By james art 
The battle for the North has begun and it will be a bloodbath.
The Baltimore Ravens completely stomped the Broncos and are now tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers atop the AFC North. The Cincinnati Bengals were able to defeat the Las Vegas Raiders and are trying to make a case for the division as well.
The good news is that the Steelers are still tied for first after their bye week and have a chance to take a commanding lead. The other good news is that the Steelers will play the struggling Cleveland Browns twice until December 8th, and both games should be easy wins in the division, it should be.
The bad news is that the Steelers play the Washington Commanders next week. For the first time in a long time, the Commanders are a real threat, and if the Steelers can’t pull out a win in Washington, they can expect to fall back one game behind the Ravens by next week. The Ravens play the Bengals next week, and if those games go like their first meeting this season, the Ravens should be 7-3 heading into Week 11.
Week 11 will be when the fun really begins for the AFC North and the Steelers. The Ravens will make their way to the ‘Burgh where they will hopefully face the 7-2 Steelers. To me, that’s realistically the best case scenario. I don’t see the Ravens falling to the Bengals, but just for fun, let’s check out the possibilities.
Week 10 Ravens lose to Bengals, Steelers beat Commanders:
Steelers 7-2
Ravens 6-4
Bengals 5-5
Worst case for Steelers, Ravens win, Steelers lose in Week 10:
Ravens 7-3
Steelers 6-3
Bengals 4-6
Again, the Steelers and Ravens could win next week, setting up a tie to determine the AFC North leader. As if the rivalry wasn’t already heated, this could make for some very entertaining football in Week 11. Also, if both the Steelers and Ravens lose, not only will it be close for first place in the division, but the Bengals would be 5-5 right behind the 6-4 Ravens and 6-3 Steelers.
I know this is a lot of speculation, but this could be one of the best divisional battles in the NFL this year between already heated AFC North rivals.
Next week is a very pivotal week for the AFC North and there will be a lot of divisional games to come, especially for the Steelers. I believe that even if the worst case scenario happens for the Steelers by Week 11, there is still a good chance for them in the division.
If the Browns can’t rally, it should be two easy division wins for the Steelers in Weeks 12 and 14.
As I mentioned before, it could all come down to Week 16 for the Steelers and Ravens to take the division. This would be absolutely perfect for the NFL if it plays out that way. Imagine, Sunday afternoon on December 21st, the Steelers making their way into a hostile M&T Bank Stadium. Division on the line, the AFC North’s biggest rivals jockey for supremacy.
There are hundreds of possibilities between now and then, but as a lifelong Steeler fan I know one thing for sure, I haven’t been this excited in a long time.