LogFAQs > #973894246

AFC North

1. Cincinnati Bengals
2. Mexico City Browns
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Baltimore Ravens

Losing Chris Hogan for nearly half the season is a huge blow for the Bengals, but they've routinely had an elite offense in the Andy Dalton/Derrick Henry era, so they will survive. 1st round rookie Kenny Golladay starts off his career as the #1 option as a result. The main reason why I am picking the Bengals to end what I believe is the league's second or third-longest playoff drought is that I feel as the investments that the team has made on the defensive side over the years will finally show the result that they are looking for. This is a sneaky great secondary, the LBs corps is looking great. They have two elder beasts at DT, and DE DeForest Buckner has had a great start to his career. The offense/defense combo of this team is too enticing to pass up, and the other teams in the division have bigger question marks and glaring weaknesses. This is the Bengals' time to seize the division.

I have absolutely no idea what to expect from the Browns this season. They underwent a number of changes that is ultimately leaving the DL pretty suspect, especially in the wake of DT Knighton's injury, but the team is intriguing in other areas. QB Mitchell Trubusky had a great OL and poor offensive skill cast in the 49ers and was just dragged around before ending his five-year contract there. He has a career passer rating in the 80s, which makes him an interesting pick up by the Browns who drafted Dak Prescott over Trubisky in that draft class. The rest of the offense is mostly the same, save for a veteran offensive-oriented TE in Charles Clay, and a former 2nd rounder ascending to a starting G spot. The defense is where the radical changes occurred. They are going back to a 4-3 D and three projected starting DL weren't starting for them last season, and the other was a mid-season signing. MVP David Harris gets a new sidemate with Rookie of the Year candidate Andrew Van Ginkel. Veteran SS Chris Browning comes to Mexico City from division rival Cincinnati where he has been a DB of the Year finalist the past three seasons, winning twice. They are more likely to see things go awry than set the league on fire, but I feel like they should remain playoff contenders throughout the season. With the division being one of the most winnable, I could definitely see them winning it back-to-back.

The Steelers are very unsexy but at least adequate team. Their revolving door of QBs were, to put it simply, not good last season, but the ordinary but highly productive HB Christian McCaffrey and a dependable defense helped rebound from a terrible start to the season to avoid hitting double digit losses. They are switching back to a 3-4 D this season. DT Richardson and DE Ingram should transition fine. Rookie DE Deatrich Wise Jr. may not, but he didn't win the job out of the preseason so that may not matter. I'm expecting more of the same out of this team as I am usually accustomed to. 7-9 wins and in the playoff hunt.

I want to assure people here that this division could end up in any order, and I wouldn't be too surprised. The Ravens' combination of HB, OL, and defensive history (finished in Top 10 last season despite some talent deficiencies), could easily get them back to the division crown if their usual performance holds. QB Sam Darnold actually had a pretty decent rookie campaign, and their receiving corps are better than people think. Their offense is quite solid, and in this new age of the league where defenses are getting better, quality offenses might become the new competitive edge before long. I'm only putting them last because I do believe that their front seven might finally spell the end of their defensive dominance. It really just comes down to talent, and this lower talent with them seeing two starting LBs depart over the offseason might be too much to overcome the in-game algorithm. I guess time will tell.