The 2022 NFL regular season brought us plenty of highlights, lowlights, and a lot in between. The AFC North is a nice summary of how this season went. Let’s take a little look back, and a look forward for the division’s teams.
Are the Bengals the team to beat?
Coin flip, no coin flip, it doesn’t matter. The Bengals will host the Ravens for a second consecutive weekend, this time in the Wild Card round. Last year at this time, Cincinnati was getting ready to host a playoff game as more of a surprise team than anything else. They were a startup program. One year later, they are now the hunted, no longer catching teams by surprise. Super Bowl hangover? Not with this Bengals team. They’ve avoided the bars, liquor stores, and late night parties. They have the necessary pieces and a quarterback that is fearless. The road to Glendale in the AFC might have to go through Kansas City or some neutral site but make no mistake about it. The Bengals are the team to beat right now. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Have the Ravens found Lamar yet?
Where in the world is Lamar Jackson? Remember him? The contract situation surrounding the Ravens’ quarterback dominated the offseason and has now clouded their 2022 season entirely. Will we see him in the postseason? All indications seem to be probably not, which only opens the door for more offseason uncertainty. Baltimore struggled to score all year as it lacked weapons on offense. That won’t change in the playoffs and it’s hard to see that changing in the coming offseason either. It feels like Baltimore is just getting an extra game this season for participation’s sake and there is a good chance this roster looks very different in September. Jackson might just have one foot out the door as well.
Same old Steelers
The personnel changed, but the results didn’t. Maybe the world could use a little more Mike Tomlin. There might not be a better steadying force out there. The Tomlin model of consistency should be taught in classrooms around the globe. After a horrible start to the season, one that even included Mitch Trubisky off all people, here we are at season’s end with the Steelers holding a winning record. It’s remarkable. Somehow, people were debating whether Tomlin’s tenure in Pittsburgh should’ve come to an end, but in the end, they wound up in the same spot they always do, the winner’s circle.
The Browns are in familiar territory
Before the season started, this writer wrote about how we should ignore the Browns this season. Funny enough, that’s the same approach we should take now for the franchise that seemingly never gets it right. One year ago, they were going into an offseason of uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position. One year later, they will enter into an offseason of uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position, but this time with a ton of money invested into the problem. Thanks for coming out, Cleveland.