After failing to win the NFL betting lines Super Bowl 45 game back in January, the Pittsburgh Steelers head into the 2011 – 12 seasons as the odds on favorite to win the AFC North division. Also made up of Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, the AFC North is by far the top of the class in the AFC Conference. Here is a sports betting preview of the toughest division in football.

Will the AFC North spit out another Super Bowl Champion? Perhaps. Over the last five years, the AFC North has always sent a minimum of two teams to the playoffs, with at least one of the two teams reaching the AFC Championship game. In the last four years, the Steelers have been to the Super Bowl three times. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens, and to a lesser extent the Cincinnati Bengals, have received the label of choke artists in the playoffs.

After over a decade of being the doormat of the division, the Cleveland Brown seem to have turned a corner in the AFC North, as they had an outstanding draft, thanks to the Atlanta Falcons of the NFC South. For those unfamiliar, the Falcons traded an incredible eight draft choices, in order to receive the fifth overall selection in the 2011 entry draft. As a result of that trade, Cleveland was basically allowed to draft two of every need spread out over eight rounds. Meaning to say, in maybe a year or two, the Browns will be tormenting teams, as often as Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

The winner of the AFC North, and possibly the Super Bowl this year, will be the Baltimore Ravens. This offseason, Baltimore addressed all of their needs, from receiving depth, to defensive help. Baltimore will also have a brand new defensive coordinator, which should help them take their game to the next level.