The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two
conferences
A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic.
Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the
National Football Conference (NFC), each contain 16 teams with 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the
1970 merger between the National Football League, and the
American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the
Cincinnati Bengals, who defeated the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
in the 2022
AFC Championship Game for their third conference championship, and their first since
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
.
Teams
Like the NFC, the conference has 16 teams organized into four
divisions each with four teams:
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
,
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
,
South and
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
.
Season structure
This chart of the
2021 season standings displays an application of the NFL scheduling formula. The
Bengals in 2021 (highlighted in green) finished in first place in the
AFC North. Thus,
in 2021, the Bengals are scheduled to play two games against each of its division rivals (highlighted in light blue), one game against each team in the
AFC East and
NFC South (highlighted in yellow), and one game each against the first-place finishers in the
AFC South
The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned d ...
,
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...
(highlighted in orange), and
NFC East (highlighted in pink).
Currently, the fourteen opponents each team faces over the 17-game regular season schedule are set using a pre-determined formula:
Each AFC team plays the other teams in their respective division twice (home and away) during the regular season, in addition to eleven other games assigned to their schedule by the NFL: three games are assigned on the basis of a particular team's final divisional standing from the previous season, and the remaining eight games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions. This assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle. Using the 2021 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the AFC West plays against every team in the AFC North and NFC East. In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being the three games assigned based on the team's prior-season divisional standing.
At the end of each season, the four division winners and three
wild cards
''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George ...
(non-division winners with best regular season record) in the AFC qualify for the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
. The AFC playoffs culminate in the
AFC Championship Game, with the winner receiving the
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States.
He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...
Trophy. The AFC champion then plays the
NFC
NFC may refer to:
Psychology
* Need for cognition, in psychology
* Need for closure, social psychological term
Sports
* NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game
* NCAA Football Championship (Philippines)
* Nati ...
champion in the
Super Bowl.
History
Both the AFC and the NFC were created after the NFL
merged
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
with the
American Football League (AFL) in 1970. The AFL began play in 1960 with eight teams, and added two more expansion clubs (the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
in 1966 and the
Cincinnati Bengals in 1968) before the merger. In order to equalize the number of teams in each conference, three NFL teams that predated the AFL's launch (the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
,
Pittsburgh Steelers, and the then-
Baltimore Colts) joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC. The two AFL divisions
AFL East and
AFL West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...
were more or less intact, while the NFL's
Century Division, in which the Browns and the Steelers had played since 1967, was moved from the NFL to become the new AFC Central. Upon the completion of the merger of the AFL and NFL in 1970, the newly minted American Football Conference had already agreed upon their divisional setup along mostly geographical lines for the
1970 season; the National Football Conference, however, could not agree upon their setup, and one was chosen from a fishbowl on January 16, 1970.
Since the merger, five expansion teams have joined the AFC and two have left, thus making the current total 16. When the
Seattle Seahawks and the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
joined the league in 1976, they were temporarily placed in the NFC and AFC respectively. This arrangement lasted for one season only before the two teams switched conferences. The Seahawks eventually returned to the NFC as a result of the
2002 realignment. The expansion
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
joined the AFC in 1995. There have been five teams that have relocated at least once. In 1984, the
Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis. In 1995, the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
had attempted to move to Baltimore; the resulting
dispute between Cleveland and the team led to Modell establishing the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
with the players and personnel from the Browns, while the Browns were placed in suspended operations before they were reinstated by the NFL. The Ravens were treated as an expansion team.
In
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, the
Oakland Raiders relocated to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in 1982, back to Oakland in 1995, and then to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
in 2020, while the
San Diego Chargers returned to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
in 2017 after 56 years in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
.
The
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
moved to
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
in 1997, where they were renamed the Tennessee Oilers. The team would change its name again, two years later, to the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
.
The NFL would again expand in 2002, adding the
Houston Texans to the AFC. With the exception of the aforementioned relocations since that time, the divisional setup has remained static ever since.
