Ebony Bird
FanSided

3 reasons why the Ravens will repeat as AFC North winners

By Norman Getsinger

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Defensive Tackle Michael Pierce #97 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 29: Defensive Tackle Michael Pierce #97 of the Baltimore Ravens takes the field prior to the game against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 11: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens gives a thumbs up during the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – JANUARY 11: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens gives a thumbs up during the AFC Divisional Playoff game against the Tennessee Titans at M&T Bank Stadium on January 11, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

The Ravens have more upside than the other AFC contenders:

How can the Ravens have more upside than the other contenders when they just went 14-2? Well for one, the Ravens have the reigning MVP on their team and he is still younger than Joe Burrow. I have no idea what Lamar Jackson’s ceiling is; his growth from year 1 to year 2 was incredible, can he get even better in his third year? He certainly has the offense to do even better next year.

Lamar Jackson will be heading into next year with an offense that will have another full offseason together. The receiving weapons that Jackson has will be better and all three tight ends will be back. On defense, the Ravens have arguably the best secondary in the league with stud corners and safeties everywhere. The biggest question for the Ravens is pass rush, however, it was also a question heading into the 2019 season and the defense did just fine. If the Ravens can address pass rush this offseason they could very easily be the most complete team in the league.

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The other teams in the AFC North have a few more questions to address in the offseason than the Ravens. For the Bengals, they have questions everywhere. Can Zac Taylor elevate the Bengals to a winner? Will Joe Burrow come in and change life in Cincinnati? What holes can the Bengals fill in the upcoming draft and free agency? The Bengals will have a lot of work to do this offseason, but the Bengals should be better next year because, to be honest, it’s hard to be much worse.

The Browns will be starting the season off with a new head coach in Kevin Stefanski. How am I supposed to believe that Stefanski will be the head coach of the Browns to turn things around? Will the pairing of Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham work this year? The Browns are the most difficult team to pin down because they have a ton of pieces on their team, but it just did not work at all last year. I also worry about their offensive line, if a team is losing in the trenches consistently they have a very low chance of being a competitive team. I think the Browns will be better than last year, but how many times have we asked that about the Browns?

The Steelers look like they can be better than last year, but even that is not guaranteed. I am not entirely convinced that we will see a better version of Ben Roethlisberger in 2020. Against the Patriots last year the Steelers were not competitive, losing that game 3-33 and then in the next game Ben hurt his elbow. The Steelers were still competitive this year because of their great defense, but the Steelers also had to give up a first-round pick to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick. The trade really did help the Steelers, however, the defense does look to take a step back because players like Bud Dupree and Javon Hargrave are going to be free agents and the Steelers are projected to have $1.4 million dollars in cap space.

The Ravens are in the best situation out of all three teams in the AFC and will be the most complete team coming into the upcoming season.

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