While the Bengals were largely counted out by experts heading into the season, the AFC North was still widely expected to be one of the most competitive divisions in football. Now more than half way through the year, the division has been exactly that and the Bengals are right in the thick of things. It is still very much a four horse race, as no more than one win separates the division leader from the other three teams. Each team controls their destiny, setting things up for some interesting matchups in the coming weeks.
AFC North Standings:
| Position: | Team: | Record: | Division Record: | Conference Record: | Strength of Schedule: |
| 1st | Baltimore Ravens | 6-3 | 0-1 | 4-3 | .453 |
| 2nd | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5-3-1 | 1-1 | 3-2 | .482 |
| 3rd | Cincinnati Bengals | 5-4 | 2-1 | 3-2 | .434 |
| 4th | Cleveland Browns | 5-5 | 1-1 | 3-4 | .516 |
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens currently sit atop the division. The season has been a mixed bag for them, despite the sky high expectations. Through nine games, they have played down to opponents like the Lions, Colts, and Dolphins. They managed to squeak out wins in the first two, but dropped their Thursday Night matchup in Miami. The Ravens were also dissappointed after a blowout home loss to the Bengals. On the contrary, this Ravens team, at times, has looked dominant on both offence and defence. They beat Kansas City in a shootout early in the year, and later blew out a good Chargers team.
Looking at individuals, Lamar Jackson is the first one most would turn to. He has made some significnt strides as a passer this year. His ability to comback from large defecits had been questioned coming into the year, but after doing it on multiple occasions, he has quieted many of his doubters. Hollywood Brown seems to have turned the corner, and the addition of Rashod Bateman has been looking good. The weakness of their offence, surprisingly, comes in the running game. After suffering multiple season ending injuries before the start of the season, they have been deploying a make-shift RB unit that included veterans Devanta Freeman and Latavious Murray.
On defence, they have turned in some impressive performances. Most notably, against the Chargers and Broncos. As well, despite the loss, they generally played well against the Dolphins. However, some issues in the secondary have led to big plays being given up, and plenty of points given up. The Ravens defence has allowed 30+ points on four occasions, and the low point of their season was the 41-17 loss to the Bengals
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers have not looked like the strong team we have seen in the past. Yet they find themselves only half a game back of the division leaders. They started the year off with a 1-3 record. They upset the Bills in week 1 before dropping three straight to the Raiders, Bengals, and Packers respectively. Since then, however, luck seems to have been on their side. They face a Broncos team that was already trending downward, they needed OT to beat the Seahawks without Russell Wilson, and their win against the Bears was largely aided by the refs. Topping it all off, they tied the undefeated Lions in week 10. The Steelers were without Ben Roethlisberger for that one, but the Lions, you could argue, were without a QB at all. Jared Goff was banged up, lading the Lions to run the ball 30+ times.
The defence has played well, overall, for the Steelers. Their secondary is solid, while they still have a top DL, led by TJ Watt. On offence, Big Ben, perhaps, has shown some improvement from early in the season. However, it has been their rookie 1st round pick Najee Harris keeping them afloat.
Although in 2nd place, it is fair to wonder how sustainable this level of success will be if Ben is unable to regain his form from a few years ago. Pressure will continue to fall on the shoulders of the defence, while teams will likely gear up against the run more and more. How will they respond?
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals exit the bye week in 3rd place in the division. As bad as that seems, they are only one game out from the lead. They had a great start to the season, earning impressive wins against the Vikings, Steelers, Jaguars, and Ravens, among others, while their losses after 7 weeks were all by 3 points. Their blowout win in Baltimore has been the peak so far. Not only was it a statement win, but it had the Bengals sitting atop the entire AFC at that time. The two weeks that would follow, however, were extreme letdowns. They lost, once again by 3 points, to the lowly Jets and backup QB Mike White. They followed it up with a blowout loss at home to the Browns.
Putting their previous two games aside, the Bengals have mostly been able to turn in complete performances. The Burrow to Chase connection has been elite, but he has also been able to spread the ball around to guys like Higgins and Uzomah. Joe Mixon, meanwhile, has been a steady threat. As always, he has been great on the ground, but his increased usage as a receiver has been encouraging. The hot topic coming into th year was the OL. For the most part, it has been solid. The tackles have kept Burrow clean, while Quinto Spain seems to be having a career year. Trey Hopkins hasn’t been able to regain his pre-injury form, and RG has been a small game of musical chairs. Overall though, the line has been solid enough.
The defence, prior to the last two weeks, has been great as well. Chidobe Awuzie has proven to be a spectacular pickup, as he now looks like the team’s CB1. Trey Hendrickson, meanwhile, has been a menace of a pass rusher, while Sam Hubbard has shown improvements in this area as well. Going forward, Hendrickson will need to improve his play against the run. As well, it would be nice to see Ogunjobi threten more as a pass rusher like he did early in the year.
Loooking beyond the players, coaching has been somewhat polarizing this year. There have been plenty of good moments, but you could argue that coaching is responsible for their loss to the Jets. As well, Zac Taylor & co. certainly did not out-coach anyone when they were blown out by the Browns. Consistency will be key moving forward.
Currently sitting at 5-4, only one game back of the Ravens, the Bengals control their own destiny. Every opportunity will be threr to grab control of the division.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns, like the Bengals, are only one win shy of the Ravens. But they sit at 5-5. That extra loss makes it so that they are currently 1.5 games back. It has been an up and down year for Cleveland. They started off hot, going 3-1 in their first 4. However, they would go on to lose 3 of their next 5. QB Baker Mayfield has been playing through some injuries, while their star RB’s Chubb and Hunt have both missed time. The Browns got back into the win colum when they blew out the Bengals in Cincinnati. It was a dominant performance by that entire team. Mayfield was on point, the receivers (now without OBJ) were getting open, and the defence was shutting down everything. However, they themselves would get blown out just one week later. Mac Jones and the rest of the Patriots offence dropped 45 on them, while the Browns could only come up with 7 points of their own.
Health will be one key for them moving forward. But consistency will be another. The Baker Mayfield cycle seems to be in full effect right now. He’s doubted, plays great, and then comes back to down to earth. Well, whether or not that cycle continues is something we might have to wait to find out. There seems to be a legitimate chance that Case Keenum starts this week against the Lions. Nevertheless, looking at the big picture of this season, consistency from Baker Mayfield will likely to the key to their fortune or misfortune.