Ravens' Grip on AFC North Tightening?

The Baltimore Ravens have impressively won eight of 23 AFC North titles since the NFL realigned in 2002, but they've never won three division titles in a row.

However, they have a chance to change that this year.

Despite the AFC North being arguably the league's most competitive and cutthroat division in recent years, the Ravens have won it in back-to-back years with a combined 25-9 regular-season record. It hasn't been easy, as they won the division by two games both times, but they were clearly the class of the division in each of the past two years.

The Ravens are the odds-on favorite to win the division once again this season, and that begs the question, has the gap between them and the rest of their division grown wider? After all, the Pittsburgh Steelers still don't have a clear starting quarterback, the Cincinnati Bengals' defense is still among the league's worst and the Cleveland Browns are, well, the Browns.

The Athletic's AFC North writers weighed in on that question, and their answers varied quite a bit. Mike DeFabo, who covers the Steelers, said the Ravens are his pick to win the division "without a doubt."

"The Ravens have the best front office in the division and continually assemble the best roster," DeFabo wrote. "Even though they have some holes to fill, DeCosta knows how to draft and the Ravens still have enough firepower offensively to hit the ground running. They’d be my favorite to win the division right now, without a doubt."

On the other hand, Zac Jackson, who covers the Browns, believes the gap to be relatively small.

"I do think there’s a gap from Baltimore to everyone else, but I don’t think it’s a large one," Jackson wrote. "Two teams have incredible quarterbacks; the other two have incredibly shaky question marks at the position. Three of the teams have the makings of strong defensive units, and the Bengals can outscore most opponents. Jackson is phenomenal, Henry is a load and the Ravens are a well-run, well-coached team. But I don’t expect them to cruise to a division title, even if I think they’re the deserving favorite."

Of course, winning any division is never a cakewalk, especially one as tough as the AFC North. That said, Baltimore looks like a noticeably better team than its rivals on paper.