By Mike DeFabo, Jeff Zrebiec, Paul Dehner Jr. and Zac Jackson
Each week during the regular season and occasionally during the offseason, our AFC North beat writers gather for a roundtable discussion on the happenings, player movement and pressing issues facing all four teams. We’re sharing thoughts early this week ahead of the Thursday night game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.
The trade deadline has passed. Were you at all surprised by what the team you cover did (or didn’t) do? Besides trying to make a run at January (or next year for the Browns), what’s next on the front office’s agenda?
Mike DeFabo (Steelers): Last week, I predicted the Steelers would swap a late-round pick for New York Jets receiver Mike Williams. Where can I collect my large monetary prize for calling it correctly? While it’s not the splashy move that Brandon Aiyuk or Davante Adams would have been, it does add depth to an underperforming position — and one everyone knew the Steelers were looking to upgrade. Next up? The quarterback drama that has followed the Steelers for months will likely continue into the offseason. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are on one-year contracts, and Pittsburgh has a policy that it doesn’t engage in negotiations during the season. Over the second half of the season, the Steelers will need to decide if they want to keep one or both on the roster in 2025.
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The quarterbacks themselves will also have to determine what they’re looking for next. I think some assume because the Steelers are paying Wilson just $1.2 million, he’ll come cheap next year. But he’s still making $39 million because the Denver Broncos are covering the rest of his 2024 salary, and the veteran quarterback has said he wants to play another six seasons. How much do the Steelers believe in Wilson, and how much are they willing to commit to keep him in Pittsburgh? Just as importantly, Wilson will need to decide what kind of money and long-term security he wants.
Jeff Zrebiec (Ravens): The Ravens were one of the more active teams before the deadline, acquiring wide receiver Diontae Johnson and cornerback Tre’Davious White in exchange for virtually nothing. The surprise, though, was that general manager Eric DeCosta didn’t do anything to address the team’s slumbering pass rush. They were never going to get the Browns to trade Za’Darius Smith within the division, and many of the other available options weren’t much better than what they already had. However, this appears to be a team with a championship-caliber offense, and not going above and beyond before the deadline to fix what seems to be the Ravens’ biggest flaw — they have the 32nd-ranked pass defense — will surely spur some scrutiny for DeCosta if the lack of a pass rush holds the team back in the end. The Ravens will continue to look for roster upgrades via waiver claims and free agents, but the focus is just on getting healthier and preparing for consecutive divisional games against tough teams.
Paul Dehner Jr. (Bengals): I suppose it should be a surprise when the team makes the second in-season trade for a player in five decades, but it wasn’t. The Bengals were desperate for a running back when Zack Moss went down. Adding Khalil Herbert was a necessity and a minimal asset to part with. Despite so much bluster surrounding the Bengals, a move being made on defense was always highly unlikely. What’s next for the front office will be a tumultuous offseason of paying Ja’Marr Chase, watching Tee Higgins walk and finding answers in free agency and the draft on all levels of this struggling defense.
Zac Jackson (Browns): No surprises with the deadline in Cleveland as Smith to Detroit was long a fit that just needed the details to be finalized. The Browns likely will have to sell off more pieces in the offseason, but they face a lot of key decisions on their way there. As for what’s next, it’s all about evaluation on the field and ownership’s ultimate decision on how (and who) to clean up this mess. Continued development from young players Dawand Jones and Cedric Tillman would be helpful on multiple fronts.
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Is your team’s midseason MVP also the team’s quarterback? Does the team you cover have a legit candidate or candidates for major NFL awards like MVP, Coach of the Year or one of the Rookie of the Year awards?
DeFabo: T.J. Watt is the Steelers’ most talented player and the catalyst for the NFL’s second-best scoring defense. He’s perennially in the conversation for NFL Defensive Player of the Year and should be again by season’s end. I also think Mike Tomlin, in his 18th season at the helm, is building a case for Coach of the Year consideration. The Steelers took their chances with two quarterbacks who most of the league seriously doubted. They could have failed miserably or, even if successful, this unique dynamic could have created a major rift in the locker room. Tomlin made the unpopular and highly criticized decision to turn away from Fields at 4-2 and hand the offense over to Wilson. That’s looking like a great call now. If it continues this way, I’d expect Tomlin to get some votes at the end of the year.
Mike Tomlin could receive some Coach of the Year consideration if the Steelers can keep up their impressive play through the end of the season. (Candice Ward / Getty Images)
Zrebiec: If you’re compiling a list of MVP favorites at midseason, it would have to include Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry. Jackson, already a two-time MVP winner, is probably the front-runner. He’s in the middle of the best season of his career and on pace to set all sorts of personal bests. With so many quarterbacks, including Jackson, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Jared Goff and Jayden Daniels, having great years, Henry probably has long MVP odds. He does, however, have a chance to win Offensive Player of the Year. He has over 1,000 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns and we’re only in Week 10. If he stays healthy, he’s going to post a monster season.
