Steelers & AFC North 2024 Preview: Where Does Pittsburgh Stack Up vs. Ravens, Bengals & Browns?

[Music] the AFC North this year is not only going to be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks but is expected to be the most competitive division in the National Football League for the 2024 season so today we're going to break down all the other teams in the AFC North we talk about the Steelers every single day here on Steelers talk we'll talk a little bit about the Steelers and how they stack up in this division at the end end of today's show but today we're going to be talking about the Ravens Browns and Bengals breaking down what to expect from those teams this year and where the Steelers rank among those uh among these four teams in this division so before we get into it today predict it for me down there in the comments section which AFC North team is going to win the division all right it's always one of the most competitive divisions in football this year especially so predict it for me who comes away with the division Crown predict it for me to kick off today's show so last year the Steelers finished third in the division at 10- seven of course three teams from this division made the playoffs last year 13- four were the Ravens 11- six were the Cleveland Steamers and then the Cincinnati Pussycats were at N9 and8 with Joe burrow H pretty much the entire season uh to at at least at some degree so first up here let's talk about the reigning division Champions those dreaded rat birds I hate them just as much as you do guys but listen man this is a good football team and even though they lost Mike McDonald their defensive coordinator I mean this is still a very very good team that needs to be reckoned with you take a look at their stats from last year top five in offense and pretty much top two in defense you can make an argument they were they had the best defense in football last year they were tied for the most takeaways on defense in the league last season so obviously this is a team last season that was just absolutely unbelievable especially in the regular seon season so let's take a look at their head coach John Harbaugh here and what he has in terms of his offensive and defensive staff uh they run a modern PR spread offense with Todd monan as their secondy year offensive coordinator monin really took this offense to a whole another level replacing Greg Roman um and really adding a lot to the passing game in particular for this Ravens offense then on defense Zack or is a firsttime defensive play caller in the NFL replacing Mike McDonald and of course they run the same attacking 34 scheme they ran last year key departures for the Baltimore Ravens include their defensive coordinator last year their boy genius and Mike McDonald then you got jvon Clowney their number one Edge rusher left uh Patrick Queen an all proo linebacker left Morgan Moses one of their starting tackles left and then also two starting guards Kevin zeler and John Simpson So three members of your starting offensive line from last year all gone then Odell Beckham Jr and Gino Stone also left for for other teams but they also made quite a few additions they added Zack or as their new defensive coordinator they added DK Henry to this very potent running game now with Lamar Jackson handing the ball off to King Henry David ojabo coming back from injury last year same thing with Andrew Vorhees those two trench players will definitely help them out a lot this year Nate Wiggins was their first round pick this year out of Clemson TJ Tampa is another long Corner they got on day three Eddie Jackson and Roger Rose and Garden or other players that they added that could potentially start so my take on the Baltimore Ravens this year is that listen man as long as they can keep up that defensive standard that Mike McDonald had last year under Zack or they should be title contenders once again this year they got a very potent Run game they still have good enough receivers of course Mark Andrews is returning from injury Lamar Jackson is still very Dynamic so as much as I hate these guys I do think Baltimore is once again going to be very successful under John harbon 2024 but make no mistake guys the Pittsburgh Steelers are still the Baltimore Ravens is daddies and it wouldn't surprise me whatsoever if this team here in the black and gold sweeps the Baltimore Ravens yet again this year and that might make the difference in the division standings at the end of the day so coming up here on Steelers talk more AFC North breakdowns we're going to talk about the Browns and the Bengals and then we'll talk about how the Steelers stack up in this division heading into the year but before we get into do all that great content let's have a word from our sponsor here at game time which is the fastest and easiest way to buy tickets for all the sports music comedy and theater in your area and guys we all know that experiencing a sporting event especially a football game at Acure Stadium whether that be for the pit Panthers or for the Pittsburgh Steelers is unlike 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first time in their uh pathetic franchises history so let's take a look at what they did last year take a look at the offensive stats and defensive stats um points per game uh last year defensively wasn't as good as maybe this defense is build out to be they have a really good pass rush uh they were really efficient in terms of the yards per play given up but listen man the yards per play offense last year was abysmal at 28th in the league they also had the most giveaways out of any offense in football so they're hoping that those Trends do not continue this year Kevin stefansky won coach of the year and kind of I I didn't agree with that pick whatsoever if you're asking me personally but he did win the Trophy last year uh the offensive scheme that he runs is a Mike Shanahan style second generation West Coast offense run by stefansky himself and then you get to the defense and the big uh xfactor last year for Cleveland was bringing in Jim Schwarz their new defensive coordinator who runs a 34 attacking scheme lots of blitzing lots of press man coverage very aggressive and that's why they had so much success last year so key departures for this football team uh this off season Joe flacko who was this team's best quarterback last year yes I'm I'm just gonna say it deshun Watson was not the best quarterback on this team last year Donovan peoples Jones C takitaki and Anthony Walker Jr were the other starters to leave then some key some key additions for the Cleveland Browns jamus Winston is their new backup quarterback who is pretty much a younger version of Joe Flaco they both throw the ball down the field they both put the ball in arm's way very very similar play style of quarterbacks there Jerry Judy is the wide receiver they they acquired via trade good luck with his Butterfingers Jamari thrash Jordan Hicks and Devin Busch are some other starters they added this