Here are my predictions for the AFC North:
1. Cincinnati Bengals (projected division winners) - The Bengals have been the most consistent team in this division, although that has proven to be bittersweet. They always seem to qualify for the playoffs and, a couple of times in the last few seasons, they even outright win the division! Last year, the Bengals not only won the division, but they finished with an impressive 12-4 mark, tying the franchise beast records set in 1981 and again in 1988 - both Super Bowl seasons. Indeed, when the Bengals raced out to an 8-0 start, they had people's head turning, and nobody was laughing at the idea that this might be a Super Bowl team. Their defense was one of the very best in the league, and they have a ton of experience with winning seasons and qualifying for the playoffs. Unfortunately, however, they do not have much experience with actually winning once they get into the playoffs, and it almost feels cruel to suggest that the bad luck and resulting loss to the Steelers in the AFC Wild Card was in fact quite predictable! Cincinnati still should have a solid defense, and they still have Andy Dalton leading a fairly prolific offense, which is reason to hope. Truth be told, this could be a team good enough to earn a playoff bye. Yet, this is also the same team that finds ways to disappoint at inopportune times, and frankly, it is still hard to believe that, when push comes to shove, the Bengals will beat the better teams in the league when they have to. I will predict another division title, but cannot go as far as to predict success after that.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (projected second place) - Pittsburgh had another successful season last year, although for this franchise, the concept of the offense carrying a relatively weak defense still seems strange to me. Yet, that is the position that the Steelers find themselves in, with a truly explosive offense and a defense that could perhaps get away with being serviceable to allow this team to make another run into the playoffs, and possibly even a run once they get there. Remember, this team did not win the division title last season but, like the Packers, probably proved to be the better overall team in the division once in the playoffs. Truth be told, Pittsburgh is a legitimate title contender, and even though I am not predicting them to win the division, it certainly would be no surprise if they did happen to win it. The Steelers are a very dangerous team, and have to be considered one of the teams to watch in the AFC, capable of making it as far as the Super Bowl, so long as they remain healthy and stay focused. Even if they do not win the division outright (and it is a gamble picking against them), they probably will prove, once again, to be the best in this division when it counts come January.
2. Baltimore Ravens (projected second place) - After a promising 2014-15 season that saw Baltimore win a playoff game on the road, and then give the eventual Super Bowl champions all that they could handle, the Ravens fell flat on their faces last season. It took a surprisingly long time to get their first win, and it proved to be the case last season that the wins were just too few and far between, as a team that seemed to be a legitimate favorite to make some serious noise in the postseason completely fell off the map instead, and were effectively out of the playoff race by mid-season. Still, the Ravens have Joe Flacco, who can provide veteran leadership on offense, and they still have the basis for a fairly solid defense, as well. Remember, this was the team that almost knocked off the Super Bowl champion Patriots in 2014, and did knock off both the Patriots and the Broncos in 2012, en route to their own Super Bowl title. They still have much of that talent left, and should be looking to prove something this season. Having stumbled out of the gates so badly early last season, they will be determined not to let it happen again, and so look for them to be in the running right from the start. This team should be a playoff contender, and may even be right their with either the Bengals and the Steelers for a possible division title.
4. Cleveland Browns (projected last place) - The good news for Cleveland is that they finally have a champion after over 50 years. The bad news is that despite the tremendous success of the Cavaliers, it probably will not help these Browns any. Even though their 2014 season proved to be a disappointment in the den, it almost seems hard to believe that this team was as good as they were for as long as they were back then. Remember, they were 7-4 and looking like they might be making a serious run for the playoffs. Then, everything, almost predictably, everything fell apart for this team, and they still have not seemingly recovered. Last season's 3-13 season was disastrous, yet it might be an indicator of what's to come. Cleveland ranked near the bottom on both offense and defense, and they hardly could expect to turn all of that around in a major way in the offseason. The quarterback situation, as always, seems complicated and unsettled, and everything leading from that seems equally questionable on offense. They only managed 30 points or more once last year, and their opponents scored 30 or more against this team fully nine times. When you cannot score, and cannot prevent your opponents from scoring, that is obviously a recipe for disaster, and it seems that the Browns too frequently have that problem. This season does not look any different, which makes predicting anything but a solidly last place finish difficult. It really is sad, because by this point, probably everyone is kind of pulling for this team to finally have success, but it just does not seem that this franchise is capable of bringing that kind of success to Believeland.
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