Prior to the Kansas City Chiefs claiming their second Super Bowl in a row, the AFC boasted seven teams with double-digit wins in 2023 -- including three from the AFC North.
There were 11 teams in the conference sporting winning records overall with the Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills having emerged as heavyweights.
Among those owning double-digit victories and a playoff berth were Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns. For the Browns to return to the postseason and move upward, Garrett realizes they must run an ominous AFC gauntlet.
“It’s a slaughterhouse over in the AFC,” Garrett told reporters on Friday. “Guys who come out of it are usually the top dog in the NFL, so we look forward to it. Especially in our division.”
The Browns have late-season showdowns against the Chiefs (Week 15) and Miami Dolphins (Week 17) to circle on the calendar, but as noted by Garrett, they need to look no further than their own division for a collection of donnybrooks.
The first-place Ravens (13-4), Browns (11-6), Pittsburgh Steelers (10-7) and Cincinnati Bengals (9-8) each had winning tallies in 2023, marking the first time in NFL history a division has had all its members finish above .500.
“We know that it’s gonna be gritty, grimy, it’s gonna be tough; every AFC North game,” said Garrett, whose Browns went 3-3 in the division last season.
In 2024, the AFC North carnage will be televised, as well, with HBO’s Hard Knocks: In Season devoted to the division as a whole.
Following seven seasons, five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro accolades, Garrett knows well about the battles in the trenches for the slaughterhouse four that is the AFC North and beyond. He was voted The AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the first time last season, lending credence to his astounding efforts despite drawing regular double-teams and game-planning against him.
“There’s always more,” Garrett grinned when asked if there was more offenses could do to try to stop him. “I don’t want to say too much and then get jumped the first game of the year. I look forward to it, look forward to the challenge, whatever they throw at me. It gets me excited; the odds just get stacked against me or against us. How are you gonna find another way to be unstoppable? How are you gonna find another to way to change or disrupt the game? How are you gonna put yourself in position to win and put your teammates in position to win?”
The road to victory will be an arduous one for the Browns and every AFC contender, but Garrett’s happily anticipating the showdowns.
“Those kinds of matchups, they don’t lie in the back of our mind, we look forward to those every single time,” he said. “Whether it’s the Dolphins, it’s the Chiefs, it’s the Bills, Ravens, all them. We look forward to those guys and we look forward to making a statement every time we step on the field with great teams like that.”