year so my take on the Cleveland Browns is that DeShaun Watson's going to drag this team down eventually chub is expected to be back Amari Cooper is still here he's still very good the defense and the pass rush are still excellent and the defense as a whole is excellent but at the end of the day if you don't have a quarterback in this league that can at least be efficient you're not going to be a good football team and honestly it wouldn't surprise me if jamus Winston is the starting quarterback of this football team by week 18 so fill in the blank for me down there in the comments section deshun Watson is the blank best starting quarterback in the NFL today let me know what you guys think down there in the comments section what you guys are thinking for me personally I'd put him somewhere between the 22nd to 26th best quarterback he's definitely not in the top 10 any longer make sure you guys click that thumbs up icon if you haven't already if you hate the Cleveland Browns I know I hate the Cleveland Steamers if you're with me on that make sure you click that Thumbs Up by con and rep your team and finally here let's get to the Pussycats there in Cincinnati um and you know I think a lot of people feel like Joe burrow is fully healthy again this is going to be a very good football team but you know you have to take into account that the Cincinnati Bengals defense last year was straight up garbage Kenny picket looked good against this defense last year and they lost some players on their defense this offseason some very big players on their defense that we'll get to in a second but dead last and yards per play allowed 21st in points per game allowed I mean and then the offense I mean obviously Joe burrow was hurt and then he really got hurt and Jake Browning came in protected the football well but listen man this defense is going to have to play a lot better if they want to win the division and make the playoffs out of the AFC North this year key departures here nose tackle DJ reer one of the best nose tackles in the league he's going to be sorely missed in terms of their run defense this year Joe Mixon they're starting running back left their number one corner chidobe aier uh left in free agency Tyler boy a good slot receiver left for Tennessee as well and then Jonah Williams one of their starting tackles left in free agency but they do add uh some people in free agency here um you know they do add a couple of offensive tackles some guys that I really liked uh heading into free agency and in the draft for those of you that followed our offseason coverage um you guys know that I was a big advocate of getting Trent Brown the Bengals went out and got him I was a big uh advocate for going out and getting a Marius mims in the draft they got both of those guys Mims has been dealing with injuries so I guess we'll see how this offensive line shakes out but they also got Zach Moss Mike giki Germaine Burton out of Alabama a very talented receiver keep your eye on Burton this year Sheldon rankins a defensive tackle Von Bell and Gino Stone to be their new safety tandem now listen man obviously Joe burrow returning fully healthy you still got Jamar Chase if he plays that is T Higgins Mike Kiki Germaine Burton they do have some good pieces on this offense and I do think the offense will be good but to be competitive in this division you have to have a legitimate defense they didn't have that last year and I'm not sure if they made enough additions on that side of the ball to really feel good about that side the ball in Cincinnati this year so it's a big question I guess we'll see how it all plays out so what's how you guys let me know down there in the comments section will the Bengals defense stink again this year give me a yes or a no for me personally I think they're going to get better than they were last year it's hard to be worse than you were last year if you're the Bengals uh but I definitely don't think it's going to be a top 10 unit in the NFL so now we've gone over the other three teams in the AFC North let's talk about how the Pittsburgh Steelers stack up in this division okay and you know I think that there's four main categories that you want to look at when comparing your team to other teams that's coaching staff quarterback offense and defense for me I think the Steelers still have the best coaching staff in the division now maybe you disagree and you think Mike Tomlin stinks but personally I think Mike Tomlin is is an awesome head coach and I think he's the best head coach in this division quarterback and offense overall I don't think they're on the same level as Lamar Jackson and the Ravens or Joe burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals I don't think they have quite the start t to keep up with those guys but they're not the worst I think Cleveland does have the worst offense because they do have the worst quarterback and then defensively I think the Steelers might have not only the best defense in this division but the best defense in football they got an incredible pass rush a lock down number one corner Joy Porter Jr some real nice pieces at inside linebacker Minka Fitz Patrick Roman the middle I think this defense is going to be special this year and it's going to be the reason why the Steelers are heavily heavily competitive in this division now what I will say here guys is that on paper I think the Steelers are the third best team in the division okay but this there's a reason why the you know these things get decided on the field and not in terms of you know on paper before the season starts I think Baltimore when you look at their roster it's the best overall roster maybe in football then you get to Cincinnati lots of great talent especially offensively uh I think on paper you take Cincinnati Over Pittsburgh but here's the thing man like I said this thing is going to be one on the field especially in the AFC North where you know that those division matchups at the end of the season are going to determine division rankings playoff seating all that stuff and that's where Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers Thrive and it wouldn't it surprise me at all if we see the Pittsburgh Steelers at the top of this division this year honestly I could see any team in this division maybe other than Cleveland win the division I I'm pretty bullish on deshun Watson being pretty darn bad this year but you know I think if you're saying the Ravens Bengals or Steelers win the division this year I think that's pretty realistic now it's your turn let me know down there in the comments section where will the Steelers finish in the AFC North this year will they finish first second third or fourth let me know your take down there in the comments section thank you for stopping by today man if you want more Steelers content like this every single day keeping you guys informed on everything Pittsburgh Steelers make sure you click that subscribe button right now and help us get to 60,000 subscribers [Music]