AFC North Predictions 2021: Why the Cleveland Browns will win the division

In 2020, the Cleveland Browns turned the corner in a big way by making the playoffs for the first time in 18 years. In 2021, they look to make the playoffs again and do so by winning the AFC North.

Cleveland looks to build off the momentum of last season but is fully aware that the 2021 campaign is a completely new year and execution will be key.

Last year, for as good as the season was, the defense was just an injury-riddled mess. During the offseason, general manager Andrew Berry decided to enhance that defense to get faster and younger.

Among the names Berry inked in free agency include the likes of safety John Johnson III, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, linebacker Anthony Walker, cornerback Troy Hill, and defensive tackle Malik Jackson. Along with those reinforcements, Berry drafted cornerback Greg Newsome II in the first round and then got arguably the steal of the draft in round two when he drafted linebacker-hybrid Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

The pairing of Clowney and fellow defensive end Myles Garrett should have opposing quarterbacks absolutely terrified. If healthy, this duo is poised to wreak some serious havoc this year.

The Browns will go as far as quarterback Baker Mayfield takes them, and the expectations in Cleveland are sky-high. Last season he took a huge step forward, and despite all of that, people still don’t believe in him. ESPN’s Mike Greenberg doesn’t know how anyone is still doubting him.

All signs point to Mayfield building on his second-half success a year ago, a stretch in which very few played the position better. Forget contract extensions and any other outside noise because Mayfield is laser-focused on continuing to lead the Browns to the promised land.

Two things are going to help Mayfield more than anything this upcoming season. The first being continuity, something that is rare for the fourth-year signal-caller. He has head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt in the same positions, something Mayfield has yet to experience. The more confident and comfortable Baker gets in this offense, the scarier this team can be.

Baker will be the first Cleveland quarterback to start in three straight openers since Bernie Kosar. This fan base is starving for success even further than last season and Mayfield is just the man to lead the charge.

The second thing is the rest of the offense returns in full capacity, including the No. 1 ranked offensive line, arguably the best running back duo, and a receiving corps that will gladly welcome back Odell Beckham Jr. So far in training camp, Baker has been firing on all cylinders and the fact he has his entire crew returning this year will be largely beneficial.

All of the aforementioned factors are why the Browns will win the AFC North for the first time ever. The last time Cleveland won the division was back in 1989, but it was the AFC Central at the time. So with all that said about this team winning the division, how do the other three teams stack up?

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens are the biggest threat to the Browns in the division this season, due in large part to former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has given the Browns fits throughout the early goings of his career. While the Browns defense got faster this offseason, it’s not a matter of them stopping Jackson, but rather maintaining and controlling him.

Jackson is one of the most versatile quarterbacks in the entire NFL as he is a magician on his feet and can make defenses look flat-out silly. Where Jackson struggles is in the passing game. In the offseason, Baltimore went out and got Jackson some weapons and playmakers.

Sammy Watkins signed with the Ravens in free agency and then Rashod Bateman (First Round) and Tylan Wallace (Fourth Round) were added via the NFL Draft. Should Jackson prove to be more than an elite runner, these three guys should help out.

Baltimore also added some offensive line help, even after trading Orlando Brown to Kansas City. The Ravens added right guard Kevin Zeitler and former two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Alejandro Villanueva.

The defense took a bit of a hit losing EDGE rushers Matt Judon and Yannick Ngakoue in free agency.

The division could very well come down to weeks 12-14 as these two teams will play each other twice in that span. The kicker is that after the first meeting, the Browns have a bye week and essentially get to game plan for this team for three weeks. That could prove to have major ramifications.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers won the AFC North last season after starting off the season 11-0. However, the team lost five of the final six games of the season, including the regular season finale against the Browns to allow Cleveland to qualify for the playoffs and then the next week in the playoffs to the Browns.

The playoff game was one in which the Browns blitzed out to a 28-0 lead, which included a defensive touchdown on the opening play when the snap went over quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s head and into the end zone.

One of the biggest question marks of the offseason was whether or not Big Ben would return for his 18th season. Ben is back after restructuring his contract, but that might not be a good thing for the Steelers. Roethlisberger just turned 39 back in March.

Big Ben has beaten the daylights out of the Browns since entering the league with a 24-3-1 record against them, but even will all that success, he is 0-1 against Cleveland in the playoffs.

Roethlisberger will have to play at a former level for this team to truly compete in 2021.

The offensive line was another big question mark for this team and on paper, it does not look pretty. The team did sign right guard Joe Haeg but lost Villanueva and center Maurkice Pouncey, who retired after the season. The poor o-line play hurt the Steeler run game in 2020, as the unit was the 31st-ranked run-blocking line.

In the first round of the draft, Pittsburgh elected to draft running back Najee Harris out of Alabama to replace James Conner who left in free agency. Harris seems to be on his way to a stellar rookie season, but he’s going to have to make a lot of things happen out of the backfield as his offensive line will do him no favors.

Along with the offensive line departures, Pittsburgh also lost defensive starters. Bud Dupree, Tyson Alualu, Vince Williams, Steven Nelson, and Mike Hilton all found new homes in free agency. The defense will still be good, but how good remains to be seen.

This could finally be the year in which the Steelers finish with a sub-.500 record.

Cincinnati Bengals

There was a lot of movement for the Bengals this offseason, with some interesting additions and departures.

Before we get into that, quarterback Joe Burrow is returning from an ACL tear and will look to get back on track before being sidelined to injury. So far in training camp, he has looked shaky at best, something he calls “mental.”

The Bengals made a decision in the first round of the draft that could be looked at as a double-edged sword. With the fifth overall pick, Cincy chose Burrow’s former LSU teammate, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, passing on arguably the best offensive line in the draft, Penei Sewell.

In the 10 games, Burrow played in, and for as good as he looked most of the time, he was scrambling for his life, which makes the No. 5 pick a bit more puzzling. The team did draft offensive tackle, Jackson Carman, in the second round.

Now, back to the overhaul on defense.

Cincy replaced defensive end Carl Lawson with Trey Hendrickson and cornerback William Jackson with Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton. The Bengals also lost defensive tackle Geno Atkinson via free agency.

If Burrow can be healthy and upright, he will have this team competing in a lot of games, but overall, the rebuild for the Bengals will continue to be rough with this team maybe winning six games at most.

On paper, the Browns are the best team in this division and whatever success this team hopes to have in 2021 will all depend on execution. This team is ready to take the next step in their quest to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next February.