The Baltimore Ravens are not having a fun time to start this season. Not only are they 1-3, but they’re also dealing with a spate of injuries to key players. That, combined with Bengals QB Joe Burrow getting injured, has opened the door for the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the AFC North. The Steelers are in first place in the division, sitting at 3-1. However, former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum doesn’t believe that will last.
“The Baltimore Ravens will still win the AFC North this year,” Tannenbaum said Wednesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter. “They are beat up as anybody. They will get all their good players back except Nnamdi Madubuike, most importantly Lamar Jackson. We go back a year ago, from Week 9 on, they were the second-best team on defense. These young players will get better.
“I think this team’s gonna get better. The one team they’re really competing with is Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s opponents have 10 turnovers. That is not sustainable, and they’re only 29th in offense. I think the Ravens get better, the Steelers come back to the pack, and the Ravens win the division.”
Last year, the Ravens dealt with similar issues that they’re facing this year. They started 0-2, with their defense being one of the league’s worst. However, like Tannenbaum mentions, they turned things around in the middle of the year. Down the stretch, their defense was one of the NFL’s best.
There’s no guarantee that will happen again this season, though. Yes, most of the Ravens’ injured players won’t be out for too long, but they had major issues before they went down. At full health, their defense was getting crushed.
Now, they’ll be missing several starters, like Roquan Smith and Marlon Humphrey, for a few weeks. Also, the Ravens will miss Jackson for at least a week. That’s the biggest blow of all. Without him, they could find themselves losing another game, potentially putting them at 1-4.
Meanwhile, the Steelers are starting to find their footing on offense and defense. They started this season off on the wrong foot, but in Week 4, they showed signs of improvement. It’s true that they’ve taken advantage of their opponents making a lot of mistakes, but their defense has also created many of those opportunities.
Maybe the Steelers will come back down to earth at some point. However, the Ravens are far from perfect. Even when healthy, they’ve struggled. The AFC North is wide open right now, and the Steelers are in the best position to take advantage of that.
