The AFC North will be a three-team division race over the final eight weeks of the 2025 NFL regular season. With all due respect to the Browns, who had a bye in Week 9, it's down to three familiar teams — the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens.
Baltimore kicked off the week by romping on Miami on Thursday. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh upset Indianapolis at home while Cincinnati failed to rally to beat Chicago at home on Sunday.
Here's looking at the updated division standings and breaking down each team's second-half outlook as all three try to march toward hosting a home game in the AFC playoffs.
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AFC North standings
Team Record
Steelers 5-3
Ravens 3-5
Bengals 2-6
Browns 2-6
The Steelers would be the only one of these teams making the playoffs if the season ended ahead of Week 10. Their win over the Colts kept them at the No. 4 seed. As it stands, they would host the Bills in an AFC wild-card game.
The Ravens didn't make up any ground on the Steelers, staying two full games back. They did jump the Bengals by a half-game for third place. Now the Bengals are only a half-game and a head-to-head victory ahead of the Browns.
Steelers' schedule, division outlook
The Steelers have four division games left, including two with the Ravens. They have lost to the Bengals once and lost to the Browns once for a 1-1 division record.
Week 10: Nov. 9 at Chargers
Week 11: Nov. 16 vs. Bengals
Week 12: Nov. 23 at Bears
Week 13: Nov. 30 vs. Bills
Week 14: Dec. 7 at Ravens
Week 15: Dec. 15 at Dolphins
Week 16: Dec. 22 at Lions
Week 17: Dec. 29 at Browns
Week 18: TBD vs. Ravens
Between Los Angeles, Chicago, Buffalo and Detroit, those are four challenging games with three on the road. That made beating Indianapolis necessary to maintain a two-game cushion. Pittsburgh is still the favorite as getting to 10-7 can get the job done with the North title.
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Ravens' schedule & division outlook
The Ravens control plenty with five of six division games left. They are 1-0 with one win over Cleveland, with a pair with the Cincinnati and Pittsburgh two-game series ahead.
Week 10: Nov. 9 at Vikings
Week 11: Nov. 16 at Browns
Week 12: Nov. 23 vs. Jets
Week 13: Nov. 27 vs. Bengals
Week 14: Dec. 7 vs. Steelers
Week 15: Dec. 14 at Bengals
Week 16: Dec. 21 vs. Patriots
Week 17: TBD at Packers
Week 18: TBD at Steelers
Baltimore would guarantee only a 8-9 record should it run the table in the division. They have a favorable schedule for the next month and a half, but getting the Patriots and Packers as part of tough final four-week stretch adds extra strain to those sandwiched road games at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Winning seven of nine won't be easy at all.
Bengals' schedule & division outlook
The good news is the Bengals have started 2-0 in the division with four North games left. The bad news is, they haven't had their bye yet (coming this week) and already are at six losses, giving them less margin for error. They might need the division to be won with 9-8 to have a true chance.
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Nov. 16 at Steelers
Week 12: Nov. 23 vs. Patriots
Week 13: Nov. 27 at Ravens
Week 14: Dec. 7 at Bills
Week 15: Dec. 14 vs. Ravens
Week 16: Dec. 21 at Dolphins
Week 17: TBD vs. Cardinals
Week 18: TBD vs. Browns
The Bengals have it rough with the Patriots and Bills, the top two teams in the AFC Early They are not sure when in December Joe Burrow might return, but the final three sare winnable with either Burrow or Joe Flacco. They need to win the rest of their division games (4) and upset either New England at home or Buffalo on the road to win the race.
AFC North prediction
The Steelers still have a substantial two-game lead with nine left to play. They should have a good chance to at least go 3-i in the division to finish 4-2. They have a little more room for error navigating through some tough matchups to win the division by a game should they just split with the Ravens.