AFC North 2025 preview: Gap between top and bottom grew. The QB position is why
Two years after the entire AFC North finished with a winning record, the division's depth looks a lot more shaky.
The explanation is simple: Two teams have top-tier quarterbacks, one very clearly does not — and the other is putting a lot of faith in an aging four-time MVP.
Last season the division produced three winning teams, but only two made the playoffs — and last-place Cleveland fell all the way to 3-14. The games within the AFC North are still spirited — those Browns managed to beat both Baltimore and Pittsburgh — but the claim that this is the best division in football isn't as strong as it used to be.
Still, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens are among the top Super Bowl contenders, and Joe Burrow's Cincinnati team remains a likely offensive juggernaut. The Steelers have been cycling through quarterbacks since Ben Roethlisberger retired, continuing to do enough things right to produce winning records in the regular season. Will the addition of Aaron Rodgers revitalize the passing game enough to make Pittsburgh something more than a fringe playoff team?
“The way we ended last year wasn’t good enough, and we talked about change having to happen. I know people maybe expected change sooner than later, but change doesn’t always happen at the pace everybody expects,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said at the start of training camp. “We knew changes had to be made, and here we are.”
Meanwhile, Cleveland's quarterback outlook was so gloomy the Browns drafted two QBs and brought back Joe Flacco.
While the quarterbacking situations are all over the map, the overall talent in the AFC North remains high. The division had nine players make first-team All-Pro last season, the most in the NFL.
Cleveland managed to keep defensive standout Myles Garrett after he initially asked for a trade. Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt received a new extension, as well. Then the Bengals and pass rusher Trey Hendrickson ended their dispute this week.
Derrick Henry was sensational in his first season with Baltimore last year, rushing for 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns. That brought him to 11,423 yards for his career, 19th on the career list.
If he runs for 1,000 yards this season, he'd pass some pretty big names: Steven Jackson (11,438), Fred Taylor (11,695), Thurman Thomas (12,074), Franco Harris (12,120), Marcus Allen (12,243), Edgerrin James (12,246), Marshall Faulk (12,279) and Jim Brown (12,312).
If Henry rushes for 1,500 yards, he'd also pass Tony Dorsett (12,739) and move into the top 10. If Henry can reach his rushing total from last season, then Eric Dickerson (13,259) is also catchable.
The Bengals have one of the top passing attacks in the league with Burrow and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. However, keeping Burrow upright to connect with his receivers remains a problem. So does stopping the other team so Cincinnati doesn't have to be in shootouts.
Cincinnati will go into the season with two rookies starting at guard. Dylan Fairchild was expected to start immediately at left guard when he was drafted in the third round in April, and Jalen Rivers could get the call at right guard. Cordell Volson is out for the season after shoulder surgery. Rivers is a fifth-round pick and a converted offensive tackle.
Burrow led the league in yards passing last season but has been sacked 196 times since being the top overall pick in 2020, the second-highest total in that span. Chase was the sixth wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to lead the league in receptions, yards receiving and touchdown catches, but Cincinnati missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
The Steelers changed their quarterback room yet again in the offseason after another quick playoff exit. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are out, and Rodgers is in, hoping Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin will help him author a more upbeat final chapter of his career than what he endured during two seasons with the New York Jets.
The 41-year-old Rodgers — the oldest active player in the league — isn’t the only big name the Steelers have brought in while hoping to end the franchise’s longest drought without a playoff win since Franco Harris hauled in the “Immaculate Reception” more than a half-century ago.
Cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay have joined longtime fixtures Watt and Cam Heyward on a defense that believes it can be the best in the league. Ramsey and Slay have what Watt and Heyward so desperately want: Super Bowl rings.
Pittsburgh’s prospects likely hinge heavily on whether the offensive line can give Rodgers time to work. If it can, the Steelers will have a puncher’s chance in a competitive division. If it can’t, the club’s long run of non-losing seasons (currently at 21 and counting) could be in jeopardy.
Flacco came off the couch to go 4-1 down the stretch in the regular season two years ago to get Cleveland into the playoffs. Both parties reunited this offseason after Flacco was the backup in Indianapolis.
Flacco emerged on top in a four-way quarterback competition.
The question is how long Flacco will remain behind center. Cleveland has had 10 quarterbacks start a game since it traded Baker Mayfield in 2022. It wouldn’t be a shock if rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders start at least one game.
Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns.
