Baltimore enters 2025 as the favorite to win a third straight AFC North with -500 odds. Cincinnati has the second-best odds after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. Pittsburgh is +140 to reach the playoffs again despite adding Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. Cleveland is +3000 to win the division and tied for the lowest projected win total (4.5) at ESPN BET. Betting positions split on Cincinnati: a bet on OVER 9.5 wins cites Joe Burrow and a top-10 scoring pass offense, while the UNDER view points to a weak offensive line, tougher schedule, and defensive uncertainty.
My hope is the Bengals find a way to keep Trey Hendrickson on this roster. He's a game changer. Coordinator Al Golden must create a new identity on the defensive side of the ball, too. Limit the explosive plays and win in the red zone. But I'm still making this bet because of Joe Burrow and a pass-heavy Bengals offense that ranked top 10 in scoring last season.
Burrow might (still) be the duct tape holding this whole thing together. The offensive line has been bottom five for four straight years, the run game's stuck in neutral and an already shaky defense now faces the biggest jump in schedule difficulty in the league. Last year's nine wins came with freebies against backup QBs Cooper Rush, Mason Rudolph, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. That's not on the menu again.
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