Baltimore Beatdown
The start of the 2025 NFL season is finally here after a long wait. For the AFC North, this season promises to be another one full of promise, notable storylines, and high stakes for all four teams in the division.
Week 1 will see two teams open the year with divisional matchups against each other — the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns — while the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers will each play non-divisional conference foes from the AFC East. Beginning the season with a 1-0 record and getting an early leg up in the standings can go a long way later on down the line.
The Steelers will travel to New York and begin their season against the Jets on the road. The biggest storyline between these two teams is the swap of quarterbacks. Last season, Justin Fields was the Steelers’ Week 1 starter while veteran Aaron Rodgers was the Jets’ starting signal-caller. Fast forward to this year and the reverse is now the case.
Rodgers is the newest starting quarterback for Steelers in what’s been a shuffling at the position for the past several years. Pittsburgh is hopeful he will bring stability and increase their offensive ceiling, maximizing what he last left in the tank at age 41. The Steelers re-tooled their skill position groups on offense while also undergoing a remake in the defensive backfield as well.
Despite being the away team in this matchup, the Steelers are favored to win by a field goal. While they’ll be working to incorporate several new pieces on both sides of the ball, the Jets too are transitioning into this season with a new quarterback and new head coach, too. Aaron Glenn’s squad is at a talent deficit at most positions compared to the Steelers but will likely try to make this a low-scoring, gritty type of game to give themselves the best chance to pull off an upset.
Much of the Steelers’ contests last season were of this affair, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see limited offensive fireworks from either team. The Steelers would love to see Rodgers and new pass-catchers D.K. Metcalf and Jonnu Smith to create some explosive plays in the passing game, with Jaylen Warren and company running the ball well against a talented Jets’ defense.
Following a rollercoaster offseason defined by their quarterback competition, the Browns will look to defy expectations with an upset divisional win in Week 1. The Browns are at home in this matchup but have won just one out of the previous three contests against the Bengals. After finishing with a putrid 3-14 overall record last season, the Browns have been widely predicted to again be one of the lower-win teams in the NFL.
Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco is back as the team’s starter after leading the Browns on a triumphant late-season playoff push two years ago. The Browns’ makeup has changed quite significantly since then, though, and they have a different look...
