As far as the playoffs go, the Bengals’ game against the Browns on Sunday is virtually meaningless for both teams. The Browns had already clinched the fifth seed in the AFC and the Bengals had already been eliminated from the playoffs, meaning there wasn’t much at stake in the game.
Even though there wasn’t much on the line from a playoff standpoint, some history was made in Cincinnati. With their 31-14 win over the Browns, the Bengals will finish the season with a 9-8 record, which is notable because it makes the AFC North the first division since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to have Each team. finish above .500.
Here’s a look at the final AFC North standings for 2023:
1. Crows: 13-4
2. Browns: 11-6
3. Steelers: 10-7
4. Bengals: 9-8
Over the past 53 years, we’ve seen several divisions come close to seeing every team finish above .500, but it’s never happened. Last year, the NFC East was fortunate to put every team above .500, but the Commanders lost three of their last four games to finish 8-8-1.
Although no division has achieved this feat since the merger, it has been done before. With Cincinnati’s win, the AFC North is now the first division in 88 YEARS to place every team above .500. The last time this happened was in 1935, in the highly touted NFL West.
Here’s a look at the end of this division:
1. Lions: 7-3-2
2. Packers: 8-4
3. Bear: 6-4-2
4. Cardinals: 6-4-2
It was so long ago that the Cardinals played in Chicago (they played in the Windy City until 1960 when they moved to St. Louis, then they finally moved to Arizona in 1988).
The NFL West finished the season producing that year’s NFL champion when the Lions defeated the Giants 26-7 in the title game. The last time a division placed all of its teams above .500, the division champion won the NFL title, which could bode well for the Ravens, who will make the playoffs this year as as the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Overall, the AFC North ended up sending three teams to the playoffs (Ravens, Browns, Steelers). This is the third time in the last 10 years that the AFC North has sent three teams to the playoffs, which is extremely impressive considering that ALL other divisions combined have only done so three times in the last 10 years. of the same period.
If the Steelers and Browns manage to win in the wild-card round, then the AFC North will become only the second division since 2000 to send three teams to the divisional round.
