Birds of Prey (2025 AFC North Preview)

We have now reached the month of August, which is preseason month in the NFL, as well as the final full month before the regular season starts. There are a lot of interesting stories all over the league, and the AFC North is no stranger to intrigue and high action. All four teams have quite an eye-popping headline entering the 2025 season, and here's a look at the AFC North's storylines for this upcoming season:

Cleveland Browns (3-14)

In Cleveland, all the month of September means is that it's one month closer to the Cavaliers starting. One thing I've noticed about both North divisions is they are identical in every way. Regarding the Browns, they're in the same position as the Bears in the NFC North: they're the butt monkey. The clown show. The comedy relief. Yet the Browns have managed to become an even bigger joke than the Bears in the NFC North. A 3-14 season just one year after actually making the playoffs. An eight game decline from 2023. And they still have to pay DeShaun Weinstein his bounty, even though he may be benched for Shedeur Sanders. Speaking of Sanders, I'm glad some team finally took him, but it sucks that it was Cleveland. I hope he somehow shows out, though.

Cincinnati Bengals (9-8)

Soooo... Bengals? Gonna cut that check for Trey Hendrickson, or nah? Considering that their defense can't even stop me from getting open, they better back up a bunch of Brinks trucks for that man. The ironic thing? As absolutely shitty as the defense was last year, you know what did the Bengals in last year? Losing to the four-win Patriots in Week 1. Yeah. The Bengals' 2024 season saw high scoring games that they mostly lost, but even so, it showed how deadly that Joe Burrow-JaMarr Chase tandem really is. They made Fantasy Football owners who had them on their teams deliriously happy. That duo will show out again, but the defense... that's another story. Ironically, the defense got it together in the final month of the season, but that Week 1 loss--which was, ironically, low-scoring--was the crusher. I do have Cincy being playoff bound in 2025, but again, they really need to handle the Hendrickson situation.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7)

At least Aaron Rodgers didn't completely go all Brett Favre and go to the Vikings, but he really, and I mean really wanted to go to Minnesota, OMG. I'm still shocked that he's a Steeler, though. I had said years ago that if Rodgers had Mike Tomlin with him in Green Bay, the rings would never stop coming. At that time, Rodgers was in his prime, and Tomlin was the best coach in the league. The latter half of that statement is still true. As for Rodgers, well, time is undefeated against every one--even Rodgers. The prime is not there anymore; Rodgers will be 42 in December, and he had been showing his age since his last season with the Packers. The Steelers did snag DK Metcalf, but George Pickens is not a Steeler anymore. Whether losing Pickens is for the best or not will be determined.

I did enter this season worried about Tomlin. Common sense says I shouldn't be, but a history of Black coaches being fucked over and fired for nothing says I should be. Tomlin is the greatest coach in the league today. 18 seasons, never had a losing record, has a ring, somehow gets to the playoffs even though logic says they shouldn't make it, yet some Steelers fans actually want him fired. If Tomlin was White, those same people would want a statue of him in Pittsburgh. This season, the Steelers have a legend who is aging, not much in the receiving core, even less in the running game, and are thanking God that they paid TJ Watt. If the Steelers make it to the big dance again, I think Michael Pettaway Tomlin should be owed a massive apology... from everyone who keeps disrespecting him.

Baltimore Ravens (11-6)

And we go from a coach who gets disrespected by racists, to a QB who gets disrespected by racists. A clear argument can be made that Lamar Jackson is the best QB in the league right now. The reason is simple: he's done so much with so little around him. It's going to get even more complicated for Lamar in 2025 and beyond, and the reason is simple: one of only two players that he could depend on is not with the team anymore because he can't keep his hands to himself. Yeah. The Justin Tucker era is over. So it's basically the Lamar and King Henry show right now, but Lamar will persevere. The only drawback he has against him is that he has yet to reach the Super Bowl. He has time to do that, but as the saying goes, "No time like the present." An argument can be made that the Chiefs could be going down after getting blasted in Super Bowl LIX. Maybe Lamar reaches Super Bowl LX this year?

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The AFC North is always amazing as hell, all four teams are quite fun to watch; yes, even the Browns. 2025 will be very exciting for the AFC North, and all I ask is that those Ravens/Bengals games continue to have a lot of points and absolutely no defense whatsoever.