Who will win the AFC North?
By: Jake Rajala
It’s official: the Las Vegas Raiders traded one of their best pass rushers (with a passion for tattoos) to the Baltimore Ravens. The Raiders received two first round picks in return for him. Crosby is a flat out menace. He has made five straight Pro Bowls. He had 28 tackles for loss and 10 sacks last season. He is very well balanced. He deserves to have the Eastern Michigan Football stadium named after him.
With that said, the key question is: Are the Ravens the favorite to win the AFC North right now?
Crosby isn’t a one man army. However, I do believe this makes them the favorite to win their division. The Ravens were 27th in sacks last season. Kyle Van Noy is somewhat washed up right now. Crosby should do more than replace him. The Ravens were swept by the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. In their two games, the Ravens only had two sacks. They also split games with the Cincinnati Bengals. They honestly handed the Bengals a victory, as well.
The Bengals and Steelers were far from having an elite pass protection, but they weren’t allowing sacks like candy. The Bengals gave up 36 sacks and the Steelers gave up 31 sacks. Hence, It’s vital that the Ravens can have someone to break through their pass protection.
We know Crosby is an elite edge player. Let’s not forget the Ravens have other key pieces on defense. The safety Kyle Hamilton had a PFF grade of 84.3, which was fourth in the league. He is lengthy (6’4, 220) and can play in the box or back deep. They also had Roquan Smith, who had a 74.7 PFF grade. I would say he’s an above average MLB.
I really don’t love the outlook for the Browns and Bengals. The Browns went 5-12, while the Bengals went 6-11. The Browns don’t have a true franchise QB. I’m not buying Shedeur Sanders’s ability based on Pro Bowl votes for him. Obviously, the Deshaun Watson experiment didn’t work out. The Bengals also lost their All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, which came after their defense ranked 30th in PPG allowed. Joe Burrow has proven that he can’t carry the Bengals to the playoffs with a sub-par defense.
I believe the two teams that will duke it out for AFC North prominence are the Ravens and the Steelers. I expect it to come down to the wire again. Hopefully, it goes into overtime and turns into another classic AFC North brawl. With that said, I’m still not sold on Aaron Rodgers’s ability right now, especially with an average supporting cast. They need to have more pieces than DK Metcalf at WR and Darnell Washington at TE.
The Ravens are returning to the days where they had Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, and Ed Reed. I may even suggest that the Ravens could have a better defense now than when they won the Super Bowl with Joe Flacco.
The bigger question is: Are the Ravens a legit Super Bowl contender? I don’t quite believe they are ready to be seen as an AFC heavyweight squad. If they can bring in a potent WR or two, then I will say they could win it all. I just don’t quite believe Lamar can go all the way, especially with an average group of weapons. There are a couple of significant AFC contenders: the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos. The Patriots have the best QB in the AFC in Drake Maye and the Broncos have one of the best head coaches in Sean Payton.
I’d like to see the Ravens also address their running back spot. Derrick Henry has fumble issues. It’s not debatable. He is also 32 years old, which is old for a RB. 2025 was the first season that he didn’t make the Pro Bowl since 2021. Henry is somewhat of a system back. I want to see a RB that has juice and can be consistent, not fumble, and be a home run threat.
With the early draft picks the Raiders have, I’d love to see them acquire a wide receiver and a then a pass rusher (to replace Crosby). The Raiders are aching for a wideout since the days since Davante Adams was in Las Vegas.
The Steelers may have won the division in 2025, but the Ravens have won the division in 2024 and 2023. They even had a 12-5 record in 2024 and then 13-4 record last season.
Updated:
Crosby is no longer a Raven after a failed physical. The Ravens signed the former Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson to replace him. Hendrickson inked a contract worth $112 million dollars over four years. Hendrickson has a real shot at being a future Hall of Famer.
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