That was quite a year the AFC North put together. All four teams finished with winning records, and they did so despite having to play over a third of their games against each other.
With injury issues, Cincinnati (which had been to the AFC Championship game in back-to-back seasons) went 9-8, with Jake Browning handling the offense late in the year. Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, meanwhile, all made the playoffs. Combined, they finished with a win-loss record of 43-25.
We may never see such a division again.
By wins and losses, those four teams also played the league’s hardest schedules. Well, almost (Arizona tied with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, with three of those teams facing opponents who went a combined 149-123 in their other games).
The Bengals played the league’s hardest schedule, with opponents going a combined 158-114, while the Ravens ranked next-to-last in schedule difficulty.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE, 2023 (final) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | Pct. |
Atlanta | 114 | 158 | .419 |
New Orleans | 117 | 155 | .430 |
Chicago | 124 | 148 | .456 |
Dallas | 124 | 148 | .456 |
Miami | 124 | 148 | .456 |
Green Bay | 129 | 143 | .474 |
Buffalo | 130 | 142 | .478 |
Houston | 130 | 142 | .478 |
Tampa Bay | 131 | 141 | .482 |
Denver | 132 | 140 | .485 |
Las Vegas | 132 | 140 | .485 |
Kansas City | 133 | 139 | .489 |
Philadelphia | 133 | 139 | .489 |
Detroit | 134 | 138 | .493 |
Indianapolis | 134 | 138 | .493 |
NY Jets | 135 | 137 | .496 |
Washington | 135 | 137 | .496 |
Carolina | 136 | 136 | .500 |
Minnesota | 137 | 135 | .504 |
NY Giants | 137 | 135 | .504 |
New England | 138 | 134 | .507 |
Seattle | 140 | 132 | .515 |
Tennessee | 140 | 132 | .515 |
LA Chargers | 141 | 131 | .518 |
San Francisco | 142 | 130 | .522 |
Jacksonville | 146 | 126 | .537 |
LA Rams | 146 | 126 | .537 |
Arizona | 149 | 123 | .548 |
• Cleveland | 149 | 123 | .548 |
• Pittsburgh | 149 | 123 | .548 |
• Baltimore | 153 | 119 | .563 |
• Cincinnati | 158 | 114 | .581 |
—Ian Allan