Here are the quarterback situations for the four AFC North teams with five weeks left in the 2024 regular season:

*Cincinnati Bengals — Joe Burrow is the second-best quarterback in the NFL behind Patrick Mahomes, but it is evident by looking at his expressions and other body language during a game that he is getting increasingly frustrated, disappointed, disconsolate and beaten down when he throws for 350 yards and five touchdowns, only for the Bengals defense to give up 400 yards and six scores in yet another losing effort.

*Baltimore Ravens — Lamar Jackson looks like Superman, but not against top teams in the regular season and not against anyone in the playoffs, leaving decision-makers on the club to wonder if they’ll ever get out of this situation in which the team is running in place, just short of the big prize.

*Pittsburgh Steelers — Russell Wilson has been revitalized and has become highly effective, leading the team’s surge to one of the top spots in the AFC, but because of his age, the Steelers know their window of opportunity with him is short. They don’t seem to have even close to full trust with Justin Fields, and there is no other young quarterback on the horizon. Remember, the Steelers looked for 40 years for Terry Branshaw, and then they looked for 20 years for his successor, Ben Roethlisberger. So this may take a while for them to find the next young guy to bring along.

*Browns — The Browns are trying to intercept Jameis Winston’s penchant for throwing the ball to the other team a little too much. But when he doesn’t do that, he’s pretty darn good, and light years better than anyone else on roster. The Browns will likely use their high pick in the first round of the NFL Draft to try to find their guy, but if there’s a keeper in the college ranks, he hasn’t surfaced yet.

Steve King