Considered one of the toughest divisions in football, the AFC North promises to be just as rugged in 2016 as they were last season. The Cincinnati Bengals won the division for the second time in three seasons and look to repeat as champions. Standing in their way are the high-powered Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens. The odd men out, the Cleveland Browns really don't have much of a chance to succeed in this division.
The Steelers were second in the division at 10-6 and Baltimore hobbled to a 5-11 record while Cleveland brought up the rear at 3-13. There is a very good chance three teams make the playoffs out of this division, as was the case in 2014.
Here is a look at how things will shape up in 2016.
1. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals were the most talented team in the division on both sides of the ball last year. Andy Dalton had a plethora of weapons around him and played the best football of his career. Dalton set career bests in touchdown rate (6.5), interception rate (1.8), yards per attempt (8.4), yards per completion (12.7), passer rating (106.2) and total QBR (73.11). Sure, throwing to A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, Mohomed Sanu, and Tyler Eifert helped. However, Dalton had those same players at his disposal in 2014 and managed only an 83.5 passer rating and 53.94 QBR.
Dalton returns with a new supporting cast from a thumb injury suffered on December 13 against the Steelers. Jones signed with the Detroit Lions while Sanu left to play for the Atlanta Falcons. Green and Eifert are still there and should create openings for the receivers further down the depth chart. Cincinnati replaced Jones and Sanu with second round draft pick Tyler Boyd out of Pittsburgh and free agent signee Brandon LaFell. LaFell caught 37 balls for 515 yards for the New England Patriots in 2015. The former LSU Tiger hopes to return to his 2014 form (74 catches, 953 yards, and seven touchdowns). Playing opposite Green and Eifert should help.
The Bengals' run game remains intact with the two-headed monster of Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. The duo combined for 1,524 yards on the ground last season, though Bernard was more effective, with a 4.7 yards per carry average compared to Hill’s 3.9.
Cincinnati brings back nine of their 11 starters from last year's 11th-ranked defense and still has one of the best front sevens in football, anchored by defensive end Carlos Dunlap and defensive tackle Geno Atkins. The Bengals hope veteran addition Karlos Dansby repeats his 108-tackle season from last year. Cincinnati needs a solid year from Dansby considering the league suspended Vontaze Burfict for the first three games of the season. The secondary remains the Achilles heel of the defense. Cincinnati's 20th-ranked pass defense loses safety Reggie Nelson and cornerback Leon Hall. Adam Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick are the projected starters at corner while former third-round pick Shawn Williams replaces Nelson at safety.
The Bengals have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL and only lost a couple of pieces from their 12-4 team. They should be the favorites to repeat as division champs. The real question is whether the regular season success follows them in the playoffs.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh finished with the third-best statistical offense in the AFC last season. Led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers lit up opposing defenses to the tune of 26.4 points per game. Roethlisberger had a 76.86 total QBR last year; only Carson Palmer's was higher. Big Ben gives Pittsburgh a chance to win whenever he is on the field, and he still has the best receiver in football to throw to in Antonio Brown.
Brown led the NFL in receptions and ranked second in yards and targets to Julio Jones. Roethlisberger will not have access to Matavis Bryant all season after Bryant violated the league's substance-abuse policy. The league also suspended star tailback Le’Veon Bell three games for the same reason. However, Pittsburgh showed they can lose key pieces and not miss a beat on offense. DeAngelo Willams is the projected starter in Bell's absence, and he averaged 4.5 yards per carry last season, so the dropoff should not be too precipitous.
There have not been many changes on the defensive side of things for the Steelers and that may be problematic, considering last year's D ranked 21st in total defense. Pittsburgh struggled to defend the pass, ranking 30th in the league in that regard, but, on the flipside, the defensive unit ranked fifth in rushing yards allowed. Pittsburgh should continue to stop the run with Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier patrolling the middle and Cameron Heyward headlining the front line.
