Now that the NFL has officially reached the halfway mark in the season. I will be doing a breakdown of the winningest division in the NFL, the AFC North. This division comprises the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Cleveland Browns. The Ravens are winning the division at a record of 7-2. All the other teams are currently tied at 5-3. This division has by far the best-combined record in the NFL this season, and they’re planning to continue this streak. The Ravens have been hot all season, led by quarterback Lamar Jackson. This team has had a tremendous first half of the year. While the Ravens’ schedule may not have been the most difficult because they ended last season second in their division behind the Bengals, they still have faced some pretty strong teams. The whole division plays the NFC West; it has the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers. These teams are relatively high in power ranking among the NFC and play each other from their division twice a season. The Bengals started the season off very slowly. This team was expected to dominate in the AFC as soon as the season started. However, precisely the opposite had happened.
Joe Burrow, Bengals quarterback, was playing on an aggravated left calf injury from the preseason. This team started the season at 1-3 due to poor performance from Burrow, and their defense needed to catch up to offenses considered low-tier. However, after that 1-3 start to their season, they have been on a four-week win streak and now sit at a record of 5-3, tied three ways for second in the division. Joe Burrow has elevated his level of play significantly to match his performances last season, reassuring fans that he is still their guy. The Browns acquired Deshaun Watson last offseason; however, he was caught up in legal issues for the duration of last season, so he only played a few games for the Browns toward the end. He came into this season playing reasonably well; however, he suffered a rotator cuff injury, which has been the sad story of the Browns this season. Star running back Nick Chubb suffered a dislocated knee along with three torn ligaments in that knee. Chubb has been confirmed for the remainder of this season and possibly some time into next season. Given this team’s circumstances of losing their best offensive players in the first half of the season, they have been playing outstanding football to be at their record of 5-3. The Steelers are the bottom team in this division and have kind of just been coasting along due to an easy schedule as a result of coming last in their division last year but they also have a record of 5-3; however, they have only beaten one good team so far and that was the ravens. This Steelers team is still very young and has been producing a level of play that is above average in this league so they are still playing very well even if they’re playing mediocre teams.
