The quarterback position is the glamour position in the game of football and there is no shortage of talent at the position in the AFC North. The four signal-callers in the division all have their own claim to fame in some fashion. But how do the four stack up against each other? Let’s dive into these four players.
1. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Even as the oldest quarterback in the AFC North, Roethlisberger still has plenty of gas left in the tank and is still one of the catalysts of the Steelers’ offense. While a lot of the focus was on Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes (and for good reason), it was actually Roethlisberger who led the NFL in passing yards in 2018 with 5,129. And he was fifth in passing touchdowns, with 34. Sure, he also led the league in interceptions, with 16, but that’s just a minor black mark on what was a stellar season for Roethlisberger, despite the Steelers completely faltering in the second half of the season and ultimately missing the playoffs.
Obviously there is going to be concerns from some as to how he will function without Antonio Brown. But those concerns should be put down rather quickly this season if Juju Smith-Schuster continues his rapid rise, especially now that he will take over as the lead dog in this offense.
Until otherwise noted, Roethlisberger still runs the North, though Drake may have something to say about that.
2. Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns
It was a very tight battle between the two sophomores in the division. But the slight edge here goes to the former No. 1 overall pick. Yes, Cleveland finished with a worse record than Baltimore in 2019 and Lamar Jackson basically carried the Ravens to the AFC North title. But as far as standalone quarterback play right now, Mayfield feels like a more complete quarterback than Jackson.
Both have excellent running ability and can use their legs very well. But Mayfield has the early edge on pushing the ball downfield. And with a full offseason and a host of talent at his disposal, Mayfield is giving the Browns plenty of hope heading into 2019.
3. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
This is by no means saying Jackson is bad. Not in the slightest. The main thing is that Jackson just needs to improve his deep ball accuracy, something that was always an issue coming out of Louisville. And Baltimore ending up so one-dimensional because of Jackson’s early limitations led to the Ravens’ quick exit from the playoffs against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In any event, the reality is that you can probably consider Mayfield and Jackson 2A and 2B. And there’s no question Jackson will have the time and talent to work on his deep ball. That’s precisely why the Ravens went out and drafted Marquise Brown with the 25th overall pick in the draft. As with Mayfield, this second year will be quite important for Jackson to see how he responds to teams now having more time to study his play.
4. Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals
I’d say sorry to Bengals fans, but even they can’t deny this. Dalton has been passed over by the two young guns in the division and his days in Cincinnati may be numbered.
Dalton looks to be recovered from the thumb injury that cost him the final five games of 2018 and now has an exciting young, offensive-minded coach in Zac Taylor to work with. If Dalton can’t get the job done this year, he’ll never get it done.
Dalton was the worst qualified AFC North quarterback in terms of passing yards per game in 2018 with just 233 (this does not count Lamar Jackson, as he did not qualify for this stat, however Joe Flacco did and was tenth with 274. Baker Mayfield was 17th with 266). Even if you extrapolate Dalton’s yards per game to a full season, that would give him 3,728 yards, which would have only been good for 17th in the league, just above Mayfield. Of course, that would have also been higher than Russell Wilson (3,448), among others.
All that being said, the Bengals offense has gone as far as Dalton takes them, which hasn’t been as far as Bengals fans had hoped for since he came into the league in 2011. Yes, we can also lay blame on Marvin Lewis for that. But Lewis is gone and Taylor is in. It’s now or never for the Red Rifle.
