PITTSBURGH, CLEVELAND AND BALTIMORE, IN THAT ORDER

By STEVE KING

I said it going into the season and I’m going to say it now: The road to the AFC North title goes through Pittsburgh, especially for the Browns.

Yes, the Baltimore Ravens are the defending division champions – only barely so, but still the champs nonetheless – and they are currently tied with the Browns for first place this season with a 2-2 record.

But given that their two wins were over the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, who would be in the NFL’s version of the D League if there was one, I expected to be underwhelmed by the Ravens against the Browns last Sunday, and I was. They gave up 30 points in the second half en route to a 40-25 pounding. They scored in the final minute when Cleveland had all of its subs in, so it was really a 40-18 final, for all intents and purposes.

The Ravens on Sunday visit the 1-3 Steelers, whose lone win came last Monday night, 27-3, over the Cincinnati Bengals (0-4).

Even though the Steelers are not a great team, one with plenty of shortcomings, and they have young Mason Rudolph at quarterback in place of the injured future Pro Football Hall of Famer, Ben Roethlisberger, they are still formidable.

The Steelers have a strong organizational structure, and they are really relying on that in this difficult season. That is good enough to carry them forward, something that was evident against the Bengals when, in no uncertain terms, they got their mojo back.

I fully expect the Steelers to hand the Ravens a defeat on Sunday, and if that happens and the Browns lose to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, then the three teams will be tied for the lead at 2-3.

The Browns play the Steelers twice in three games in November and December. By then, this race should be really interesting.

But make no mistake about it, the road to the finish – to the title – runs through Pittsburgh. And if it’s not Pittsburgh, then it’s Cleveland.

Baltimore? It’s a distant third, the road less traveled.

As for now:

Yes, of course, the Browns and Baltimore Ravens, both at 2-2, are seemingly tied for first place in the AFC Central after Cleveland pounded them 40-25 last Sunday.

But that’s not really true. Officially, the Browns are in first place all by themselves because of that victory. They own the first tie-breaker – heads-to-head meetings.

All that will balance out in the end. The Ravens will have the chance to get some revenge when the teams meet back in Cleveland on Dec. 29 in the next-to-last game of the regular season. Plus the teams must also play two games against both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Ravens.

The teams all have 12 games left overall, so, then, a lot can – and certainly will – happen. This fun – this competition, this battle – is really just getting started.

But right now – that is, if, for whatever reason the season ended today and the playoffs were beginning — the Browns would be crowned the division champion. It would mark the first time in exactly 30 years that they had captured the division title, the last occasion coming way back in 1989 when they ruled the AFC Central.

Is that a big deal? Well, yes and no.

Yes in that it’s been such a dry stretch, and yes, too, because one-fourth of the season has been played. So teams have had a little chance to begin proving who – and what – they are.

But no in that we’re only barely into October and the season lasts until the end of December.

I get all that, but first place all by yourselves is first place all by yourselves. It’s nice to see when you study the standings, with teams now looking up at Cleveland instead of Cleveland looking up at them.

I want to picture this in my mind, just like when current ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso, during the time that he was the head coach at Indiana in the 1970s, had the team photographer take a photo of the scoreboard at Ohio Stadium showing the Hoosiers ahead of Ohio State 7-0. He wanted to remember that unique moment.

The Hoosiers got obliterated from there by the Buckeyes. I just hope the same thing doesn’t happen to the Browns.