The NFC North is a four-team division in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). It is the home division of the Green Bay Packers. In addition to the Packers, the division also consists of the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Minnesota Vikings.
The division was created in 1967 as the Central Division of the NFL's Western Conference and existed for three seasons before the AFL–NFL merger. After the merger, it was renamed the NFC Central and retained that name until the NFL split into eight divisions in 2002. The four teams have been together in the same division or conference since the Vikings joined the league in 1961. The Bears, Lions and Packers have been in the same division or conference since the NFL began a conference format in 1933.
Based on the ages of its teams, the NFC North is the oldest division in the NFL, at a combined 312 years old as of the 2010 season. The Bears are 101 years old (founded in 1919 in Decatur, Illinois; moved to Chicago in 1921), the Packers are also 101 years old (founded in 1919, but turned professional in 1921), the Lions are 93 years old (founded 1929 in Portsmouth, Ohio; moved to Detroit in 1934), and the Vikings are 61 years old (founded 1961). The division has a total of 11 Super Bowl appearances. The Packers have the most appearances in the Super Bowl with 5, winning their most recent Super Bowl XLV. The Bears and Packers have the only Super Bowl wins of the division, a total of five (four for the Packers and one for the Bears). Of the top five NFL teams with the highest winning percentage throughout its franchise history, three of them are in the NFC North (the Bears, the Packers and the Vikings). The Lions however, have one of the lowest winning percentages in the NFL, including the first winless 16-game season in NFL history.
The division earned the moniker "Black and Blue Division" due to its intense rivalries and physical style of play, and this nickname is still used regularly today.
Teams[]
