Ebony Bird
FanSided

AFC North round-up: Predicting Baltimore Ravens, other’s 2020 record

By Richard Bradshaw

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 22: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens shakes hands with Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns after the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Baltimore defeated Cleveland 31-15. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 22: Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens shakes hands with Baker Mayfield #6 of the Cleveland Browns after the game at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. Baltimore defeated Cleveland 31-15. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 15: T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers jumps in the air as he runs onto the field before the game against the Buffalo Bills at Heinz Field on December 15, 2019, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – DECEMBER 15: T.J. Watt #90 of the Pittsburgh Steelers jumps in the air as he runs onto the field before the game against the Buffalo Bills at Heinz Field on December 15, 2019, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Pittsburgh fielded one of the league’s best defenses in 2019, yielding the fifth-best defense in total YPG allowed while recording 20 interceptions and 54 sacks. Almost everyone from that unit has returned for the 2020 season, including Defensive Player of the Year candidate, T.J. Watt. Watt has emerged as one of the league’s premier edge rushers after notching 14.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles a season ago. Across from him is Bud Dupree, and in front of him are Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt. This pass rush is going to be busy once again in 2020.

The secondary is no slouch, either. Minkah Fitzpatrick was my personal pick for Defensive Player of the Year after picking off five passes and scoring two touchdowns. Fitzpatrick is an elite defender on the backend of the defense and he has two solid corners in front of him in Joe Haden and Steven Nelson.

This defense alone will win the Steelers eight games, but if they want to earn a playoff spot, or even contend for the AFC North crown, they’ll need the offense to be at least average. As a whole, how good the Pittsburgh Steelers are in 2020 hangs entirely on the offense.

Ben Roethlisberger is back for year 17 of his Hall of Fame career, but he’s coming off season-ending elbow surgery on his throwing arm. There are few guarantees that he’ll be even half of what he was, but he does have plenty of capable weapons at his disposal, including Pro Bowler JuJu Smith-Schuster. The run game is a big question mark due to health, but James Conner was once a Pro Bowler. If he’s healthy, this unit could rebound.

Baltimore Ravens: 4 players set to overachieve in 2020. dark. Next

All in all, the Pittsburgh Steelers are a very intriguing team in the AFC playoff picture. The Steelers are easily the second-best team in the AFC North after the Baltimore Ravens and could easily steal a win from them. The AFC North crown isn’t entirely out of reach for Pittsburgh, but it’ll need a helluva rebound offensively to win the title.

Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 predicted record: 10-6

AFC North record: 4-2

Home/Ravens News