AFC North earns title of NFL's toughest division

Baltimore Ravens defenders pose for the camera Bob Self/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Historic finish earns AFC North title of NFL's toughest division

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 1/7/24

With the 2023 regular season in its final week, the AFC North, arguably the toughest division in the NFL, made impressive history.

All four teams in the North finished above .500, marking only the second time since the NFL began using divisions in 1933 that every team finished the season with a winning record.

The AFC North was historically tough this year. All 4 teams finished over .500.

From @EliasSports: It's just the 2nd time since the NFL began using divisions in 1933 that every team in a division finished over .500, joining the 1935 NFL West.
— Jamison Hensley (@jamisonhensley) January 7, 2024

The West division accomplished the feat 88 years ago (1935), including the Detroit Lions (7-3-2), Green Bay Packers (8-4), Chicago Bears (6-4-2) and Chicago Cardinals (6-4-2).

It's also one heck of a good omen for the Super Bowl aspirations of the division-champion Baltimore Ravens. In 1935, the Lions took the West title and won the league championship, knocking off the New York Giants, 26-7.

The Ravens (8th), Cleveland Browns (10th), Pittsburgh Steelers (12th) and Cincinnati Bengals (15th) began the year with strength of schedules among the 15th easiest in the NFL and they all took care of business, for the most part.

The 9-8 Bengals are the only team going home for the postseason, with the Steelers (10-7), Browns (11-6) and Ravens (13-4) headed to the playoffs. The quartet combined to tie the record for most wins by division in NFL history (43, 2022 NFC East).

The Browns navigated a season-ending injury to quarterback Deshaun Watson to post only the franchise's third 11-win season since 1994. Likewise, the Steelers fought through QB troubles to return to the postseason after a two-year drought.

Finally, the Ravens own a first-round bye as the AFC's No. 1 seed and will embark on their hoped-for playoff run as the favorite to come out of the conference. According to BetMGM, Baltimore also has the second-best odds to win Super Bowl LVIII (+350), trailing only the NFC's San Francisco 49ers (+210).

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