Bengals, Ravens could topple Steelers in 2018

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the AFC North in each of the past two seasons. In doing so, they’ve showcased a decent defense buoyed by a tremendous offense. It featured the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant and an underrated line.

While all of those pieces remain in place for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the writing is also on the wall. Last year, the Steelers went 13-3. They appeared to be on a collision course with the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. However, they stumbled and fell in the Divisional round against the underdog Jacksonville Jaguars.

More to the point, the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming apart from the inside out. Bell reportedly didn’t even bother to show up for the walkthrough before the aforementioned loss to Jacksonville, while Mike Mitchell ran his mouth throughout the week. Roethlisberger couldn’t stop throwing teammates and coaches under the bus during the season, while Mike Pouncey was more focused on James Harrison’s departure than the task at hand. Then there was Thursday afternoon, when Bell continued to make himself a victim after being given a $14 million franchise tag this winter.

All of the drama (and Roethlisberger’s age) opens the door for a few contenders in the AFC North … if they are up to the challenge. The Cincinnati Bengals had made the playoffs for five straight seasons from 2011-15. Although the last two campaigns have been forgettable. This offseason, Cincinnati made more noise than we are used to seeing, trading for left tackle Corey Glenn. If the Bengals can get some good value in the draft, they have the makings of a sleeper.

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Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens are always a tough out. Baltimore has the defense to compete, led by Eric Weddle, Tony Jefferson, C.J. Mosley and Terrell Suggs, but can the offense hold up its end of the bargain? The Ravens have not gotten much from Joe Flacco in recent years, and it’s hard to buy into a unit that has Alex Collins as the top weapon. At some point, Breshad Perriman has to step up or get out, and the witching hour is upon us.

Unlike the past two years, there are serious cracks in the armor for Pittsburgh. The defense is not as good as in seasons past due to the tragic spinal injury to Ryan Shazier, while the rest of the team seems to be losing respect for head coach Mike Tomlin. The talent is still more prevalent in Pittsburgh than it is in Baltimore or Cincinnati, but the Steelers are ripe for the proverbial picking with so much drama engulfing the team.