Why The AFC North Could Be The Most Competitive Division In 2022

By Andy Davies

After the additions of Davante Adams, Russell Wilson, Chandler Jones, Khalil Mack, and J.C. Jackson, all that you heard during the offseason was how the AFC West was the NFL’s equivalent of the ‘group of death’.

And quite rightly. With the players already in the division as well as the acquisitions, it seemed destined to be the best division, with all four teams potentially possessing winning records.

However, right now there is only one team with a winning record – and they are the only team who did not add a marquee signing, AND lost one of their best players. This is the Kansas City Chiefs. They are 3-1, and a Skyy Moore fumbled punt away from being 4-0.

The Raiders took until Sunday to get their first win, the Chargers have been injury prone and the Broncos have looked stale on offense – with their head coach Nathaniel Hackett already under pressure to last longer than a year.

Instead, it appears that the AFC North is the division that could be the most competitive.  And this is not exactly through the teams being exceptional…

Browns Better Than Anticipated

Nick Cammett/Getty Images

The Deshaun Watson saga has left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. Jacoby Brissett was the man to fill in. So far, he has done a fantastic job.

Whilst he has not been putting in MVP calibre performances, he has been very capable under this Kevin Stefanski offense.

Running back Nick Chubb has been the star man, second in rushing touchdowns (5) and second in rushing yards (459). At time of writing, Brissett has 830 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. His quarterback rating of 61.3 is ninth in the league. 22 other quarterbacks have been sacked more than the five that Brissett has suffered, which shows the protection he is being afforded this season.

Brissett has been that serviceable, it has led many to believe he should remain the starter even when Watson is available once again.

Watson has not played a regular season game since the 2020 campaign and looked rusty in pre-season. The Browns could sit him and let Brissett ride out the season, or Watson could come in and light it up. Either way it is a win-win.

With none of the other AFC North teams being at their best so far this season, the Browns will feel that the division could be there for the taking.

Bengals Coming To Life

Whilst the Bengals have not been perfect so far, they have started to grow. This is especially so when it comes to their biggest weakness, their offensive line.

This was the biggest takeaway from their Super Bowl loss to the Los Angeles Rams in February. Joe Burrow became the joint-most sacked quarterback in Super Bowl history and is the most sacked quarterback in any playoff run. They went and addressed this in the offseason.

Alex Cappa, Ted Karras, and La’el Collins were all added in Free Agency, with Cordell Volson taken in the fourth round. This was seen to be the key to them once again challenging, but the line struggled early on. In the opening two games against the Pittsburgh Steelers (Week One) and Dallas Cowboys (Week Two), Burrow was sacked a combined 13 times. This saw the team go 0-2 despite losing by three points in both these games.

Weeks 3 and 4 saw them beat the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. He was sacked twice against the Jets and just once against the Dolphins.

To have halved the sacks in Weeks 3 and 4 combined compared to the entire of either of the opening two weeks shows huge progress. NFL fans and the media have the tendency to overreact after a couple of games, and every year we are guilty of it. The Bengals looked back to their best during their most recent outing against the Dolphins in Week 4. They can only get better, which should be a worry for any of the other teams in this division.

Burrow may still have had his best passing yards performance in the game where he was sacked the most, but he has still managed to throw for the seventh-most passing yards (1,099)  and the sixth-most passing touchdowns (8) .

The Ravens' Ability To Excite & Disappoint

AP Photo/John Munson

The Ravens are having a weird season. The fact they have the quarterback with the joint-most passing touchdowns but also the worst pass defense says it all. They have let two good leads slip, both times in startlingly quick fashion.

They led by 21 points at the start of the fourth quarter against the Dolphins and led 20-3 against the Buffalo Bills in the second quarter. They lost both these matchups.

For every bit as exciting as their offense has looked, their defense has been scarily bad. For all the injuries last season on defense, this has not been as frequent this year. There is not this excuse in 2022.

Whilst they have the best team on paper in the division, they have far from proved that this season. And yet, with Lamar under center, the weapons at his disposal and the stability of the franchise, you would be foolish to count them out.

Steelers Still Have Hope Despite Difficult Start

Despite a 1-3 start, the Pittsburgh Steelers still only have one win less than the division leaders.

T.J. Watt could return in Week 6, which will be a huge boost for the roster – as could the news that Kenny Pickett is now the starter. Mitch Trubisky failed to convince Mike Tomlin he was the guy moving forward, despite Pickett throwing three interceptions on Sunday. He also ran for two rushing touchdowns, which gives fans hope.

Having a coach like Mike Tomlin on your sideline means that your team is always guaranteed to compete, and Pittsburgh will certainly feel this way. The Steelers still have plenty of questions to answer but should not be disregarded in this AFC North battle, which promises to go to the wire.

ANDY DAVIES

NFL ANALYST

A current Sports Journalism masters student, Andy has been writing NFL articles since January 2020. Originally from Wales, Andy also writes for pro football mania and dolphins talk, as well as appearing on podcasts and videos for euro tripz. find him on twitter @andydaviessport.

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