The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the AFC North two years in a row and are currently the leader in the division, but will they remain that way? This article will examine each of the four teams in the AFC North up to this point in the season and the odds of them winning the division as well as our pick for whom will win the division at the end of the season. We will start with the long shot team the Cleveland Browns.
Cleveland Browns (100:1)
The Cleveland Browns are currently in 4th place in the AFC North at 4-6-1 and are 3 games back of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have already played the Steelers twice this season tying the first game and losing the second. Their remaining opponents are the Texans, Panthers, Broncos, Bengals and Ravens. They will likely be underdogs in each of those games except for the Bengals. They are off the board, so they don’t have a chance of winning the division and will not make the playoffs this season either.
Cincinnati Bengals (60:1)
The Cincinnati Bengals started the season off at 4-1, but have since lost five of their last six games. They also put starting quarterback, Andy Dalton, on IR after injuring his thumb this week. The Bengals are in 3rd place in the AFC North with a record of 5-6 and they are 2.5 games back of the Pittsburgh Steelers and lost the first meeting against Pittsburgh at home. Cincinnati’s remaining opponents are the Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, Browns and Steelers and they will likely be underdogs in each of these games except for maybe against the Raiders. The Bengals without Dalton have no chance on winning the division or making the playoffs and I think they will be looking for a new coach in the offseason as they should finally fire Marvin Lewis.
Baltimore Ravens (4.5:1)
The Baltimore Ravens are the Steelers biggest threat to a division title this season as Baltimore is 6-5 on the season and are only 1.5 game back of Pittsburgh in the AFC North. Baltimore and Pittsburgh split the series this season with both teams winning on the road. The Ravens remaining opponents are the Falcons, Chiefs, Buccaneers, Chargers and Browns. They should be favored against the Falcons, Buccaneers and Browns, but will likely be underdogs to the Chiefs and Chargers. The Ravens only have one game left in the division and should beat the Browns, so they will likely finish at 3-3 in the division. I don’t see them being able to make up ground on the Steelers, but they should still be a wild card teams this season as they have one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Pittsburgh Steelers (1:7)
The Pittsburgh Steelers are overwhelming favorites to win the AFC North at -700 meaning you have to bet $70 in order to win $10 if you are betting on them to win the division. The Steelers lead the AFC North over the Baltimore Ravens by 1.5 games and have already finished their season series with the Ravens with a split in those games. The Steelers have the Chargers, Raiders, Patriots, Saints and Bengals left to play. The Steelers definitely have the hardest remaining schedule out of anyone else in the division as they will likely be underdog against the Patriots and Saints and the Chargers game could go either way, but even if they lose those three games I still don’t see anyone being able to catch them for the division championship.
The pick to win the division is the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1:7, but that is a steep price to pay for a bet, but it is the safest bet on the board in this division as they already have a 1.5 game lead within the division and at worse could lose three of their remaining games. I still look for them to win the division though even if that does happen.
