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Every division in the National Football League has exactly four teams, but the AFC North is extremely unique when it comes to the quality of its quartet of starting quarterbacks. It is the epitome of haves vs. have-nots, all-or-nothing. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ signing of Aaron Rodgers, after a very protracted and tedious process, didn’t change that. They are still down in the dregs when it comes to QB1s, with the Cleveland Browns.
The Baltimore Ravens saw Lamar Jackson have his best statistical season yet in 2024, which is truly impressive considering he entered the last campaign having already won two NFL MVP awards. Jackson actually achieved the fourth-best single-season passer rating (119.6) ever last year.
Arguably the best dual-threat quarterback in league history, Lamar’s impact was summed up perfectly by ESPN Analyst Dan Orlovsky. In assessing the Steelers’ quarterback options before the Rodgers signing, Orlovsky said their goal should be to replicate what the rival Ravens have under center.
“You’re so scarred from having to play Lamar Jackson twice a year, and you’re like, we always got to get ready for that guy,” the 11-year-veteran of five NFL teams said in an exclusive with RG.org. “Can we have somebody that makes everybody else get ready for us?
Maybe someday the Steelers will, but it certainly won’t happen in 2025. Neither the 41-year-old Rodgers nor Mason Rudolph, the guy who was slotted in as Steelers starter before the long-awaited signing, fits that bill. And the Cleveland Browns are in an even worse position. A club that is seemingly drafting a new franchise QB every couple of years or so (as they seem to be stuck in perpetual rebuild), the Browns took two signal callers in the middle rounds of this past draft- Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
Neither rookie is projected to be the starter on opening day. That honor, at least right now, belongs to Ravens legend Joe Flacco, who basically has one foot into retirement already. He’s now aged 40, and nothing remotely close to the player he was when he left the Ravens seven years ago.
Meanwhile, the fourth and final team, the Cincinnati Bengals, has a leading contender to win the NFL MVP award this season in Joe Burrow. The reigning NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Burrow, is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he led the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Various media outlets have published NFL starting quarterback power rankings, and the results convey this polarization. As we covered previously, Pro Football Focus ranked Burrow No. 2, Jackson No. 3, Flacco No. 29, and Rudolph No. 31. Meanwhile, CBS Sports has Flacco and Rudolph in the same slots, but they placed Burrow third and Lamar fourth. Obviously, both were published ahead of the Rodgers signing.
However, it is FOX Sports that truly ups the ante, as they give a scorching hot take on AFC North QB1s being so opposite ends of the spectrum.
The only power ranking that was conducted after Rodgers signed had him just 26th overall and Flacco dead last at No. 32. Meanwhile, Burrow is second and Jackson fourth. The blurb evaluating Rodgers includes the following:
“It seemed that folks in Pittsburgh breathed a sigh of relief when Rodgers signed: Finally, this nightmare is over.
“But that’s not how it works with this version of Rodgers. The nightmare is just beginning.”
FOX also felt the need to include the “The nightmare is just beginning” phrase in their headline. Their QB1 power rankings post is pure schadenfreude to anyone who doesn’t like the Steelers, or Rodgers for that matter.
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