Caleb Wilfinger
After a long and eventful offseason, the NFL season is nearly here. Week 1 will kick off on September 4 with Thursday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Here at Pickswise, we are building up to the new season and you can check out our NFL futures guide, which has our Super Bowl winner picks, MVP best bets, player award predictions and much more.
For now, our handicapping team is breaking down every division with in-depth team analysis and best bets. Let’s dive into the AFC North, which will generate plenty of headlines all season long as the home of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, who all are looking to make it back to the playoffs in a crowded AFC. Here are the NFL odds and our expert NFL picks for this fascinating division.
AFC North Odds
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and available at time of publishing.
- Baltimore Ravens -155
- Cincinnati Bengals +275
- Pittsburgh Steelers +500
- Cleveland Browns +3500
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Baltimore Ravens (-155)
One could argue that the Ravens were just a few plays away from winning at least 1 of the last 2 Super Bowls, if not both. And while I’m not quite there with projecting that Lamar Jackson and company would’ve gotten the job done in either of the last 2 years, there is something to be said for the Ravens consistent dominance over the last couple of seasons. Baltimore enters the 2025 campaign as one of the preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl, and rightfully so considering the Ravens have retained the core of this team, while also picking up DeAndre Hopkins and Jaire Alexander to bolster their wide receiver room and secondary respectively. Baltimore has a brutal schedule to start the season, but this is a team that shouldn’t struggle at all once we hit Week 6 or 7. I’ll take the Ravens to repeat as division champs.
Baltimore Ravens best bet: Ravens to win the AFC North (-155)
Cincinnati Bengals (+275)
At this point, we can be pretty sure of what we’re getting with the Bengals. As long as Joe Burrow is healthy, Cincinnati is going to have one of the premiere offenses in the sport, especially from a passing perspective. On the other side of the ball, the Bengals defense could take small strides forward this season, thanks to the insertion of Al Golden as the new defensive coordinator. However, this is still a unit that is pretty bereft of talent, outside of a few pieces on the defensive line. With that in mind, we can expect the Bengals to be in plenty of shootouts this season, and high-scoring affairs are just what the doctor ordered for Ja’Marr Chase. Look for Burrow’s top target (and arguably the best receiver in the league) to flourish once again following a 17-touchdown campaign in 2024.
Cincinnati Bengals best bet: Ja’Marr Chase over 10.5 receiving touchdowns (-110)
Get the latest NFL MVP odds and find out our expert’s longshot prediction at +4000!
Pittsburgh Steelers (+500)
Death, taxes and Mike Tomlin finishing above .500 for yet another season. That was what the 2024 Steelers promised, and they delivered on that promise, right up until the annual loss in the Wild Card Round against a much superior opponent. What followed was a particularly busy offseason for Pittsburgh, highlighted by a blockbuster trade for wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, along with a trade for cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith in exchange for Minkah Fitzpatrick. But the biggest news came in the form of Aaron Rodgers, who will be the new starting quarterback in Pittsburgh following the exits of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Unfortunately for Steelers fans, these new additions don’t do much to move the needle. I’ve got Pittsburgh closer to 8-9 than 10-7 this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers best bet: Steelers to miss the playoffs (-135)
Lock in our AFC West best bets
Cleveland Browns (+3500)
Bringing up the rear in the AFC North are the Cleveland Browns, who are likely going to be one of the worst teams in football this season. There aren’t many bright spots for the Browns on this roster, as Cleveland is still fairly early on in its rebuild. Now that Myles Garrett has re-signed with the team, the only drama still being settled in Cleveland is if rookie quarterback Shaduer Sanders will end up being the starter sooner rather than later this season. Given the fact that the Browns should get off to a very slow start, I wouldn’t be shocked if Sanders was able to find his way into the starting role by the midway point of the season, if not earlier. I can’t give out Cleveland to finish in last place at -250 odds, so I’ll opt for this division exact finishing order wager at a much friendlier price instead.
Cleveland Browns best bet: Ravens/Bengals/Steelers/Browns exact finishing order (+250)
Grab our expert’s NFC East predictions
AFC North division predictions
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cleveland Browns
AFC North Best Bet: Pittsburgh Steelers to miss the playoffs (-140)
As previously mentioned, while the Steelers made a bunch of noisy moves in the offseason, including getting rid of George Pickens and Russell Wilson while bringing in D.K. Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers, I’m not exactly convinced that these moves will get the Steelers over the hump in the regular season, much less once January rolls around. Mike Tomlin is an excellent coach, but all evidence points to the fact that Aaron Rodgers is well past his prime and won’t be able to make it through a full season as a starting quarterback. It doesn’t help matters that Pittsburgh has to play the Bills, Patriots and the NFC North, to go along with a brutal schedule within its division. I’ve only got the Steelers favored in 7 games this season, so I can’t pass up on Pittsburgh to miss the playoffs at this price.
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