NFL 2015: Who has the toughest division?

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Jan 3, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) runs off the field during the second half against the Baltimore Ravens in the 2014 AFC Wild Card playoff football game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

5. AFC North

This isn’t a bad division, it just lacks any real terrific team. The Baltimore Ravens are probably the cream of the crop in 2015 despite finishing in third place last year. Baltimore has a quality quarterback in Joe Flacco, the game’s most underrated coach in John Harbaugh, and an excellent front seven led by Terrell Suggs, Elvis Dumervil and C.J. Mosley.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals are both talented but flawed. Pittsburgh has a great offense with the triplets of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and LeVeon Bell. Howevr, the defense is brutal. Nobody on that unit is scaring an offensive coordinator. The Bengals are a very well-rounded team, but have the specter of Andy Dalton and Marvis Lewis hanging over their heads. How can you be excited about them?

The Cleveland Browns are a weird case. Head coach Mike Pettine looks like a keeper and the roster is pretty good, but the weak spots are reallllll weak. You can’t win anything of note in the NFL when your quarterbacks are Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel. Meanwhile, the receivers are terrible. That is not a good combination when you want to finally make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

4. NFC North

The Green Bay Packers elevate this group by themselves. Green Bay is a terrific team, probably the best in the game. If not for a late-game collapse last year in the NFC Championship game against the Seahawks, we could be talking about them as the defending Super Bowl champions. Whenever you have Clay Matthews Jr. and Aaron Rodgers in the house, your division has quality.

The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are both interesting teams to watch. Detroit made the playoffs last year but lost a ton of talent along the defensive line in Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. Additionally, the Lions still don’t have much of an offensive line. Minnesota is young but talented. After going 7-9 in Mike Zimmer’s first season as head coach, the group gets Adrian Peterson back. This could be a playoff team if Teddy Bridgewater develops.

However, the Chicago Bears are bringing down this division. Chicago has nice offensive weapons in Martellus Bennett, Matt Forte, Kevin White and Alshon Jeffery, but the defense is a blight on professional football. Head coach John Fox will get this ship righted soon, but it won’t be in 2015.

Next: Brady's Bunch

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