AFC North
Only NFL division where no team has hosted a Super Bowl.
The American Football Conference – Northern Division, commonly referred to as the AFC North, is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created following the NFL's realignment into 32 teams, with the 2002 season being the first under this structure. The division is notable for being the only NFL division where no member team has hosted a Super Bowl in its own stadium, yet it has collectively won eight Super Bowl titles.
Quick Facts
- Sport
- American football
- League
- National Football League
- Conference
- American Football Conference
- Founded
- 1970 (as AFC Central Division)
- Teams
- 4
- Country
- United States
- Champion
- Pittsburgh Steelers (25th title)
- Champ season
- 2025
Facts from the source article.
Formation
The AFC North is made up of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Its forerunner, the AFC Central, had the Browns, Bengals, Steelers, and Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans). This division stands out as the only one in the AFC without a founding team from the original American Football League. The Bengals did join the AFL as an expansion side in 1968, but only on the condition they would move to the NFL after the merger. All three pre-merger NFL cities whose franchises switched to the AFC in 1970—Baltimore, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh—are in this division. Three teams have overlapping histories: Paul Brown started both the Bengals and the Browns, while the Ravens share a distinct connection with Cleveland. The Steelers, the division's oldest franchise, are the only team with no direct ties to Paul Brown.
History
The AFC Central formed in 1970 when the Browns and Steelers brought their rivalry from the NFL Century Division, joining the Houston Oilers (from the AFL East) and Cincinnati Bengals (from the AFL West). The Bengals won the first division championship that year, but the Steelers dominated the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls—their first league titles. The 1980 Browns ended Pittsburgh's six-year run as champions but lost in the divisional playoffs to the Oakland Raiders on Red Right 88. The Bengals represented the division in Super Bowls XVI (1981 season) and XXIII (1988 season), losing both to the San Francisco 49ers. The Steelers regained dominance in 1992, winning five division titles in six years and appearing in Super Bowl XXX, where they lost to the Dallas Cowboys. In 1992, the Oilers participated in The Comeback, surrendering a 32-point lead to the Buffalo Bills and losing 41–38 in overtime—the largest blown lead in NFL history for nearly 30 years. The Jacksonville Jaguars joined as an expansion team in 1995, placed in the AFC Central. In 1996, the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. The Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997 (renamed the Titans in 1999). The Browns were reactivated in 1999, giving the division six teams from 1999 to 2001, the only post-merger division with that many.
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