Ravens' Harbaugh: 'No doubt' AFC North is NFL's best division
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is well aware of the gauntlet that is the AFC North.
"It's really awesome that we have a great division," Harbaugh said Monday, according to ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "It's the best division. It's proven. We all know what happens when we play each other."
Led by quarterback Lamar Jackson and a stifling defense, the Ravens have been one of the NFL's most dominant teams in 2023. Baltimore blew out the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9 to improve to 7-2, good for first place in the AFC North - the only division featuring four teams with a winning record.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals - all of whom have posted a 5-3 record - would all make the playoffs if the season ended today. No division has sent four clubs to the postseason since the realignment into eight divisions in 2002.
AFC North playoff odds, per ESPN FPI:
- Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 6, 2023
Ravens: 96.1% (74.8% to win division)
Browns: 54.6% (8.7)
Bengals: 53.9% (8.5)
Steelers: 47.6% (8.0)
AFC North rivalry matchups are known for their competitiveness and physicality, but divisions like the AFC East and AFC West, among others, also entered the 2023 campaign featuring multiple contenders. For Harbaugh, though, there's "no doubt" that his is the toughest.
The Ravens, who are 2-1 against division rivals this year, will now have two AFC North meetings in the span of five days, as they host the Browns on Sunday before playing the Bengals on Thursday Night Football.
Harbaugh is planning to take Baltimore's tough stretch one game at a time.
"That's our challenge," he said. And it's all going to be about the Browns, and that's it. And then when the Bengals game comes up, it'll be a short turnaround, but then it'll be the Bengals at that point."
An AFC North franchise hasn't lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy since Baltimore won Super Bowl XLVII in February 2013.
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