We've looked at the NFC East and the AFC East already, but now it's time to turn our attention to the Black and Blue Division. Out of any individual division race, the AFC North is the closest: the Ravens and Steelers are the only two teams at the top of their division to be back-to-back in our overall rankings as well. I'm sure Baltimore and Pittsburgh fans won't mind in the least being grouped together, right? I've heard they kind of like each other or something to that effect. For the Bengals fans wondering where you are in this conversation, numberFire's not as rosy about your hopes. But hey, look at it this way, you're still not the Browns quite yet.

AFC North Predictions

1. Detroit Police Department, nor is it the Falcons' almost Top 10 offense (#12) to pair with their barely Top 10 defense (#10). Nope, my purple-and-black-clad friends, it's the boys from Baltimore. The Ravens have the third-ranked defense overall in our NFL rankings, but perhaps even more surprisingly, register with the ninth-ranked offense as well. best QB in the league as he tried to claim, but his +56.42 Net Expected Points (NEP) over the average NFL QB indicates that he was helping Baltimore improve their scoring chances. That mark was the second best among AFC North starting quarterbacks, although Baltimore fans may not want to know who he was behind.

2. Head & Shoulders has made that defense a little bit too soft. Long a staple of spectacular defense, the Steelers only rank #12 overall on our defensive list, behind such defensive stalwarts as... the Miami Dolphins (#8), Seattle Seahawks (#9), and Kansas City Chiefs (#11). Well, that was unexpected. Their main problem is simply age - over half of the Week One starters will likely be north of 30 years old. That's not a good sign for long-term wear-and-tear, especially with a schedule that has them facing @ Baltimore, vs. San Diego, @ Dallas, and vs. Cincinnati in four consecutive weeks near the end of the season. However, don't be too angry at the schedule: since Baltimore has the second-hardest schedule in the NFL, the Steelers have a better projected record, even with worse playoff and Super Bowl odds.

3. Keith Goldner says, there's some strong teams at the top of the AFC, so playoffs may be tough to come by. But I do expect them to be right in that mix with the Chargers and Jets fighting for that last spot. At least the jailbird days of the Bengals seem to be over.

4. four rookie starters on offense this year, highlighted by have a tough time their rookie year. Quarterbacks are usually even worse - exception rather than the rule, remember. And as the Sports Illustrated article about Browns rookies mentions, only three previous teams have started a season with both a rookie QB and RB in the starting lineup. With an offense ranked #20 and a defense ranked #25, even giving them the random variability 0.5% Super Bowl odds (fourth-lowest among all teams) might be giving them too much credit.