Realignment for 2002
At the NFL Spring Meeting on May 22, 2001, in Rosemont, Ill., NFL owners unanimously approved the following realignment for 2002 when the Houston Texans begin play:
| AFC | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| East | North | South | West |
| Buffalo | Baltimore | Houston | Denver |
| Miami | Cincinnati | Indianapolis | Kansas City |
| New England | Cleveland | Jacksonville | Oakland |
| N.Y. Jets | Pittsburgh | Tennessee | San Diego |
| NFC | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| East | North | South | West |
| Dallas | Chicago | Atlanta | Arizona |
| N.Y. Giants | Detroit | Carolina | St. Louis |
| Philadelphia | Green Bay | New Orleans | San Francisco |
| Washington | Minnesota | Tampa Bay | Seattle |
Scheduling formula
Each team within a division will play 14 common opponents as follows:
- Each team will play home and away against its three division opponents (6 games).
- Each team will play the four teams from another division within its conference on a rotating three-year cycle (4 games).
- Each team will play the four teams from a division in the other conference on a rotating four-year cycle (4 games).
- Each team will play a pair of intraconference games based on the prior year's standings (2 games), i.e. first-place teams in a division will play against the first-place teams from another division within the same conference, etc.
