Pundit Says AFC North Has Best Chance of Being First Division With Four Playoff Teams
ESPN’s Dan Graziano ranked all eight divisions, and, unsurprisingly, the AFC North was No. 1.
Graziano based his rankings in part on ESPN’s Football Power Index, which measures how many points above or below average a team is. The Ravens have the highest FPI in the AFC North and third-highest overall. They are followed in the division by the Cincinnati Bengals (seventh overall), Cleveland Browns (14th), and Pittsburgh Steelers (17th).
“Yeah, we’ll go with the division in which every team had a winning record last season and none has a negative FPI rating heading into 2024,” Graziano wrote. “I disagree a bit with the order within the division, but I do think this is the division that has the best chance of being the first ever to put all four of its teams in the postseason. (To be clear, I am not predicting that this will happen, merely saying this is the division with the best chance.)
“The FPI is higher on Baltimore than I am, mainly because I have concerns about the Ravens’ ability to seamlessly replace three offensive line starters and all of the coaches and players they’ve lost on defense. Quarterback Lamar Jackson finished the 2023 season healthy and history tells us if he can do that again the Ravens will be contenders — and he may well be MVP. But given all of the changes and the challenges of playing a first-place schedule (while the Bengals get to play a fourth-place one), I have at least some concern that the Ravens could take a step back — or at least need some time to find its footing. A big part of their FPI rating is a league-best 1.9 on defense, and I think that number assumes a lot from the young players and coaches who need to step up.”
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