NFC North
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The NFC North refers to the Northern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League that was created prior to the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. It replaced the NFC Central, which was formed in 1970 when the National Football League and American Football League merged. The division is known as the "Black and Blue Division" for the intense rivalries and physical play.
The NFC North currently has four members: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings. Thus the division contains the same alignment as the original NFC Central that was created after the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970, and which originally acquired the "Black and Blue" monicker.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the fifth member of the NFC Central in 1977 after they spent their first year in the league as a member of the AFC West, but they were moved to the NFC South in the 2002 re-alignment. With the departure of Tampa Bay, the division is also sometimes facetiously called the "Frozen North", although two of its four teams, Detroit and Minnesota, have played their home games indoors for at least two decades.
ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman often refers to this division as the "NFC Norris," because of its geographical similarity to the NHL's old Norris Division, now called the Central Division.
[edit] Division champions
- A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored, Green Bay had the best record of the division teams.
- The Chicago Bears clinched the 2006 Division Championship on December 3, 2006. Record on the season is not final.
[edit] Wild Card qualifiers
- A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored, Green Bay had the best record of the division teams.
[edit] Total playoff berths
| Team | Championships | Playoff Berths |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 14 | 22 |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 13 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 11 |
| Detroit Lions | 3 | 9 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers1 | 3 | 7 |
1 Realigned into the NFC South during the 2002 NFL season.
