Pro Football: AFC North

The early odds have been posted on the six NFL division races and in the next few days I will give some “early reads”/gut feelings on those races.

In the AFC North, the thought is that it will be a three team race among the defending AFC North winners, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens. The Cleveland Browns are considered a long shot.

In my early opinion, the Browns have an outside shot to win the division as I do not think all that much of either the Steelers or Bengals.

The Ravens are a class, solid team that have battled the New England Patriots, for example, on better than even terms for the last six seasons. They usually shine at playoff time and rarely have a great regular season.

I think the Ravens will win, say 9 to 10 games which should be enough to win the AFC North. The Browns will improve while the Steelers and Bengals will each slightly decline.