like Trey Hendrickson, Mike Hilton, Tony Brown, Larry Ogunjobi, and Riley Reiff. In a year where the team will have almost certainly improved from the previous year, if Cincinnati doesn’t finish the year with a winning record, it’s fair to expect a change of head coach, as Zac Taylor was on the hot seat last season before he and the Bengals defeated the once undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers in a Monday night game in December. So will the Bengals turn it around in 2021 or will it be another disappointment for the people of Cincinnati?
To predict the outcome of the AFC North for the 2021 NFL season we will pick the Cincinnati Bengals to come last, however we think the Bengals will have a good year and might even finish with a winning record, but they will be the bottom of the North. We predict the Pittsburgh Steelers will come third, but again, not a bad third, just like the Browns did last season, we think the Steelers will be in contention for a playoff spot down to the last game of the season, and may even get into the playoffs. The reason for not winning the division is due to their quarterback situation and the age and lack of mobility of Big Ben. To win the division we predict it will be a long, hard fought race up until the last game of the season, and the Cleveland Browns will come out on top. The Browns have improved significantly this offseason and everything is in place for Cleveland to be successful. They finally have their head coach and their quarterback. They have a deadly receiving corps, and a potent defense. We will take the Ravens at second due to their inability to build a solid offense for Lamar. Last season Jackson was one of the most inaccurate quarterbacks in the league and it was mainly due to his receivers dropping passes. Signing Sammy Watkins was a great addition, but we don’t think it will win the division for them again, just not quite yet.