The AFC North is clearly the best division in the NFL right now, but there’s also an argument that it might be the greatest division of all time.
Last year, it became the first division in NFL history in which all four teams finished the regular season with a winning record. Three of its teams — the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers — made the playoffs.
The fourth, the Cincinnati Bengals, were missing their star QB Joe Burrow for much of the season. This year, with Burrow and Deshaun Watson purportedly healthy, and with the Steelers signing Russell Wilson, all four teams will be starting quarterbacks who have had MVP-level individual seasons.
Watching the AFC North compete on Sundays is going to be a treat this season, but fans will also be treated to the first ever In Season edition of HBO’s excellent documentary series, Hard Knocks, featuring an entire division. That’s right, we’re getting an In Season behind-the-scenes look at every team in the best division in NFL history as they each fight for a playoff spot. The series promises to be excellent, perhaps the best iteration yet.
As a Browns fan, I can’t wait to tune in. We’ve reached the part of the year at which I’ve become so starved for NFL football that clips of QBs throwing ten-yard curl routes on air makes me excited. Football Sundays can’t come soon enough, and this year’s Hard Knocks should provide an additional unique look at the competition that makes the NFL so enticing.