Between 1995 and 2021, the AFC has sent only 9 of its 16 teams to the
Super Bowl:
New England Patriots (10 times),
Pittsburgh Steelers (4 times),
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
(4 times),
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
(2 times),
Indianapolis Colts (2 times),
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The ...
(2 times),
Cincinnati Bengals (1 time),
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West div ...
(1 time),
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
(1 time). By contrast, the
NFC
NFC may refer to:
Psychology
* Need for cognition, in psychology
* Need for closure, social psychological term
Sports
* NFC Championship Game, the National Football Conference Championship Game
* NCAA Football Championship (Philippines)
* Nati ...
has sent 13 of the 16 NFC teams during that same time frame with only the
Detroit Lions,
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
, and
Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
missing out on an appearance in the
Super Bowl. 17 of the 19 AFC champions from 2001 to 2019 have started one of just three quarterbacks -
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...
,
Peyton Manning and
Ben Roethlisberger
Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football ...
- in the Super Bowl. The AFC has started 7 quarterbacks in the last 20 Super Bowls, while the NFC has started 16.
Logo
The merged league created a new logo for the AFC that took elements of the old AFL logo, specifically the "A" and the six stars surrounding it. The AFC logo basically remained unchanged from 1970 to 2009. The 2010 NFL season introduced an updated AFC logo, with the most notable revision being the removal of two stars (leaving four representing the four divisions of the AFC), and moving the stars inside the letter, similar to the NFC logo.
Television
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
aired the AFC's Sunday afternoon and playoff games from 1970 through the 1997 season. From 1998 to 2013,
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
was the primary broadcast rightsholder to the AFC; in those years, all interconference games in which the AFC team was the visiting team were broadcast on either NBC or CBS. Since 2014, the cross-flex policy allows select AFC games (that involve them playing an NFC team at home or intraconference games) to be moved from CBS to Fox. Since 1990, select AFC playoff games have been seen on ABC or ESPN.
See also
*
AFC Championship Game
AFC Divisions
*
AFC East
*
AFC North
*
AFC South
The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned d ...
*
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...
AFC Division Rivals
AFC East
*
Bills-Dolphins rivalry
*
Bills-Patriots rivalry
*
Bills-Jets rivalry
*
Dolphins-Patriots rivalry
*
Dolphins-Jets rivalry
*
Jets-Patriots rivalry
AFC North
*
Bengals-Ravens rivalry
*
Bengals-Browns rivalry
*
Bengals-Steelers rivalry
*
Browns-Ravens rivalry
*
Browns-Steelers rivalry
*
Ravens-Steelers rivalry
AFC South Rivals
*
Colts-Texans rivalry
*
Texans-Titans rivalry
*
Jaguars-Titans rivalry
AFC West Rivals
*
Broncos-Raiders rivalry
*
Broncos-Chiefs rivalry
*
Broncos-Chargers rivalry
*
Chargers-Raiders rivalry
*
Chargers-Chiefs rivalry
*
Chiefs-Raiders rivalry
AFC Interdivisional Rivals
*
Bills-Titans rivalry
*
Broncos-Patriots rivalry
*
Broncos-Steelers rivalry
*
Colts-Patriots rivalry
*
Dolphins-Raiders rivalry
*
Raiders-Steelers rivalry
*
Patriots-Ravens rivalry
*
Patriots-Steelers rivalry
*
Steelers-Titans rivalry
*
Ravens-Titans rivalry
AFC Television Network
*
NFL on NBC
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
*
NFL on CBS
The ''NFL on CBS'' is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that are produced by CBS Sports, the sports division of the CBS television network in the United States. The network has aired NFL game telecasts sin ...
1998 Present
References
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{{Baltimore Ravens
{{Buffalo Bills
{{Cincinnati Bengals
{{Cleveland Browns
{{Denver Broncos
{{Houston Texans
{{Indianapolis Colts
{{Jacksonville Jaguars
{{Kansas City Chiefs
{{Las Vegas Raiders
{{Los Angeles Chargers
{{Miami Dolphins
{{New England Patriots
{{New York Jets
{{Pittsburgh Steelers
{{Tennessee Titans
National Football League
Conference
Sports organizations established in 1970