Over the years, the NFL has changed its format a lot. When the league was founded in Canton, Ohio, in 1920, there were only 10 teams.
Now, there are 32 franchises and 14 of them make the NFL playoffs every year, going through a wild card round, a divisional round and a conference championship round, before playing in the Super Bowl.
Why is it called the divisional round?
The divisional round is named the way it is because this is the stage when all of the division winners are participating, as there are no more teams on a bye.
If all the division winners triumph in the wild card round, which they have a good chance of doing because they all have home field advantage, then it is possible for the eight remaining teams to all be the division winners.
This year, in the 2022/23 season, that is not the case, given that Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants both won on the road against division winners.
What is the oldest division in the NFL?
Given that the divisions have changed so much over the years, it’s hard to say what is the oldest division in the NFL.
Most experts agree that the oldest division is the NFC North, because the Chicago Bearsthe Detroit Lionsthe Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings have all been in the same division or conference since the Vikings joined the league in 1961.
The other three teams have actually been in the same division or conference since the NFL first started its conference format, which was back in 1933.
The NFC North used to be called the NFC Centralbut it is essentially the same as it was under the previous name and contains some of the most storied franchises in the sport’s history.
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