The AFC North has been the toughest division in football since its inception in 2002 with the NFL’s realignment. That is far from the case in 2025 as the division has fallen on hard times. It isn’t just bad, it’s historically bad—the Pittsburgh Steelers must take advantage.
The AFC North has had a slightly lower winning percentage than the AFC East since 2002, but that is largely skewed by the dominance of the New England Patriots. The East wasn’t exactly the most competitive division for most of the last two decades. Three AFC North teams have won the division crown six or more times during that span.
According to NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, the AFC North’s combined win percentage of .368 is the worst in division history. And the -159 point differential in the division is also the worst it’s ever been with the Cincinnati Bengals leading the league at -71.
With Joe Burrow out for most of the season and the Baltimore Ravens dealing with injury issues of their own, there isn’t much hope for a heroic turnaround. The Cleveland Browns might even finish as the second best team in the division when it’s all said and done.
Here the Steelers sit at 3-1 with back-to-back games against divisional opponents. They have a chance to start the season 5-1 with a dominant 2-0 start in the division. Pittsburgh’s schedule gets harder, but none of the divisional games look as difficult as they once appeared. The team may have a chance to not only secure the division with multiple games to go, but fight for a top seed in the AFC to potentially host multiple playoff games.
Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin went all-in on the 2025 season when they brought in Super Bowl-experienced players like Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Ramsey, Juan Thornhill, Kenneth Gainwell, and Darius Slay. It was a signal to the rest of the roster that they weren’t going to settle for a rebuild and they are serious about winning a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season.
Things are setting up nicely for Pittsburgh to have a strong chance at a playoff win. But the easy division is a double-edged sword. If the Steelers somehow fall flat down the stretch and don’t win the division, there will be hell to pay. And similarly if they host a playoff game as one of the top seeds in the AFC and fail to take advantage.
Mike Tomlin said he’s not a big picture guy and downplayed the crumbling AFC North contenders around him. But that won’t protect him from the ramifications if Pittsburgh doesn’t capitalize.
There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of a weak division. The Patriots did it for most of Tom Brady’s dynasty. But the Steelers must take advantage just like the Patriots did so many times. If not, the franchise might hit a new low point as it heads for a teardown.
