American Football Conference facts for kids
American Football Conference logo (2010–present)
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| League | National Football League |
|---|---|
| Sport | American football |
| Formerly | American Football League (AFL) |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Teams | |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Championships | |
| Most recent champion(s) | Kansas City Chiefs (4th title) |
| Most titles | New England Patriots (11 titles) |
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of two main groups of teams in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL is the top professional American football league in the United States. Both the AFC and the National Football Conference (NFC) have 16 teams, split into four divisions. These conferences were created in 1970 when the NFL joined with another league called the American Football League (AFL).
All ten teams from the old AFL joined the new AFC. Three teams from the original NFL also moved to the AFC. The other thirteen NFL teams formed the NFC. Over time, more teams have joined, and some have moved. Now, both the AFC and NFC have 16 teams each. The Kansas City Chiefs are the current AFC champions. They won the 2023 season's AFC Championship Game and then won Super Bowl LVIII.
Contents
Teams in the AFC
Just like the NFC, the AFC has 16 teams. These teams are organized into four groups called divisions. Each division has four teams. The divisions are: East, North, South, and West.
| Division | Team | Location | Stadium | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Buffalo Bills | Orchard Park, New York | Highmark Stadium | |
| Miami Dolphins | Miami Gardens, Florida | Hard Rock Stadium | ||
| New England Patriots | Foxborough, Massachusetts | Gillette Stadium | ||
| New York Jets | East Rutherford, New Jersey | MetLife Stadium | ||
| North | Baltimore Ravens | Baltimore, Maryland | M&T Bank Stadium | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Cincinnati, Ohio | Paycor Stadium | ||
| Cleveland Browns | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Browns Stadium | ||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Acrisure Stadium | ||
| South | Houston Texans | Houston, Texas | NRG Stadium | |
| Indianapolis Colts | Indianapolis, Indiana | Lucas Oil Stadium | ||
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Jacksonville, Florida | EverBank Stadium | ||
| Tennessee Titans | Nashville, Tennessee | Nissan Stadium | ||
| West | Denver Broncos | Denver, Colorado | Empower Field at Mile High | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Kansas City, Missouri | Arrowhead Stadium | ||
| Las Vegas Raiders | Paradise, Nevada | Allegiant Stadium | ||
| Los Angeles Chargers | Inglewood, California | SoFi Stadium |
How the Season Works
The NFL season has 17 games for each team. The schedule is set up using a special formula. Each AFC team plays the other teams in their own division twice. This means they play one game at home and one game away against each of those three teams.
They also play eleven other games. Three of these games are based on how well the team did the year before. The other eight games are against teams from two different NFL divisions. These divisions change each year. For example, in 2023, all teams in the AFC West played against every team in the AFC East and NFC North. This makes sure teams play against many different opponents over time.
At the end of the regular season, the four division winners from the AFC make it to the playoffs. Three more AFC teams also get into the playoffs. These are called wild cards. They are the non-division winners with the best records.
The AFC playoffs end with the AFC Championship Game. The team that wins this game gets the Lamar Hunt Trophy. This AFC champion then plays against the NFC champion in the Super Bowl.
AFC History
The AFC and NFC were both created in 1970. This happened when the NFL and the American Football League (AFL) joined together. The AFL started in 1960 with eight teams. It added two more teams before the merger.
To make sure both conferences had the same number of teams, three NFL teams joined the AFC. These teams were the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Baltimore Colts. They joined the ten former AFL teams. The old AFL divisions mostly stayed the same. A division from the NFL also moved to become the new AFC Central.
Since the merger, five new teams have joined the AFC. Two teams have also left the AFC. This is how the AFC now has 16 teams. For example, the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the league in 1976. They were in different conferences at first, then switched. The Seahawks later moved back to the NFC in 2002. The Jacksonville Jaguars joined the AFC in 1995.
Some teams have also moved to new cities. In 1984, the Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis and became the Indianapolis Colts. In 1995, the Cleveland Browns tried to move. This led to the creation of the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns team was later brought back.
In California, the Oakland Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982. They moved back to Oakland in 1995, and then to Las Vegas in 2020. The San Diego Chargers moved back to Los Angeles in 2017 after many years in San Diego. The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997. They changed their name to the Tennessee Oilers, and then to the Tennessee Titans two years later.
The NFL added another new team in 2002, the Houston Texans, to the AFC. Since then, the divisions have mostly stayed the same, except for team moves.
Between 1995 and 2022, only 9 of the 16 AFC teams made it to the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots went 10 times, the Pittsburgh Steelers 4 times, and the Denver Broncos 4 times. Other teams like the Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Las Vegas Raiders, and Tennessee Titans also made appearances.
AFC Logo
When the leagues merged, a new logo was made for the AFC. It used parts of the old AFL logo, like the letter "A" and six stars around it. The NFC also got a new logo in 1970. It had only the first letter of its name and three stars, representing its three divisions.
The AFC logo stayed mostly the same from 1970 to 2009. In 2010, the AFC logo was updated. Two stars were removed, leaving four stars to show the four divisions of the AFC. These stars were also moved inside the letter "A," similar to the NFC logo. The NFC logo was also updated at the same time to add a fourth star.
Television Coverage
From 1970 to 1997, NBC showed the AFC's Sunday afternoon and playoff games. From 1998 to 2013, CBS was the main TV channel for the AFC. During these years, games where an AFC team was visiting an NFC team were shown on NBC or CBS. Since 2014, some AFC games can be moved from CBS to Fox. Also, since 1990, some AFC playoff games have been shown on ABC or ESPN.
Images for kids
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2023 NFL season standings.svg
This chart shows the standings for the 2023 NFL season. It helps explain how teams are scheduled to play each other in future seasons.
See also
- AFC Championship Game
AFC Divisions
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 (1970-1997)
- NFL on CBS (1998-present)
See also
In Spanish: Conferencia Americana (NFL) para niños
