Afc North

Fifth in an eight-part series as Times NFL writer Sam Farmer analyzes the league by division. Today, the AFC North: Story lines 1 Will this be a breakthrough season for the Browns? A prominent billboard in Cleveland reads, "There's Always This Year," and that's the mood surrounding a franchise coming off a 10-6 season, with a strong-armed young quarterback and five prime-time games. Never mind that Cleveland beat only one team last season that finished with a winning record.

No. 3 Cleveland Browns: RB Trent Richardson, Alabama - - Richardson helped lead Alabama to two BCS championships and last year won the Doak Walker Award and was a Heisman finalist. Some evaluators think he's the most promising college back since Adrian Peterson. Richardson didn't participate in the scouting combine after undergoing minor knee surgery, but he recently escorted a cancer patient to her high school prom. Comment: The Browns need to be able to pound the ball in the AFC North, especially when the weather turns cold, and Richardson gives them that ability.

Times NFL writer Sam Farmer poses the big questions as each team readies for training camp: The Pittsburgh Steelers learned when Troy Polamalu went down with a knee injury last season what one player can mean to a team. Now, the Steelers will start this season with an absence that's even more conspicuous. In April, the NFL suspended quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the first six games of the season for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Although he is allowed to participate in training camp, Roethlisberger will have to step aside and hand over the offense — probably to Byron Leftwich — when the season starts.

The beeping you hear is coming from the AFC West champion Denver Broncos, who are moving in reverse, having lost three games in a row. The bleeping you hear is coming from the Black Hole, which watched the Oakland Raiders blow a chance Sunday to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. How the West was won? It was more like, does anybody want the West? The Broncos, who will play host to Pittsburgh in a first-round playoff game Sunday, came into their regular-season finale against Kansas City in control of their destiny.

After a 3-0 start, Baltimore has lost four of five, and has seen its once-airtight run defense spring all sorts of leaks. So what better way for the Ravens to get back on track than returning to basics -- and, better, to their ancestral roots? The Ravens (4-4) play at Cleveland tonight, and no one cures an opponent's ills quite like the Browns. Cleveland (1-7) went into its bye last weekend with an offense ranked 31st and a defense ranked dead last. That makes this something less than a dream prime-time matchup for ESPN, which has hit on its share of Monday night winners this season.

The feel-good resurrection of the Cincinnati Bengals has shifted into the teeth of NFL late-November reality. The Bengals were leading the AFC North last week when they played host to the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Cincinnati rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, whose ability to avoid pressure and mistakes was the top reason for the Bengals' rise, had two fourth-quarter passes intercepted in a 24-17 loss that dropped his team to second place. Now, a trip to Baltimore, another 6-3 divisional rival, awaits.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Mistakes made the difference in Arizona, and the Cardinals beat another AFC North team. Arizona turned three of Cleveland's four turnovers into touchdowns, Edgerrin James topped 100 yards rushing for only the second time this season and the Cardinals held on to beat the Browns, 27-21. Kurt Warner threw two touchdown passes and Neil Rackers kicked a pair of late field goals as Arizona (6-6) improved to 3-1 against the AFC North.

No. 3 Cleveland Browns: RB Trent Richardson, Alabama - - Richardson helped lead Alabama to two BCS championships and last year won the Doak Walker Award and was a Heisman finalist. Some evaluators think he's the most promising college back since Adrian Peterson. Richardson didn't participate in the scouting combine after undergoing minor knee surgery, but he recently escorted a cancer patient to her high school prom. Comment: The Browns need to be able to pound the ball in the AFC North, especially when the weather turns cold, and Richardson gives them that ability.

A group of NFL realignment models discussed Tuesday at the league meetings included a few likely to stir fans' emotions, but a consensus is building behind a plan that preserves the league's most traditional rivalries. Most proposals call for the Seattle Seahawks to move from the AFC to the NFC West, and for such rivals as the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins to remain in the same division when the NFL realigns into eight four-team divisions in 2002.

* MINNESOTA: If the Vikings can pull off a trade with Kansas City for defensive end Jared Allen, they likely would have to give up at least their first-round pick. The rationale: Allen is better than any player they could get at that position, anyway. Pass rusher is a glaring area of need for Minnesota, although the Vikings need help at safety and cornerback, and more depth on the offensive line.

