Always Prospering Media

We are at the halfway point in the 2023 NFL season and it is generally at this point that good teams separate themselves from the lesser of the competition. As I am writing this on November 8th, all four AFC North teams would qualify for the playoffs if they began tomorrow. There are seven teams from each conference that make the dance and four of them are reserved for division winners. That means that all three remaining Wild Card spots are held by AFC North. Baltimore, who is red hot and currently sit at 7-2, lead the division followed closely by Pittsburgh in second, and then Cleveland and Cincinnati. Is it realistic for all four teams to make the postseason in this year’s playoffs? Let’s break it down team by team. 

Baltimore – The Ravens are playing highly impressive football. Their defense has been the league’s best and Lamar Jackson legitimately should probably be the MVP front runner. Jackson has just been extremely solid. He has made very few mistakes and he has done an outstanding job of taking what defenses give him while burning them with his legs when he gets the opportunity. He has thrown for just under 2,000 yards while throwing 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He has ran for an additional 440 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns, second on the team in rushing yards behind Gus Edwards (in far fewer attempts, by the way). As far as the wideouts, Zay Flowers has had the most targets on the team with Mark Andrews closely behind him. Defensively, the show is all about Roquan Smith and Patrick Queen. Both have recorded 47 solo tackles and Justin Madubuike has recorded 7.5 sacks. Baltimore’s secondary, anchored by Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton as well as Geno Stone has also been tremendous. More impressive than the numbers, however, are the results. Since losing to Pittsburgh, Baltimore has won four straight including two blowout wins against good NFC opponents, Detroit and Seattle, respectively. 

Pittsburgh – Two words and two letters, people: Mike Tomlin and T.J. Pittsburgh has been out-gained offensively in every game they have played and have a point differential of -30 points AND THEY ARE THE 5TH SEED IN THE AFC (I’m legitimately laughing writing this). The Pittsburgh offense is still bad but Kenny Pickett really does seem to have some clutch in him. Seven game winning drives in his young career and most of them against good or at least respectable opponents. Additionally, the Steelers are really exciting for two reasons: they are 2-0 in division play and 4-2 in conference play. I don’t really know what to write about them, they just find ways to win games when they are clearly the lesser team in the contest. They beat Baltimore who might be the NFL’s best team currently as well as Cleveland, who also is playing well. They also beat a solid Tennessee team (maybe not great but at least solid). Furthermore, with edge rushers Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt along side Minkah Fitzpatrick and emerging star Joey Porter Jr. in the secondary, this defense is just about as good as any in the league. They are largely responsible for keeping Pittsburgh in contests into the fourth quarter to allow the offense to assemble timely scoring drives in numerous victories this season. Is it sustainable? It just might be, defense does win championships after all, but only time will tell. 

Cleveland – Maybe these aren’t the same old Browns. Despite losing Nick Chubb for the season, the offense has continued to progress nicely, largely because of the connection between Deshaun Watson and Amari Cooper. Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt have also picked up production to make up for Chubb’s absence. In the passing game, TE David Njoku has also played a significant role, having the second most receptions on the team behind Cooper. Defensively, everyone thinks of Myles Garrett, and for good reason. He has 9.5 sacks, which leads the team by a wide margin. However, the secondary, featuring Grant Delpit as well as Denzel Ward and Juan Thornhill is well above mediocre. Delpit leads the team in tackles with 53 and Thornhill is third in tackles with 33. The Browns are playing as well as they have all year and are winners in three of their last four. They visit Baltimore this weekend to play the surging Ravens and then return home to play Pittsburgh. These next two games will be crucially important for Cleveland as it relates to their division and postseason aspirations. 

Cincinnati – I’ll tell you something: Cincinnati might be the scariest team on this list. They’re finally back to what they were supposed to be. They have won four straight including impressive wins against Seattle, San Francisco, and Buffalo. It’s just a really frightening offense that oozes swagger and talent from Joe Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase to Tee Higgins to Tyler Boyd all the way to RB Joe Mixon. Joe Burrow is as collected, composed and talented as any QB in the league, perhaps with the exception of Patrick Mahomes. I would be willing to tell you Ja’Marr Chase is as good as any wideout in the league and his counterpart, Tee Higgins, is far above a WR2. I mean Dave Portnoy just bet 67k on them to win the Super Bowl and for all the reasons I just mentioned, I think it’s a smart bet. Let’s not forget the postseason pedigree Cincinnati has established. They have been to the Super Bowl and have won playoff games in the toughest of road environments from Buffalo to Kansas City. Cincinnati’s road ahead is about to get trickier, however, as Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville all await them in the next month of play. That being said, I would take Cincinnati against anyone with how they’re playing right now and if they’re going to make a surge for the division lead, they will have the opportunity in the next few weeks of play. 

written by Andrew Petrino.