The AFC North Remains The Toughest Division In The NFL

The AFC North is arguably the most competitive division in the National Football League. Last season, three of the four teams made the playoffs, with the Ravens securing the top seed in the AFC.

2023-24 AFC North Standings

• Baltimore Ravens 13-4 – Lost AFC Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs
• Cleveland Browns 11-6 – Lost to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round
• Pittsburgh Steelers 10-7 – Lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round
• Cincinnati Bengals 9-8

The only thing remaining to accomplish for Baltimore and Lamar Jackson is a Super Bowl win, but NFL betting sites are now hesitant to rank them at the top after coming up short last year.

AFC North Odds To Win

• Baltimore Ravens +145
• Cincinnati Bengals +160
• Cleveland Browns +525
• Pittsburgh Steelers +550

They are still favored to win the North, but the Cincinnati Bengals only trail them by 15 points in the moneyline odds.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are in the same boat as the San Francisco 49ers in that anything other than a Lombardi Trophy will be considered a failure. If they perform up to expectations, they’ll win the division and earn one of the AFC’s top two seeds.

Regular Season Wins – Baltimore Ravens 

• Over 10.5 Wins -115
• Under 10.5 Wins -115

Barring an injury to Lamar Jackson, expect to see the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game once again.

Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow enters 2024-25 at full health, and the odds for betting on the NFL Playoffs suggest they’ll earn a spot in the postseason. There is no question that their offense is world-class, and they can stand toe-to-toe with any set of skilled position players in the league.

Regular Season Wins – Cincinnati Bengals 

• Over 10.5 Wins -135
• Under 10.5 Wins +105

Despite the 11-win outlook provided by the current NFL futures, we do not expect them to meet that mark.

Cleveland Browns

The Desean Watson experiment has been a failure in Cleveland so far. He has missed significant time due to injury and has not performed up to the standard he set as a member of the Texans.

Regular Season Wins – Cleveland Browns 

• Over 8.5 Wins -135
• Under 8.5 Wins +105

The Browns are projected to win nine games this season, primarily due to the dominance of their defensive unit. Last year, they were bailed out by Joe Flacco at quarterback, a luxury they do not have in 2024-25.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Quarterback Russell Wilson now tops the Steelers’ depth chart, as Justin Fields has failed to grasp the offense during the preseason. Wilson, and to some extent Fields, provide a stopgap until the franchise finds a permanent solution at QB.

Regular Season Wins – Cleveland Browns.

• Over 8.5 Wins-135
• Under 8.5 Wins+105

Still, Pittsburgh made the postseason last year with a revolving door at quarterback, so this new duo should be enough to secure the nine wins the above prop bet suggests.