{"id":262219,"date":"2026-01-09T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T15:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=262219"},"modified":"2026-01-08T19:37:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T00:37:53","slug":"nfl-2025-2026-regular-season-wrap-up-afc-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/01\/09\/nfl-2025-2026-regular-season-wrap-up-afc-north\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL 2025\/2026 Regular Season Wrap-Up: AFC North"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the regular season comes to a close, the AFC North\u2019s picture is finally complete. After months of tight races, statement wins, and division-altering moments, the standings reflect a season defined by consistency at the top and missed opportunities below. The Steelers<\/a> emerged as division champions, holding off a strong push from the Ravens<\/a> in second place, while the Bengals<\/a> and Browns<\/a> round out the final order in third and fourth. Here\u2019s the final wrap-up on how the AFC North ultimately shook out and what it says about each team heading forward.<\/p>\n

AFC North Wrap-Up for the 2025-26 NFL Season<\/h2>\n

4. Cleveland Browns<\/h3>\n

\"Myles<\/p>\n

The Browns came into this season looking like they were going to be the worst team in the division, and they were. It is as simple as that. They ended the season as one of the worst offenses in the NFL, and their lack of weapons and lack of skill on the offensive side of the ball really set them back. Their defense was very exciting, however. Myles Garrett had the highlight of their season when he broke the single-season sack record, taking down Joe Burrow. Overall, it was a very disappointing season in Cleveland, and they have a lot to change before the Start of next season.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

3. Cincinnati Bengals<\/h3>\n
\"Poona
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bengals seemed to start the season strong, but quickly fell off a cliff once Joe Burrow got injured. The Bengals were directionless after his injury. Watching them was a pain because they have so much potential and all the talent in the world, but the theme of the season was inconsistency. The Bengals struggled vitally on the defensive end of the ball from top to bottom without fail. The offense seemed to struggle most when the defense was doing its job. It was an overall dysfunctional season for the Bengals.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. Baltimore Ravens<\/h3>\n
\"john
Main Photo: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ravens had probably the most disappointing season of any team in the entire NFL. They were completely unable to win games on a consistent basis. Their secondary was awful. The Ravens had a stretch in the middle of the season where it looked like they were themselves, but their slow start and finish really held them back and gave them their first losing season in years. John Harbaugh is now fired<\/a>, and the Ravens have a lot to look forward to in 2026. It will be exciting to see what happens.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Pittsburgh Steelers<\/h3>\n
\"Kenneth
Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Steelers had one of the most fun seasons in a very long time, capping it off with one of the best wins of the entire regular season. The Steelers won the division in dramatic fashion. They got a lot of help from their offseason acquisitions, and maybe the biggest pickup for them was Kenneth Gainwell. The Steelers flipped the script and won the division for the first time since 2020 and are hosting a playoff game against the Texans.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

The AFC North wrapped up with plenty of surprises, capped by Pittsburgh\u2019s return to the top of the division. While the Steelers capitalized on consistency and timely additions, the Ravens and Bengals were undone by inconsistency and setbacks, and the Browns once again faced major offensive questions. With changes coming across the division, the gap could close quickly in 2026, but for now, the Steelers set the standard heading into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

For more great football analysis, check out DrRoto.com<\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the regular season comes to a close, the AFC North\u2019s picture is finally complete. After months of tight races, statement wins, and division-altering moments, the standings reflect a season defined by consistency at the top and missed opportunities below. The Steelers emerged as division champions, holding off a strong push from the Ravens in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5637,"featured_media":250129,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[175,174,5683,264,81],"class_list":["post-262219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","tag-afc-north","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-cincinatti-bengals","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-pittsburgh-steelers"],"modified_by":"Doug Henderson","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5637"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262219"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262224,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262219\/revisions\/262224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}