Baltimore Ravens: AFC North crown remains theirs to lose
While the rest of the AFC North continues to struggle, it’s more clear than ever that the division crown is the Baltimore Ravens to lose.
The Cincinnati Bengals are dead in the water at 0-8 on the season. The Pittsburgh Steelers sit at 2-4 currently (before Monday Night Football), but are too beaten up to be taken seriously. And then we have the Cleveland Browns, failing all their expectations with a 2-5 record. It appears that the AFC North is seemingly the Baltimore Ravens to lose at this point.
This was true before the start of the 2019 season, as they are the defending AFC North champions. Headed into the season, the hype was all around the Browns new dream team and the Steelers always have a stake to win the division. However, it has been the Ravens who’ve shown up this season and label themselves contenders.
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Behind the arm and legs of MVP hopeful Lamar Jackson, Baltimore has established themselves as a team to be reckoned with in the AFC, let alone its division. An unstoppable offense matched with a talented (albeit underachieving) defense and elite special teams unit makes the Ravens a tough out. The same cannot be said about the rest of its division.
The Browns undoubtedly have the most talent in the division, but can’t seem to put it together for one reason or another. Baker Mayfield has regressed in his sophomore season in the NFL, and that’s putting it gently. Meanwhile, their offense as a whole has yet to gel, while the defense has fallen short of their high expectations.
The Steelers are beaten up pretty badly, but they nonetheless have been disappointing this year. Even without Ben Roethlisberger, the offense is porous. JuJu Smith-Schuster has most noticeably dropped off in his level of play. The defense, as good as it is, can only do so much. Because of all this, Pittsburgh seems destined for its first finish under the .500 mark since 2003.
As for the Bengals, they were expected to be bad, but to be winless halfway through the season isn’t what we anticipated. The team should sell off its pieces, but that seems unlikely. Instead, Cincinnati will continue to relish in mediocrity and have a real shot at the no.1 overall pick.
With all this in mind, the Ravens have to capitalize on the division being down and win it all. The team is playing well enough to earn a playoff spot regardless of a division title, but this could be a cakewalk for the remainder of the season. Baltimore sits at 5-2 right now with three more winnable division games remaining.
Even if they sweep the last three division matchups and lose the other six games, an 8-8 record would likely be good enough to win the AFC North. While it’s unlikely that the Ravens will sink that low, it simply speaks to how bad this division is. Baltimore has no excuse not to win it.
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The Baltimore Ravens control their destiny for the AFC North. If they want it, it’s theirs for the taking. There will be little fight from the rest of the division for the title and the Ravens are by far the most talented and established team in it. As long as they don’t poop the bed, Baltimore should glide to back-to-back AFC North titles this season.