Pittsburgh Steelers Are AFC North Favorites After Week 1, Baltimore Ravens Ahead Of Cleveland Browns

Only the tanking Miami Dolphins looked worse in Week 1 than the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were blown out by the New England Patriots 33-3 on “Sunday Night Football.” Despite the loss, Ben Roethlisberger and Co. are actually the betting favorites to win the AFC North in the 2019 NFL season.

New Jersey’s FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Steelers +160 odds to finish the year in first place. That puts them ahead of the Baltimore Ravens (+180) and Cleveland Browns (+200). The Cincinnati Bengals (+2500) are a distant fourth.

Cleveland was the AFC North favorite in the preseason. The offseason additions of Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon didn’t prevent the Browns from suffering a 30-point loss of their own in the season opener. Cleveland was defeated 43-13 at home by the Tennessee Titans as Baker Mayfield threw three interceptions.

Baltimore looked better than any NFL team in Week 1. The Ravens beat the Dolphins 59-10 on the road in a game that was over by halftime. Lamar Jackson had a perfect passer rating, completing 17 of 20 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns.

The Bengals nearly pulled off an upset Sunday afternoon. Little is expected of them after suffering a 21-20 loss on the road against the Seattle Seahawks.

The odds indicate that Pittsburgh’s season opener was an aberration. The Steelers won’t have to visit the defending Super Bowl champions for the rest of the regular season. New England hasn’t been beaten at home since Oct. 1, 2017.

Pittsburgh has to hope their offense bounces back in a big way. The unit looked pedestrian in the aftermath of the departures of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. Roethlisberger was held to a 65.6 passer rating. James Connor had 10 rushes for 21 yards.

The Steelers are 4.5-point favorites over the visiting Seahawks at home in Week 2, according to OddsShark.

If Jackson’s performance is a sign of things to come, the Steelers’ secondary will have a hard time slowing down the Ravens’ offense. Pittsburgh will host Baltimore in Week 5 for their first meeting of the season.

The Ravens are the defending AFC North champions, winning the division last year with the NFL’s No.1 ranked defense. Baltimore is 7-1 in regular-season games started by Jackson.

Baltimore is a slight favorite to win the division at other sportsbooks.

The Browns received more hype than almost any team this offseason. Cleveland finished the 2018 season with a 7-8-1 record, posting their best record in 11 years.