What began with a lockout ends Sunday with a luck-out. Thirteen of the NFL's 16 games in Week 17 are truly meaningful , either to the playoffs or the 2012 draft, and the schedule culminates with a high-profile finale for all the marbles — Dallas at the New York Giants — the winner claiming the NFC East and the loser eliminated. "What we hope each year is that our 256th and final regular-season game will be incredibly relevant," said Howard Katz, the NFL's senior vice president of media and operations.

Revenge is an overrated emotion in the NFL. Fans think about it, the media speculates about it, but for players — many of whom spend time with multiple franchises over the course of their career — the game is more about paychecks than payback. The upcoming game in Denver could be an exception. The Broncos will play host Sunday to Kansas City, a week after the Chiefs were eliminated from the playoff picture. This game is anything but meaningless to Chiefs quarterback Kyle Orton, though; he has an opportunity to spoil the party for a team that cut him five weeks ago. "We knew it was a possibility," Broncos executive John Elway told the Denver Post of running into Orton again.

Curtains for the Chargers. Curtains for the Chiefs. Curtains for the Cardinals. And drapes for the Jets. That's right, the New York Jets were looking for any kind of psychological edge Saturday against the Giants, so they used black drapes to obscure the Super Bowl logos outside the Giants' locker room. Seeing as the Jets were the home team at the stadium the New York teams share, they had the prerogative. Tweeted Jets great Joe Namath: "Anything to get under the opponent's skin … all's fair on gameday.

The feel-good resurrection of the Cincinnati Bengals has shifted into the teeth of NFL late-November reality. The Bengals were leading the AFC North last week when they played host to the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Cincinnati rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, whose ability to avoid pressure and mistakes was the top reason for the Bengals' rise, had two fourth-quarter passes intercepted in a 24-17 loss that dropped his team to second place. Now, a trip to Baltimore, another 6-3 divisional rival, awaits.

Justin's time came just in time. With the New York Giants 10 yards away from scoring the tying touchdown, and 35 seconds remaining, San Francisco's Justin Smith made a game-saving play. On fourth and two, he batted down Eli Manning's pass at the line of scrimmage to preserve a 27-20 victory at home and keep alive the remarkable resurgence of the 49ers. "I guess you've got to get lucky sometimes," Smith told reporters. Luck, skill, fate, whatever, this much is clear: San Francisco is 8-1 and in prime position for its first trip to the playoffs since 2002.

The New York Giants still have 14 players left from their Super Bowl title season of 2007, and their powerful home crowd makes for a mighty home-field advantage in the biting cold of January playoffs. On the heels of Sunday's impressive victory in New England that marked the first loss by the Patriots with Tom Brady at quarterback in 31 regular-season home games, the NFC East-leading Giants (6-2) look to entrench their playoff position when they travel to NFC West-leading San Francisco (7-1)

Justin's time came just in time. With the New York Giants 10 yards away from scoring the tying touchdown, and 35 seconds remaining, San Francisco's Justin Smith made a game-saving play. On fourth and two, he batted down Eli Manning's pass at the line of scrimmage to preserve a 27-20 victory at home and keep alive the remarkable resurgence of the 49ers. "I guess you've got to get lucky sometimes," Smith told reporters. Luck, skill, fate, whatever, this much is clear: San Francisco is 8-1 and in prime position for its first trip to the playoffs since 2002.

Even during the darkest moments this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers never considered throwing in the Terrible Towel. "There are 52 guys in there that saved the season," said quarterback Tommy Maddox, who has led Pittsburgh's turnaround from an 0-2 start. "We have a lot of season left, but I can't say enough about the guys in this locker room."

The last two Super Bowl champions will open the season Thursday in a national-television showcase — a pregame party, fireworks and celebration for everyone spared from a locked-out season when the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints take the field. Good times don't fuel football players, coaches and fans, however. Heartache and defeat do. The Pittsburgh Steelers feel the burn, after losing to the Packers in last season's Super Bowl. And the Baltimore Ravens have been stewing even longer, since squandering a lead in an AFC divisional-round playoff game against the Steelers.

The draft will be held Thursday to Saturday in New York. Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the needs for each team by division. Today, the North divisions: NFC North The Green Bay Packers have the ultimate prize, the Lombardi Trophy, but that doesn't mean they've fulfilled their wish list. They would love to have a pass-rushing bookend to Clay Matthews, and a defensive end capable of replacing Cullen Jenkins. The team has some graying standouts too, and it's time to start grooming a left tackle who can eventually step in for Chad Clifton, and a corner who can learn behind Charles Woodson.