The AFC North may end up being one of the best divisions in football in 2024, so let's dive into how each team will finish in the coming season.
Each team in the division has a realistic argument to make the playoffs in 2024, and with the NFL moving to seven teams in the postseason, an entire division making the playoffs is now possible. Well, if any division could do it in 2024, it might just be the AFC North.
So let's dive into how each team will do in the 2024 NFL Season.
NFL predictions: Here's how each AFC North team will finish in 2024 season
1. Cincinnati Bengals: 12-5
The Cincinnati Bengals are going to get a full season from Joe Burrow in 2024, and he'll help lead them to the AFC North crown and a 12-5 regular season record. When Burrow has been healthy for most of the season, the Bengals have made the Super Bowl and AFC Championship Game, so expect about the same for the Bengals in 2024.
An improved offensive line should help keep Burrow upright, and their always reliable defense should continue that pace of play in 2024.
2. Baltimore Ravens: 11-6
The Baltimore Ravens are not going to be as good as they were in 2023, and I'd be willing to bet a lot on that. It's abundantly clear that this team has hit a ceiling with the head coach/quarterback duo of John Harbaugh and Lamar Jackson. They'll be good for about 9-13 wins per season, but will continue to falter in the playoffs until something changes.
They'll win 11 games in 2024 and will earn a Wild Card spot, which is still a very successful season by any metric you want to look at, frankly. This is not a Super Bowl team, however.
3. Cleveland Browns: 10-7
The Cleveland Browns will get suspect play from their QB, Deshaun Watson in 2024. It's just insane to see just how far Watson has fallen off for the Browns, who traded half of the city to get him from the Houston Texans a couple of seasons ago.
If Watson does not pan out for the Browns, this will go down as the worst trade in NFL history. While Watson won't play great again, the Browns will find a way to scrape together 10 wins. It'll still be a respectable season for Kevin Stefanski's club, but will be another underachieving year.
Deshaun Watson playing like his old self, plus their insane defense, would make the Browns a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers: 8-9
The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have upgraded their QB room after all. Both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson were acquired for virtually nothing, so that should tell you quite a lot about how the league views each passer. Well, every team but the Steelers, it seems, is acknowledging that Fields and Wilson are no good.
And with the defensive key players getting older, the Steelers will begin to break and will finish with their first losing season of the Mike Tomlin era. Franky, the Steelers should have moved on from Tomlin this offseason, as it's clear that the team simply needs some fresh blood.
Tomlin is a very good head coach, but his time with the Steelers has expired, in my opinion. Anyway, an 8-9 season in the AFC is not nearly good enough to make the postseason in 2024.