We pretty much know who will finish first in the AFC North, but second place is a mystery. All of the drama will unfold in the battle for second.
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As NFL minicamps get under way and the preseason inches closer, there are tons of stories around the league to monitor. From position battles to new coaching regimes to rookies in important spots, a laundry list of questions will find data in these next couple months before Week 1. They all will go toward answering the ultimate, overarching question: who is going to win.
To preview the 2026 season, we are going to go division-by-division and answering just one question about how that division is going to shake out. Let us start with the AFC North. The question is: Who is going to finish second?
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We all agree that Cleveland is going to finish last. They aren’t trying to finish above last and want to get a franchise quarterback in 2027. We can also assume that a healthy Baltimore finishes first. They are the only team in this division with a game-altering QB who is paired with a useful defense. That isn’t worth discussing if the only talking point is Lamar Jackson’s health.
Where things get interesting is second place between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
AFC North Battle for 2nd Place
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The Steelers, surprisingly, won this division last year, at 10-7. Things were bleak in the North mainly because of QB injuries in both Baltimore and Cincinnati. Pittsburgh benefitted and is now running back the joyous +10 point differential club from ’25. The big offseason acquisition was Michael Pittman, a receiver Indianapolis wanted to get rid of.
This team is going to need an absolutely elite offensive line to survive. The starters on the right side and at center are pretty well set. Their depth will come from first- and third-round rookie tackles Max Iheanachor and Gennings Dunker. I’m not sure this is a slam-dunk top 10 unit, but it is certainly in the discussion.
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Defensively, Pittsburgh should be pretty good again. Heyward and Watt are getting old up front but still bring it; Queen and Highsmith are a great combo as far as off-ball linebackers go; Porter is one of the better young corners; Ramsey is one of the better old corners. There is still a lot to like here.
The Pitt team is almost a mirror opposite of Cincy. The former has a zero at QB, a shaky offense overall, and a good-to-great defense. The latter has an All-Pro at QB, an elite offense overall, and a putrid defense. At least, the Bengals had that a year ago. The question is did they do enough to improve the defensive side of the ball.
Give them this, they sure attempted to. The Bengals took some big swings on defense. On the front four alone, Cincy signed free agents Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe, two of the best on the market at tackle and end, respectively. Then, they traded the 10th overall pick in the draft to New York for former All-Pro DT Dexter Lawrence and spent their second-round pick on edge Cashius Howell. Those moves alone should bring this defense into respectability.
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Issues will still persist in the back seven. There aren’t enough difference-makers. Bryan Cook was the big addition at safety. After that, a lot seems to hinge on third-round rookie Tacario Davis.
The final factor at play here between the Steelers and Bengals is coaching. Pitt finally moved on from Mike Tomlin and brought in Aaron Rodgers’ former friend Mike McCarthy. This is just a straight downgrade, no? McCarthy has his defenders around the league, but I am not one of them.
With the improvements on the defensive side of the ball and the consistently elite play on offense with a healthy Joe Burrow, I think Cincy has done enough to jump Pittsburgh for second place in the AFC North. Now if Lamar gets hurt again…
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It’s pretty harsh to call Aaron Rodgers a zero at QB for Pittsburgh, but comparing Cincy and the Steelers does feel like comparing apples to oranges, even if both are strawberries. They play completely different styles of football, or at least they did.
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Mike McCarthy throws a wrench into this debate, because he is going to establish a new identity in Pittsburgh. The Steelers had been a running team with great defense, but Aaron Rodgers is a great passer and McCarthy knows this well. Considering how the team has been stuck in the middle with nine wins for nearly a decade, we will see them change this season. Its just a matter of which direction they move.
The Bengals have also been consistent over the last four or five years, but not in a good way. Cincinnati has consistently had below average defense and only succeeded when Joe Burrow remained fully healthy all year. He has not done that very often, so we should not expect him to this year. But it’s also hard to imagine the Bengals defense not improving, because they should.
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It’s clear to me that both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are in the same place, needing a healthy and dominant QB to win second place. We cannot expect the Steelers to get by on defense any longer, because McCarthy is now head coach. We also cannot expect the Bengals to overcome a less than perfect Burrow, because they never have. Taking both teams at face value and assuming healthy QBs, I’ll take the younger and more dynamic Burrow and the Bengals to finish second to the Ravens in the AFC North.
Meet our Sports Writers:
Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.
Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.
AFC North Preview – This Is The End
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