It began in 1970 after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The AFC was formed by joining the 10 former AFL teams with 3 NFL teams: the then-Baltimore Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Playoff structure
At the end of each football season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the AFC are conducted, consisting of the four division champions and two wild card teams. The two teams remaining play in the AFC Championship game.Since the 1975-76 season, the site of the AFC Championship has been based on playoff seeding. The surviving club with the highest initial seeding in the playoffs hosts the game. A wild card team can not host the game unless both participants are wild cards. Before 1975-76, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis.
Game history
AFC Championship Game Records and facts
- Most Victories – 6; Denver Broncos (1977, 1986-87, 1989, 1997-98); Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-75, 1978-79, 1995, 2005); New England Patriots (1985, 1996, 2001, 2003-04, 2007)
- Most Losses – 7*; (tie) Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (1970, 1973-74|1973-75, 1977, 1990 & 2000); Pittsburgh Steelers, (1972, 1976, 1984, 1994, 1997, 2001 & 2004)
- Most Appearances – 13; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1974-75, 1976, 1978-79, 1984, 1994-95, 1997, 2001, 2004-05)
- Most Consecutive Appearances – 5**; Oakland Raiders (1973-77)
- Most Games Hosted – 9**; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1975, 1978-79, 1994-95, 1997, 2001, 2004)
- Most Consecutive Victories – 4**; Buffalo Bills (1990-93)
- Most Consecutive Losses – 3*; Oakland Raiders (1973-75)
- Highest attendance – 91,445; Raiders vs. Seahawks in Los Angeles on January 8, 1984 (1983 season).
- Most points scored – 51**; January 20, 1991 (1990 season) – Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Raiders
- Largest margin of victory – 48 points**; January 20, 1991 (1990 season) - Buffalo Bills (51) vs. Los Angeles Raiders (3)
- Fewest points scored, winning team – 10; January 12, 1992 (1991 season) - Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos
- Most points scored, losing team – 34**; January 21, 2007 (2006 season) - New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts
- Most aggregate points scored – 73**; January 6, 1985 (1984 season) - Miami Dolphins (45) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (28)
- Fewest aggregate points scored – 14; January 23, 1983 (1982 season) - Miami Dolphins (14) vs. New York Jets (0)
- Longest game – 65 minutes, 38 seconds; January 11, 1987 (1986 season) - Denver Broncos (23) @ Cleveland Browns (20), OT
- Current AFC teams which have never appeared in a Conference Championship Game – Houston Texans
- Current AFC teams which have never won a Conference Championship – Cleveland Browns (0-3), Houston Texans (no record), Kansas City Chiefs (0-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) and New York Jets (0-2).
- Longest drought without appearing in an AFC Championship Game – 19 years**; Cincinnati Bengals (last appearance - 1988)
- Longest drought without an AFC Championship – 23 years; Miami Dolphins (last championship - 1984)
*Tied for Conference Championship Record
**Conference Championship record
List of Championship Games
TBD = To Be Determined
AFC Championship Game appearances 1970–present
| Num | Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | Last appearance | Last championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 7 | .462 | 285 | 270 | 2005 | 2005 |
| 11 | Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders | 4 | 7 | .364 | 202 | 253 | 2002 | 2002 |
| 8 | Denver Broncos | 6 | 2 | .750 | 189 | 166 | 2005 | 1998 |
| 7 | New England Patriots | 6 | 1 | .857 | 195 | 128 | 2007 | 2007 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | 5 | 2 | .714 | 152 | 115 | 1992 | 1984 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bills | 4 | 1 | .800 | 130 | 54 | 1993 | 1993 |
| 5 | Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts | 2 | 3 | .400 | 95 | 116 | 2006 | 2006 |
| 4 | Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Titans | 1 | 3 | .250 | 75 | 116 | 2002 | 1999 |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers | 1 | 3 | .250 | 63 | 95 | 2007 | 1994 |
| 3 | Cleveland Browns | 0 | 3 | .000 | 74 | 98 | 1989 | N/A |
| 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 48 | 17 | 1988 | 1988 |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 2 | .000 | 20 | 53 | 1999 | N/A |
| 2 | New York Jets | 0 | 2 | .000 | 10 | 37 | 1998 | N/A* |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 16 | 3 | 2000 | 2000 |
| 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | 0 | 1 | .000 | 13 | 30 | 1993 | N/A** |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks | 0 | 1 | .000 | 14 | 30 | 1983 | N/A |
| 0 | Houston Texans | 0 | 0 | --- | --- | --- | N/A | N/A |
**last AFL title - 1969
See also
Footnotes
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday October 02, 2008 at 10:54:58 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
It began in 1970 after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The AFC was formed by joining the 10 former AFL teams with 3 NFL teams: the then-Baltimore Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Playoff structure
At the end of each football season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the AFC are conducted, consisting of the four division champions and two wild card teams. The two teams remaining play in the AFC Championship game.Since the 1975-76 season, the site of the AFC Championship has been based on playoff seeding. The surviving club with the highest initial seeding in the playoffs hosts the game. A wild card team can not host the game unless both participants are wild cards. Before 1975-76, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis.
