When the Pittsburgh Steelers began Week 9 by beating the Tennessee Titans, they were setting the tone for what was to come in the AFC North over the weekend.

The way the division’s teams have played this season, it should have come as no surprise that the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals also took care of business Sunday.

Still, what those three teams did inside their home stadiums was impressive. The Ravens routed the previously NFC West-leading Seattle Seahawks, 37-3. The Browns not only avoided a letdown against the one-win Arizona Cardinals, they had control of the game from the outset and posted a 27-0 victory. And, in the nightcap, the Bengals took the lead for good late in the first quarter and beat the Buffalo Bills, 24-18.

When that game ended, all four AFC North teams occupied playoff spots if the NFL season ended at that juncture. That still would be the case if the New York Jets lost Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“Looking at it on paper, we’re the best division in football right now,” left tackle Dan Moore Jr. said as the Steelers returned from a three-day break to begin preparations to play the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

It remains the only one of the NFL’s eight that features four teams with winning records.

At 7-2, the Ravens are tied for the most wins in the conference. They have won four in a row since their 17-10 loss to the Steelers on Oct. 8. Among the trio of 5-3 teams, the Browns and Steelers have won three of their past four. The Bengals have won four in a row and are 5-1 since opening the season with back-to-back losses.

“That’s AFC North ball,” Moore said. “We know what type of battles we’re going to be in. We just have to lean in and know the back of this season is going to be extremely important.”

For the Steelers, the second half begins Sunday with the Packers arriving at Acrisure Stadium to close out a three-game homestand. Green Bay (3-5) is one of three NFC opponents remaining on the schedule and one of four teams that currently has a losing record. Arizona, New England and Indianapolis are the others.

The Ravens have just two games against teams with losing records left on their schedule: the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, who could move to .500 with a win Monday night. The Browns still have games against the Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears and Rams. The Colts (4-5) are the only team with a losing record left on Cincinnati’s schedule.

“As a competitor, you don’t want it any other way,” wide receiver Allen Robinson said. “I think that’s what brings out the best in everybody. When you have a close race like this, every single game counts. You have to be locked in each and every week. You can’t come in and pick and choose when you want to play or when you don’t. You have to line up each and every week and execute.”

The AFC North race could begin to widen — or even bunch tighter — when divisional play resumes. Baltimore, which has a 2-1 division record, plays Cleveland and Cincinnati at home in a five-day stretch beginning Sunday. After the Steelers play Green Bay, they travel to Cleveland and Cincinnati.

The Ravens get the benefit of playing each of their remaining three AFC North games at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Steelers have a 2-0 record within the division yet have all three North road games remaining and two left with the Bengals. The Browns are 1-2 in the division and the Bengals 0-2.

“It definitely helps,” Moore said about the unblemished division record, “especially with the fact we have to go on the road and play everybody. We have a tough task ahead of us.”

The same could be said for others in the AFC North.

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