AFC North
The AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC). Alongside the National Football Conference (NFC), the AFC is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL). These two conferences are geographically divided into four divisions according to the four cardinal points. The AFC and NFC are not divided according to geographic location. The New York Giants play in the NFC and the New York Jets , which even use the same home stadium as the Giants, play in the AFC.
The AFC North was founded in 1967 as the NFL Century Division as part of the division of the NFL into four divisions . However, in 1970, when the NFL was split into NFC and AFC, it was renamed AFC Central . When the NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002, there was another team reorganization and the AFC North got its current name. It is the only AFC division that emerged from one of the 1967 NFL divisions.
Members
The following teams are currently represented in the AFC North:
team | City / region | Stadion | Founded | Joining the NFL | Head coach | owner |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baltimore Ravens | Baltimore , MD | M&T Bank Stadium | Feb 9, 1996 | 1996 | John Harbaugh | Steve Bisciotti |
Cincinnati Bengals | Cincinnati , OH | Paul Brown Stadium | May 23, 1967 (AFL) | 1970 | Zac Taylor | Mike Brown |
Cleveland Browns | Cleveland , OH | FirstEnergy Stadium | June 4, 1944 (AAFC) | 1950 | Kevin Stefanski | Jimmy Haslam |
Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh , PA | Heinz Field | July 8, 1933 | 1933 | Mike Tomlin | Dan Rooney |
It was founded with the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans), the Browns, Bengals and Steelers. The Steelers are the only team that has belonged to this division without interruption since 1967, because the other teams either played in other divisions in the meantime, were only founded later or, as in the case of the Browns, temporarily no longer existed.
Teams that were temporarily represented in the AFC North are: Houston Oilers / Tennessee Oilers / Tennessee Titans (1970-2002) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (1995-2002).
Play-off statistics
Statistics up to and including 2019
team | Division championships | Year (s) | Play-off participation | AFC Championships | Super Bowl victories |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pittsburgh Steelers | 23 | 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2017 | 31 | 8th | 6th |
Cincinnati Bengals | 9 | 1970, 1973, 1981, 1988, 1990, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2015 | 14th | 2 | 0 |
Cleveland Browns | 9 | 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1980, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
Baltimore Ravens | 6th | 2003, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019 | 12 | 2 | 2 |
Individual evidence
- ^ History: History of NFL franchises, 1920-present . Profootballhof.com. Retrieved December 20, 2010.
- ↑ a b During the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy in 1996, the NFL stopped the Cleveland Browns' gaming operations. In 1996 the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore. Cleveland and Baltimore have agreed that the Baltimore Ravens joined the NFL as a new team in 1996 and the Cleveland Browns are a franchise founded in 1946, which ceased operations between 1996 and 1998 and was again active in the NFL in 1999.