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Dehner: The Bengals’ three best players are all in major award conversations. And all three probably need the team to make a run for any of them to become a reality. Burrow could win MVP if he continues his current level of play and carries this team back into the playoff picture. A million prime-time games and already gaudy stats will help him, even though Jackson will be tough to chase down. Chase is second in the league in receiving yards, which is a good place to be to enter Offensive Player of the Year discussions. Trey Hendrickson leads the NFL in sacks with 11, a great place to start for Defensive Player of the Year. The lack of help around him accentuates his achievement. If that number ends up over 20 for the season, he’ll warrant discussion.
Jackson: Quite clearly, no. Myles Garrett is the Browns’ best player, and he won’t repeat as NFL Defensive Player of the Year because of Cleveland’s record, but he’s still a weather-changing force. The Browns took home four trophies at last year’s NFL Honors presentation. This year they’ll need to find at least one player to pan out from the four sixth-round picks they’ll likely have in 2025.
We’ve finally reached hashtag rivalry season. In the next 14 days, we get Ravens-Bengals, Ravens-Steelers and Browns-Steelers. To the players and coaches involved, is there one division rivalry that’s more meaningful than others? Does true football hate still exist?
DeFabo: For a long time, Steelers-Ravens wasn’t just the best rivalry in the division, it was the best rivalry in football. Both teams were built similarly. Both teams hated one another. Most importantly, both teams were good enough that they had to go through each other to make a deep run in the playoffs. The temperature of that rivalry has cooled a bit in recent years. However, with the Steelers’ surge this season, the bad blood is starting to make a comeback.
Zrebiec: The Ravens-Steelers rivalry doesn’t have the allure from a national perspective that it once did, and some of the elements that make a rivalry have been toned down in recent years. Still, the question is about how the players and coaches feel — and in the Ravens’ building, the matchups with the Steelers are the most meaningful. Steelers week carries a different connotation at Baltimore’s facility than Bengals or Browns week. There’s an expression with the players that you aren’t officially a Raven until you beat Pittsburgh. That’s what makes Pittsburgh’s recent dominance in the rivalry so tough to swallow for so many Ravens. I don’t know that it’s a hate thing between the Ravens and Steelers. In fact, I’d probably say there’s more of a dislike of the Bengals. It’s more of a grudging respect between Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Dehner: The Bengals will always have a big brother-little brother history with the Steelers, but what’s grown with the Ravens since Burrow arrived sets it apart from the rest in the division. From the Fumble in the Jungle to the coin toss game to the Wink Martindale Game to Burrow’s injury last year and every game Jackson and Burrow playing going down as an instant classic, there’s a special feel to these matchups.
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Jackson: To the fans, all the rivalries matter. And that in itself matters even as the players change teams and the Browns’ defense dances while down by two touchdowns. It’s a special division because of history and fierce competition, and that doesn’t change even if overall expectations aren’t met this season. AFC North football still means something and still makes for good late-season viewing, even to neutral observers. The Browns playing spoiler somewhere down the stretch versus a division rival would be big, both internally and to the fan base.
Let’s call our shots. A large one in Baltimore on Thursday night looms when the desperate Bengals visit. The Steelers go on the road out of their bye to face a Commanders team that’s better than anyone expected it to be. And you’re not allowed to say the bye week is a 10-point favorite over the Browns because, frankly, all those jokes were used back in 2015-17.
DeFabo: The Steelers’ schedule gets a lot tougher in the second half. We’re going to know a lot more about this team over the next two weeks after it takes on the Commanders and Ravens. I think the Steelers will go 1-1 in those games with a loss this week in Washington and a victory over the Ravens at home. I have been saying the Ravens are the best team in the division, and they’ll show it with a win over the Bengals.
Zrebiec: I’ve gone back and forth on this Ravens-Bengals result about five times. The Ravens play very well at home and in prime time, and it’s tough for road teams to win on Thursday nights. Yet, the Bengals are the more desperate team and were the better team for much of the first matchup. However, they also have some key players banged up. Then again, Jackson is banged up, too. I’ll go with a close Bengals victory based on them finding a way to close a tight game in a way they didn’t do in the first meeting. I’ve been impressed with the Commanders all year, but I think the Steelers defense will pose a ton of problems for Daniels and lead Pittsburgh to a narrow victory.
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Dehner: The only thing in more danger than a crab cake in my vicinity Thursday night is the under. Bengals-Ravens should be a shootout, and Burrow has always thrived in the underdog role — covering every game as an underdog of at least four points since the start of 2021 and going 6-2 straight up. He loves these spots and posted some of his most memorable performances in them. The Bengals still can’t stop anyone with a multi-dimensional offense, and going on the road in this division in a short week is a death sentence. So they lose, 34-31. Meanwhile, the Commanders’ offense versus the Steelers’ defense is must-watch television, but there’s something special cooking with Daniels and company, so give me Washington by a field goal.
Jackson: I think the Bengals show up with their A-game, and I agree with the thought that both teams will score. But I think the Ravens will find a way to hang on late, even if their old habit of getting sloppy with the lead resurfaces. I predict that it will be the rare Thursday night game that produces both quality play and high drama. It should be a good one in Landover, Md., on Sunday, too. I’ll take the Commanders in a bit of a choppy, 19-18 type of win.
(Top photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
