The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created prior to the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The AFC North replaced the AFC Central, a division which existed from the 1970 season through the 2001 season.
The AFC North currently has four members: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The original four members of the AFC Central were the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans), the Browns, the Bengals and the Steelers. The Jacksonville Jaguars joined the AFC Central in 1995 and the Ravens did so in 1996. The Jaguars and Titans have since been realigned to the AFC South.
ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman has called this division the "AFC Blackjack" division in the past due to the tendency of teams that reach 17 points or more to "hold" and rely on their defenses to win the game blank">ESPN.com page 2
The AFC North is currently a quarterback rich division with Pro Bowl MVP _Carson Palmer in Cincinnati, successful first-year starter Derek Anderson in Cleveland, and Super Bowl XL champion Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh.
