A division won by the Steelers three of the previous four years was left wide open last season as player drama boiled over in Pittsburgh.
The seemingly never-ending Le’Veon Bell saga ended up lasting all season, the end of which was overshadowed by receiver Antonio Brown and his apparent disconnect with QB Ben Roethlisberger. By the offseason, the AFC North had seen one of the biggest turnovers in the league as two-thirds of the "Killer B" trio was gone from Pittsburgh, Odell Beckham Jr. joined Cleveland and Baltimore lost Terrell Suggs, C.J. Mosley, Eric Weddle and Brent Urban.
Now, the new-look AFC North appears to be anyone's to take in 2019, and expectations are high in an unexpected city looking to end the league's longest active playoff drought dating back to 2002.
“This wasn’t no business move,” Beckham said of the Giants and his ending up in Cleveland last month in a wide-ranging piece by Sports Illustrated. “They thought they’d send me here to die.”
But a little added star power doesn't mean the Browns are a guaranteed bet, especially with Earl Thomas leveling the field in Baltimore as the Ravens prepare for the post-Joe Flacco era under second-year signal-caller Lamar Jackson. It also doesn't hurt that he got a new weapon from the Saints in Mark Ingram.
Here is your 2019 AFC North preview.
Player to watch:
Odell Beckham Jr., Browns wide receiver
Beckham's blockbuster trade was arguably the biggest transaction of the offseason, and one of the burning questions entering the 2019 season is whether the merging of his big personality with second-year quarterback Baker Mayfield's will work. The two have the potential to become a great quarterback-receiver duo because of their undeniable talent, but practice isn't the same as in-game action, and challenges could arise when the regular season starts.
OKAY @obj 😳👀#BrownsCamp pic.twitter.com/rWyatREGyz
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 19, 2019
There's a lot of uncertainty in Cleveland as to whether this team can work together. But after being down with injuries in recent years, including a hip injury during the preseason, OBJ could be poised for a breakout season, maybe cracking 1,500 yards receiving for the first time in his career.
Impact rookie:
Marquise Brown, Ravens wide receiver
In addition to Ingram, Baltimore bolstered it's offense by drafting the speedy Oklahoma standout 25th overall. And while he hasn't gotten as much work in this preseason as coach John Harbaugh would like because of offseason foot surgery, there's still reason to believe he can be a difference-maker for the offense in 2019.
"As a rookie, he hasn’t had a lot of reps," Harbaugh said, via the team's official website. "So he’ll have to get up to speed quickly. We’ll have to be vigilant in what we ask him to do well — things that he can do well. It will be a challenge for them too to cover him. He’s really fast and he’s got great hands. So that’s the challenge the other way."
Brown had 75 receptions for 1,318 and 10 touchdowns for the Sooners last season and impressed in the two preseason games he played, though he was limited to special teams in the final game. Still, his explosiveness gives Harbaugh and the Ravens reason to be optimistic.
Coach on the hot seat:
Mike Tomlin, Steelers
Many have questioned whether Tomlin has lost control of his locker room in recent seasons, and while the Rooney family doesn't give up on coaches easily, a change could be on the horizon.
Tomlin is just the third head coach hired by the Steelers since 1969, and he's among the league’s longest-tenured entering his 13th season in 2019.
His impressive resume includes a 125-66-1 record in the regular season, six division titles, eight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl win.
But the Steelers have slipped into dysfunction in recent seasons after long being the league's standard for stability, and 10 years without a championship has to feel like a lifetime for Pittsburgh fans. Perhaps the ownership is growing impatient, too.
Key matchup:
Steelers vs. Ravens, Dec. 29
These longtime rivals will clash in the regular-season finale in a game that could likely could have important playoff implications. What could be better?
The Steelers and Ravens have met 50 times, with the Pittsburgh winning 28 times and Baltimore winning 22. But the Ravens managed to edge out the Steelers in 2018 with the superior record for the first time since 2012, which is the same season Baltimore won the Super Bowl.
While the game will likely come down to defense, it's worth noting Ben Roethlisberger is 13-8 all-time against the Ravens.
Predicted finish:
It's hard to gauge how these roster overhauls play out, but the division is trending toward looking like 2018 all over again. As the Bengals rebuild under first-year coach Zac Taylor (staying healthy would be a good start), expect the Browns to put up a fight for their first winning season since 2007 but fall short as they extend their postseason absence for at least another season.
1. Ravens
2. Steelers
3. Browns
4. Bengals