10 winningest quarterbacks in AFC North history

In 2002 when the NFL added their 32nd team of the Houston Texans, the current divisional lineups were set with each conference having four divisions of four teams. For the AFC North, the grouping of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, and Cleveland Browns was born. In the 21 seasons of the AFC North, the Pittsburgh Steelers have won the division nine times with the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals each winning six times.

But since the formation of the AFC North, which quarterback has won the most games?

This was a question I posed on the most recent episode of The Steelers Preview, where I asked during our trivia segment. I asked Jeff Hartman and Bryan Davis if they could name the 10 quarterbacks with the most wins in the AFC North. Here are the 10 players (actually 11 due to a tie for 10th place) in order:

1. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT: 165
2. Joe Flacco, BAL: 96
3. Andy Dalton, CIN: 70
4. Carson Palmer, CIN: 46
5. Lamar Jackson, BAL 45
6. Baker Mayfield, CLE: 29
7. Joe Burrow, CIN: 24
8. Kyler Boller, BAL: 20
9. Derek Anderson, CLE: 16
t-10. Tommy Maddox, PIT: 15
t-10. Steve McNair, BAL: 15

It’s not surprising to see Ben Roethlisberger well in front on this list. In fact, Roethlisberger has so many wins as the quarterback of an AFC North team no other members of the Steelers appeared until 10th place. Interesting enough, Kenny Pickett’s seven wins in his rookie season has him third on the Steelers since they joined the AFC North behind Roethlisberger and Maddox.

Joe Flacco is second on the list but significantly behind Roethlisberger as the first of four Baltimore Ravens. Lamar Jackson is comfortably in the top five and only one win away from moving up into the fourth spot.

The Cincinnati Bengals are well represented on the list between Andy Dalton, Carson Palmer, and Joe Burrow. If all goes as expected, Borrow will move ahead of Baker Mayfield this year and will attempt to continue to close the gap on Lamar Jackson.

When it comes to the Browns, they squeaked two players on the list with none in the top five. With 21 different quarterbacks winning a start for Cleveland since 2002, this does not even count the players who started games and did not get a victory. The constant cycle of starting quarterbacks has been the norm for the Browns, something they hope to shake with a huge contract of Deshaun Watson.

So how many players on this list would you have been able to name? Are there any surprises or someone you possibly would not have remembered? Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

To listen to the entire episode where we discussed quarterbacks the Steelers will face in 2023, check out The Steelers Preview podcast below: