When this season began the AFC North looked like one of the best divisions in football. Unfortunately, the division hasn’t lived up to those expectations. The Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens both looked like playoff contenders, but they’ve disappointed so far. Injuries have seriously hurt both of them. However, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been a little better than expected. They’re 3-1 and in first place in the division. Despite that, Mike Renner has low expectations for the AFC North as a whole.
“This year, they are undoubtedly, at this point in time, the worst division in football,” Renner said Wednesday on his Pushing the Pile podcast. “And it’s not even close. You might not have an above .500 team. I think there’s a legitimate shot we get an 8-9 team representing the AFC North this year, just given the relative strength of those teams.”
The AFC North is in rough shape, but the Steelers haven’t been awful. They’re far from perfect, with issues on offense and defense. However, they’ve managed to win games despite that. The Steelers have continued to improve as the season has gone on too.
The Ravens shouldn’t be ruled out, either. Even before suffering a slew of injuries, they were struggling, but they faced similar issues last year. Only five weeks of the season have passed. Things could still change, so saying that there’s a real chance that no AFC North team finishes with a winning record might be a bit of a stretch.
The Steelers haven’t finished below .500 since 2003. Also, no team has ever won the AFC North with fewer than 10 wins. In fact, a team has never won the Steelers’ division with a losing record, even dating back to the AFC Central. In 1985, the Cleveland Browns won the AFC Central at 8-8, but that’s still not a losing record.
Therefore, seeing a team win the AFC North at 8-9 or worse would be surprising. Several other division winners have finished below .500, so it’s not a crazy concept on its own.
However, that’s not up to the AFC North’s standard. The Steelers are 3-1, and the Ravens should get healthy at some point. Both teams could win at least nine games. Mike Tomlin’s Steelers have finished above .500 under worse circumstances before.
