The road to the AFC North championship still runs through Pittsburgh until the Cleveland Browns can take the title away from the champs. The downtrodden Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals once used the Browns as their punching bags, but now the Browns have the punching power to squash those teams. The Browns have some holes in their D but head coach Romeo Crennell has put together a four year body of work that has made the Cleveland Browns the team to beat in the AFC North. The NFL betting odds to win the AFC North has the Cleveland Browns at ripe 9-4 odds at SBGglobal.com.

1. Cleveland Browns - The Cleveland Browns high-octane offensive machine led by QB Derek Anderson scored 402 points last season and they could be even better this year. With a downhill runner in RB Jamal Lewis and a new big play wideout in WR Donte Stallworth, the Browns offense can outscore almost anyone in the NFL. The Browns made the playoffs last season despite being 30th in yards allowed on defense. The addition of All-Pro 360 LB. DT Shaun Rodgers and DE Corey Williams (7.0 Sacks 07") should make Cleveland’s defense even stronger.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers - Mike Tomlin proved to be a capable replacement last year for legendary coach Bill Cowher after winning the AFC North division in his rookie season. Ben Rothlisberger is still the best QB in the division and he will be throwing to a loaded receiving core this season. RB’s Willie Parker and #1 draft pick Rashard Mendenhall should be the most potent running back duo in the AFC North division. The Pittsburgh offensive line might suffer a drop off in production though, with the loss of All-Pro offensive guard Alan Faneca.  Pittsburgh’s blue-chip defense (1st in Total Yards 2nd Scoring) has no glaring weakness and returns every starter besides LB Clark Haggans. The NFL betting odds to win the AFC North has the Pittsburgh Steelers at almost a coin flip at 4-5 odds.


3. Baltimore Ravens - Former Ravens head coach Brian Billick lost his Superbowl touch last season and the players turned sour on him. Brian Billick is out, and 9-year NFL veteran assistant coach John Harbaugh is in. Harbaugh  has a great core of players on defense (6th Yards Allowed 22nd in Points) to build around and should be a coaching upgrade over Billick. RB Willis McGahee is an impact player and the O-Line this year looks better. Talented #1 draft pick QB Joe Flacco was brought in to challenge Kyle Boller and Troy Smith, but Flacco will be too green to start this season. The most likely starter  will be the athletic but underachieving 5th year veteran QB Kyle Boller.  From a talent standpoint, the Baltimore defense is a top-5 group with the playmakers in Ray Lewis , Ed Reed, Terell Suggs, Haloti Ngata and Kelly Gregg. The Ravens will be just a tad better than the Cincinnati Bengals by one or two wins. The NFL betting odds to win the AFC North has the Baltimore Ravens at long 7-1 odds.

4. Cincinnati Bengals - Long on talent but short on delivery the Cincinnati Bengals dropped again to a disappointing 7-9 record. Carson Palmer is still the 3rd best QB in the NFL but RB Rudi Johnson has lost a step. Add into the mix of downgrades Chad Johnson’s disruptive lockeroom presence that could be a distraction all season. T.J Houshmandzadeh though, is on par with Chad Johnson now as a top-10 NFL wideout and the Bengals used 3 draft picks on WR’s in case they decide to trade Johnson. The defense (27th Yards Allowed 24th Points) made a solid #1 draft pick in LB Keith Rivers but they still will not be able to stop the run. The defense shouldn’t get all the blame for the Bengals woes however, as last year’s offense (10th Total Yards 11th Points) relied almost exclusively on the pass. The big key to Cincinnati’s season will be to get more production out of their running game from either 30-year old Rudi Johnson or Kenny Watson (763 Yards). The NFL betting odds to win the AFC North has the Cincinnati Bengals at an overlay at 9-2 odds.

View all the early NFL Betting Odds to win the AFC North at Sports-Odds.com before you make any bets on any NFL team at SBGglobal.com.

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