Each team has rough patches during the NFL season. Sometimes those are brought on by the injury bug. Other times, it could be due to a hard segment of the schedule.
In this series, we will discuss the hardest 4-game stretches of each team’s schedule, going division by division.
Today, we find ourselves in the hard-nose football division of the AFC North. For how many hard-hitting division rivalries there are, there is a lack of those games on this list. Across the 12 games that will be brought up, only three of them feature an AFC North rivalry.
Let’s dive right into things with the easiest, hardest 4-game stretch for this division.
NFL Power Rankings, 2026: Every AFC North team's toughest 4-game stretch
4. Cincinnati Bengals Weeks 1-4
By far, that distinction belongs to Cincinnati. The Bengals play just three playoff teams during this stretch.
Hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, heading to Houston, a divisional showdown in Pittsburgh and hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars will close out the opening 4-game stretch for the Bengals. Nothing easy will come from a divisional matchup, especially not an AFC North one.
However, the locations of these games are key for Cincinnati. Teams do not want to travel to Florida and play in open-air stadiums early in the season. As luck would have it, Cincinnati hosts both the Buccaneers and Jaguars in 2026. So, there is a dodged bullet there.
Going into Pittsburgh is never fun for a rivalry game, but you have to at some point every year. Probably best to get it out of the way early and have them come to you later on in the campaign.
A rowdy Houston crowd in September is not ideal, but considering three of the four destinations are preferred for the Bengals in this timeframe, it feels like a small price to pay for everything else to go in the team’s favor.
3. Cleveland Browns Weeks 1-4
Cleveland has an eerily similar start to the Cincinnati Bengals. In fact, three games are the same. However, the locations are different for all of those games.
Going to Jacksonville in September is never an easy task, staying in Florida to take on Tampa Bay, then there is a bit of home cooking against the Carolina Panthers and wrapping up the first month of the season at home for a rivalry game with the Steelers is a rough stretch to open on for Cleveland.
Any division rivalry game is going to be a hard-fought affair. Now, take into account that the game is on a short week as part of Thursday Night Football after a battle with the Panthers. Additionally, starting with consecutive road games in Florida is brutal, considering the Browns are a cold-weather team.
2. Baltimore Ravens Weeks 7-10
Hosting the rival Bengals, marching into Buffalo, followed by a pair of home games with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers, is a hard patch for the Ravens. However, there are reasons to be elated if you are a fan of the team.
For starters, only three of the games in this period are against playoff teams from last season. You could say the span is from Weeks 8-11, depending on how you perceive a rivalry game with Cincinnati or going to the Carolina Panthers, throwing a wrench into the statement, but rivalries in the AFC North are heated, so the Bengals were the choice here. Speaking of the number three, there are three home games for the Ravens in this period of time.
That said, it is far from smooth sailing for Baltimore. After going to Buffalo, the Ravens host Jacksonville on a short week for Thursday Night Football. However, there is a long week of rest before the Chargers game on a Monday night.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers Weeks 11-14
This is by far the hardest stretch of games for any team in the AFC North. However, it comes with some perks at the end.
Going to Philadelphia, hosting the Denver Broncos, then the Texans before wrapping up the 4-game segment in Jacksonville is just the most brutal stretch of games in the division this season. Funny enough, the Jaguars appeared in each team’s hardest games this season. Playing against four straight playoff teams from 2025, however, is no joke for the Steelers.
Another matter that should not be laughed at is the track record Pittsburgh has had against its cross-state rivals. Since 2016, the teams have played four times. The Philadelphia Eagles won three of them, each by double digits.
Then there is the Black Friday game with the Broncos, which will be a short week. However, there is a silver lining afterward. There is a long week before hosting the Houston Texans, and another one heading into Jacksonville because that game is scheduled for a Monday night.
Overall, it is a brutal 4-game stretch for Pittsburgh, but with there being a couple of long weeks, things could be worse for the Steelers.