The Steelers will be in a lot of high-scoring games this year. Their offense alone is good enough to get them a wild card berth. Cincinnati's losses to an already poor secondary makes Pittsburgh's division title hopes look a little more realistic.
3. Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore had the worst luck of any team in the NFL last year. Not only did they go 5-9 in games decided by eight points or less, they lost 22 players to the season-ending injured reserve. This year's Ravens team will not resemble the backup squad John Harbaugh trotted out to the field toward the end of the 2015 season. Terrell Suggs, Steve Smith Sr., and Joe Flacco all return from injuries to lead this team into a tough AFC North campaign.
Ozzie Newsome built this offense around Flacco’s strong arm, which will be used a lot more to stretch the field with the addition of Mike Wallace via free agency and the return of Breshad Perriman from a torn ACL.
The Ravens finished eighth in passing yards last year, quite the deceptive statistic considering they threw the ball more than any other team and finished 29th in passer rating. Flacco was to blame for a large part of that, posting the second-worst total QBR in all of football; only Nick Foles was worse. While making a top-tier salary, Flacco cannot post below-average numbers whatsoever, and a balanced offense gives the Ravens the best chance for success.
Justin Forsett was the leading rusher for Baltimore in 2015 and he will be returning after being briefly cut and picked back up by the Ravens. He will share the backfield with Terrance West and Javorius Allen, who hope for better results in 2016 after last season ended with the 26th rushing offense rank.
Defensively, Suggs hopes to return and ease the pressure on pass-rushing mate Elvis Dumervil. Dumervil collected only six sacks last year as the team's only real threat to get to the quarterback. With a healthy Suggs, the former Denver Bronco hopes his sack total is closer to the 17 he got in 2014.
Shareece Wright and Jimmy Smith return at cornerback, but the defensive backfield received a fresh coat of paint. Free agent signee Eric Weddle and converted cornerback Lardarius Webb look to solidify the most troubling part of the Baltimore defense.
The Ravens don't play a real playoff team until after the bye in 2016. They won't have 22 players on IR like last year and won't be in as many coin-flip games. They are behind the Steelers and Bengals talent-wise but have more than enough potential to compete for a wild card spot.
4. Cleveland Browns
Another year, another disappointing finish for the Browns. Cleveland finished 25th in offense, 27th in defense, and with a negative point differential of 154 in 2015. Their Week 12 loss to the Ravens (who moved from Cleveland in 1996) on a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown encapsulated the struggles of the franchise in one play. Former Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson hopes to begin the rebuilding process.
The Browns released Johnny Manziel this offseason and handed over the reins to Robert Griffin III. The former number-two overall pick lost his job in Washington to Kirk Cousins last year after he went 2-5 as a starter and posted a 33.49 total QBR in 2014. The former Baylor Bear hopes for a fresh start here in Cleveland.
With Josh Gordon suspended for the first four games of the year, Griffin looks to first round pick Corey Coleman, converted quarterback Terrelle Pryor, and Andrew Hawkins at wideout. Tight end Gary Barnidge might be the number-one target until Gordon returns. Barnidge caught 79 balls for 1,043 yards last year and should be a reliable security blanket for RG3.
At running back, Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell return to the backfield that ranked 23rd in yards per game and 20th in yard per attempt last season. Johnson and Crowell hope to crack four yards per carry this year, but the departure of All-Pro center Alex Mack makes that goal more challenging.
Cleveland lost several starters from their 27th-ranked defense. Randy Starks is gone. Donte Whitner is gone. Karlos Dansby migrated south to Cincinnati. So now the Browns are going young on D, with no player older than 28 atop the depth chart.
Former New York Jet Demario Davis hopes to bring leadership to this defense, one whose pass defense did not improve over the offseason. The Browns ranked 23rd in yards allowed per game through the air and 30th in opponent passer rating in 2015. Number-one cornerback Joe Haden has lived off his reputation for the past couple of years.
Barring catastrophe for the other three teams in this division, it looks like the Browns will bring up the rear again in the AFC North.