AFC North Roundup: The Steelers’ lead in the division continues to grow entering Week 12

With Week 11 of the NFL schedule officially in the books, it’s time to take a look back at those teams who call the AFC North home to see how they fared and what the standings look like after this week’s action.

The first goal for each team in the NFL is to win its division. Doing so guarantees both a playoff spot and a home playoff game, so even these early-season games are important when it comes to divisional rankings.

Let’s take a spin around the AFC North to check on the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Week 11 Results

Baltimore Ravens - 24
Cincinnati Bengals - 21

The Ravens win a game they just had to have, and with Lamar Jackson at quarterback. I will say this, if they think Jackson will survive in the NFL running the ball 20+ times, they might want to re-consider this approach. They could always just ask Robert Griffen III what it feels like to literally have the wheels run off him. Nonetheless, the Ravens’ win moves both teams to 5-5, and in a race for the final spot in the AFC Playoff Picture.

Pittsburgh Steelers - 20
Jacksonville Jaguars - 16

It seemed improbable. Even when trailing by 10 points, it seemed like a hill to steep for the Steelers to climb. Yet here we are, Pittsburgh winners of the last 6 games and sporting an overall record of 7-2-1 heading into Week 12. It was ugly, but I’ll take an ugly win over a pretty loss any day of the week.

Week 12 Schedule

Oakland Raiders at Baltimore Ravens - 1:00 p.m. ET
Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals - 1:00 p.m. ET
Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos - 4:25 p.m. ET

AFC North Standings

Pittsburgh Steelers - 7-2-1
Baltimore Ravens - 5-5
Cincinnati Bengals - 5-5
Cleveland Browns - 3-6-1

...

Let us know what you think about the division after Week 11 in the comment section below. Do you see this being a powerhouse division? Which teams are contenders and which ones are nothing more than pretenders?