1. Cincinnati Bengals: Talk about a team coming out of left field. Their momentum builder came against the Kansas City Chiefs in a week 17 showdown. That was their “don’t forget us” moment. The Bengals won the AFC North for the first time since 2015. Talk about a while. Another monkey they had to get off their backs was winning a playoff game and they did that for the first time since the 1990 season. After that, they defeated the Tennessee Titans who were the top seed in the AFC and the Kansas City Chiefs a week later in the AFC Championship. I don’t think anybody had them getting to the Super Bowl last season, yet alone the AFC Title Game. Joe Burrow has such a bright future ahead of him. The Bengals will only get better from here.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers: A new chapter of Steelers football is set to begin. Ben Roethlisberger finally called it a career and retired after 18 seasons in Pittsburgh. Now, they can open up their playbook a bit more and take more shots down the field offensively. If I’m a Steelers wide receiver, I’m excited because I’ll be able to stretch the field more and run those deep routes. They weren’t able to do much of that with Ben’s arm strength diminishing. Two things we’ll always see from the Steelers is a strong running game and a stingy defense. T.J. Watt returns as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Minkah Fitzpatrick received a contract extension. It’s incredible that Mike Tomlin has never recorded a losing season since being hired as the head coach.
3. Baltimore Ravens: They went through a lot in 2021. They lost J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards to season-ending injuries before the season started. They also lost Marcus Peters to a torn ACL and after him, they lose DeShon Elliot and Marlon Humphrey to season-ending injuries. That’s their entire secondary! To add more to this list, Lamar Jackson ended up getting hurt. The injury bug decimated the Ravens and it sadly caught up to them. You can tell how much this locker room respects John Harbaugh. Even with all of the injuries, they still played hard and left everything on the field. 2022 should be a different story for them with health being a factor of course.
4. Cleveland Browns: They were hands down the biggest disappointment in 2021. After making the playoffs in 2020, expectations were high for the Cleveland Browns and they struggled to get out of their own way. They got off to that quick 3-1 start, then the wheels fell off. Consistency is their biggest issue. This off-season, they acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans but who knows how much he will actually play this year with all the legal issues surrounding him. The Browns also acquired Amari Cooper from the Dallas Cowboys. This is the biggest question mark in the league if you ask me.
2022 Predictions
1. Ravens (11-6)
2. Steelers (10-7)
3. Bengals (8-9)
4. Browns (5-12)
This division will be a dogfight as usual. I like the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC North in 2022 if healthy, of course. If all those injuries don’t catch up to them last season, they win this division without question. This division will come down to coaching, defense and quarterback. The Ravens have the best coach in the division and the defense when everyone is on the field. Watch how Baltimore gets back to the basics with running the ball. This is their bread and butter.
