NFL 2024 Division Previews; AFC North Edition; Most Competitive Division in the NFL, Ravens Squeak Out Win

Over the next pair of months, I will be going through each division and giving an overall projection of how they could perform in the upcoming season. The record projection should be taken with a grain of salt as we are still months out before the season even starts and roster changes and injuries will occur in that time

1) Baltimore Ravens – Projected Record 12-5

The Ravens were outstanding all of last season, were the top seed in the AFC and Lamar Jackson was able to snag his second MVP of his career. They went into a playoff game against a hot Houston Texans team and looked like true contenders when they rolled them over. Then they hosted the Chiefs and the offensive play calling and style was puzzling in that game. I don’t know if it was coaching instruction or Jackson’s mindset for that game but it seemed like he was trying to be a pocket passer and beat them with his arm, they just did not utilize his special talent and it cost them.

Now looking forward they should still have great success this season and have some similar results record wise. They get Mark Andrews, a top-five tight end back healthy and now have added Derrick Henry, mixing him with Lamar Jackson is going to terrify defenses, have fun stopping that option. Even if Henry isn’t in his prime anymore which he isn’t, but he is still plenty good to make some noise. The defense has some real superstars as well with Roquan Smith, Kyle Hamilton and Marlon Humphrey. Also a big fan of rookie Nate Wiggins who has blazing speed and legit man-to-man cover skills. The Ravens will be one of the top contenders in the AFC for sure.

2) Cincinnati Bengals – Projected Record 11-6

The Bengals were a pretty big mess a season ago after years of success and playoff runs. The year started off poorly even with Joe Burrow when they started 1-3 and Burrow had a total of 2 touchdowns in that stretch. Then they went 4-0 and Burrow had 10 touchdowns and they looked like they were back in business. Then they lost a close game against the Texans and in the next game Burrow got hurt for the season and that was a wrap.

Now, 11-6 is a good record and will put them in the playoffs but there will be some doubts if it’s feasible considering how last year was and some of their losses like running back Joe Mixon. The defense should be solid, not great, which again is another concern. Regardless of all that, they have a relatively easy schedule outside of their division and their offense should carry them enough to have good success for a majority of the season.

3) Cleveland Browns – Projected Record 10-7

The Browns were a good team last year, never a real true title contender but a playoff team even without Deshaun Watson when they had Joe Flacco in and most of it was due to their elite defense they had a season ago. This team has arguably gotten better this season as opposed to their last roster.

So why if they’ve improved, is their record a game lower than last season? Well they are in a really tough division so that already is six tough games, they also have to play the Dolphins, Chiefs, Eagles and Cowboys so that will be tough regardless the Browns are extremely talented. They could be even higher but I’m not a believer in Deshaun Watson at this point in his career. Not only does he struggle with injuries his performance just has not been there. He appeared in six games a season ago and played fully in five, he only had two legit good games despite their good record at that point. Joe Flacco seemed to be more consistent last season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jameis Winston had more consistent success. So while the Browns are talented, they could still be a quarterback away from competing for a championship.

4) Pittsburgh Steelers – Projected Record 9-8

Last year it went better than anyone could have expected considering how the season started and it felt like their offense could not get going at all, even by the time the season was over they were still a bottom five scoring offense but the Steelers know how to win those games that are such a grind and gets some wins here and there to get a winning record and they did it all the way to 10-7 and a playoff appearance.

Now they already got a big upgrade at quarterback over Kenny Pickett with Russel Wilson and they also traded for Justin Fields who is dynamic if not still a bit raw as a passer. Regardless the playmaking ability has shot up tremendously already and we already know they’re well coached by Mike Tomlin. If they were in a different division they would almost certainly be expected to be around a double digit win season but due to their division and schedule overall they will fall a bit short of their rivals but once again finish with a winning record.