Game history
AFC Championship Game Records and facts
- Most Victories – 6; Denver Broncos (1977, 1986-87, 1989, 1997-98); Pittsburgh Steelers (1974-75, 1978-79, 1995, 2005); New England Patriots (1985, 1996, 2001, 2003-04, 2007)
- Most Losses – 7*; (tie) Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders (1970, 1973-74|1973-75, 1977, 1990 & 2000); Pittsburgh Steelers, (1972, 1976, 1984, 1994, 1997, 2001 & 2004)
- Most Appearances – 13; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1974-75, 1976, 1978-79, 1984, 1994-95, 1997, 2001, 2004-05)
- Most Consecutive Appearances – 5**; Oakland Raiders (1973-77)
- Most Games Hosted – 9**; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1975, 1978-79, 1994-95, 1997, 2001, 2004)
- Most Consecutive Victories – 4**; Buffalo Bills (1990-93)
- Most Consecutive Losses – 3*; Oakland Raiders (1973-75)
- Highest attendance – 91,445; Raiders vs. Seahawks in Los Angeles on January 8, 1984 (1983 season).
- Most points scored – 51**; January 20, 1991 (1990 season) – Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Raiders
- Largest margin of victory – 48 points**; January 20, 1991 (1990 season) - Buffalo Bills (51) vs. Los Angeles Raiders (3)
- Fewest points scored, winning team – 10; January 12, 1992 (1991 season) - Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos
- Most points scored, losing team – 34**; January 21, 2007 (2006 season) - New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts
- Most aggregate points scored – 73**; January 6, 1985 (1984 season) - Miami Dolphins (45) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (28)
- Fewest aggregate points scored – 14; January 23, 1983 (1982 season) - Miami Dolphins (14) vs. New York Jets (0)
- Longest game – 65 minutes, 38 seconds; January 11, 1987 (1986 season) - Denver Broncos (23) @ Cleveland Browns (20), OT
- Current AFC teams which have never appeared in a Conference Championship Game – Houston Texans
- Current AFC teams which have never won a Conference Championship – Cleveland Browns (0-3), Houston Texans (no record), Kansas City Chiefs (0-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) and New York Jets (0-2).
- Longest drought without appearing in an AFC Championship Game – 19 years**; Cincinnati Bengals (last appearance - 1988)
- Longest drought without an AFC Championship – 23 years; Miami Dolphins (last championship - 1984)
*Tied for Conference Championship Record
**Conference Championship record
List of Championship Games
TBD = To Be Determined
AFC Championship Game appearances 1970–present
| Num | Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | Last appearance | Last championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 7 | .462 | 285 | 270 | 2005 | 2005 |
| 11 | Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders | 4 | 7 | .364 | 202 | 253 | 2002 | 2002 |
| 8 | Denver Broncos | 6 | 2 | .750 | 189 | 166 | 2005 | 1998 |
| 7 | New England Patriots | 6 | 1 | .857 | 195 | 128 | 2007 | 2007 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | 5 | 2 | .714 | 152 | 115 | 1992 | 1984 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bills | 4 | 1 | .800 | 130 | 54 | 1993 | 1993 |
| 5 | Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts | 2 | 3 | .400 | 95 | 116 | 2006 | 2006 |
| 4 | Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Titans | 1 | 3 | .250 | 75 | 116 | 2002 | 1999 |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers | 1 | 3 | .250 | 63 | 95 | 2007 | 1994 |
| 3 | Cleveland Browns | 0 | 3 | .000 | 74 | 98 | 1989 | N/A |
| 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 48 | 17 | 1988 | 1988 |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 2 | .000 | 20 | 53 | 1999 | N/A |
| 2 | New York Jets | 0 | 2 | .000 | 10 | 37 | 1998 | N/A* |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 16 | 3 | 2000 | 2000 |
| 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | 0 | 1 | .000 | 13 | 30 | 1993 | N/A** |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks | 0 | 1 | .000 | 14 | 30 | 1983 | N/A |
| 0 | Houston Texans | 0 | 0 | --- | --- | --- | N/A | N/A |
**last AFL title - 1969
See also
Footnotes
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday October 02, 2008 at 10:54:58 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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