Harbaugh: ‘No doubt’ AFC North is best division

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh found some levity about playing in the AFC North, the only division in the NFL where every team has a winning record.

“It would be just terrible if everybody was not a good team in our division,” Harbaugh said Monday, drawing laughter from reporters.

Through Week 9, every team in the AFC North holds a playoff spot. The Ravens (7-2) lead the division by 1½ games, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals — all of whom are 5-3 — are currently in line for all three wild-card spots.

No division in NFL history has sent all of its teams to the postseason. The last division that had four teams reach the playoffs was the 1998 AFC East, when every division had five teams.

“This is a great division,” Harbaugh said. “There’s no doubt it’s the best division, it’s proven.”

According to ESPN Analytics, Baltimore has a 96.1% chance of making the playoffs while Cleveland (54.6%), Cincinnati (53.9%) and Pittsburgh (47.6%) have a strong shot of earning a postseason berth, too.

The Ravens now face a stretch in which they play two division teams in a span of five days. Baltimore plays host to Cleveland on Sunday and then faces Cincinnati at home Nov. 16.

“We know the teams, these teams are real,” Harbaugh said. “Everybody knows what’s going to happen when we all play each other.”

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