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National Football Conference facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two main groups of teams in the National Football League (NFL). The other group is called the American Football Conference (AFC). Each year, the team that wins the NFC Championship Game gets the George Halas Trophy. This team then plays against the winner of the AFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl, which is the NFL's biggest game!

How the NFC Season Works

Every year, each team in the NFC plays a full schedule of games. They play the other teams in their own division twice, once at home and once away. This helps decide who is the best in their division. Teams also play other games against teams from different divisions. These games are chosen by the NFL each year.

At the end of the regular season, the best teams in the NFC move on to the playoffs. Six teams from the NFC make it to the playoffs. These include the four teams that won their divisions. The other two teams are called "wild cards". They are the teams with the best win-loss records that didn't win their division. The NFC playoffs lead up to the NFC Championship Game. The winner of this game becomes the NFC Champion and gets to play in the Super Bowl!

The Story of the NFC

The NFC was created in 1970. This happened when the NFL joined together with another football league called the American Football League (AFL). This big event was known as the AFL-NFL Merger.

When the leagues merged, all the teams from the old AFL joined the AFC. Three NFL teams also moved to the AFC. The remaining 13 NFL teams then formed the NFC. It was a bit tricky to decide how to put these 13 teams into divisions. So, the NFL commissioner at the time, Pete Rozelle, had his secretary pick the final plan out of a glass bowl!

Since then, the NFC has grown bigger. Three new teams have joined the conference. This means the NFC now has 16 teams in total. The Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the league in 1976. They were in different conferences for a short time before the Seahawks moved back to the NFC in 2002. The Carolina Panthers joined the NFC in 1995.

National Football League (2016)
AFC East North South West
Buffalo Bills Baltimore Ravens Houston Texans Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins Cincinnati Bengals Indianapolis Colts Kansas City Chiefs
New England Patriots Cleveland Browns Jacksonville Jaguars Oakland Raiders
New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers Tennessee Titans San Diego Chargers
NFC East North South West
Dallas Cowboys Chicago Bears Atlanta Falcons Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants Detroit Lions Carolina Panthers Los Angeles Rams
Philadelphia Eagles Green Bay Packers New Orleans Saints San Francisco 49ers
Washington Redskins Minnesota Vikings Tampa Bay Buccaneers Seattle Seahawks
Seasons (by team) · Playoffs · AFC Championship · NFC Championship · Super Bowl (Champions) · All-Pro · Pro Bowl
League Championship History: AFL Championship (1960–1969) · NFL Championship (1920–1969) · One-Game Playoff · Playoff Bowl
Defunct Franchises · Owners · Stadiums (chronology) · Records (individual, team, Super Bowl) · Hall of Fame · Lore · AFL · Merger · NFL in L.A., Toronto · International Series · Europa (World Bowl) · TV · Radio · NFLPA · Player Conduct · Draft · Training Camp · Preseason (Hall of Fame Game, American Bowl) · Kickoff · Monday Night Football · Thanksgiving Classic · Christmas Games

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Conferencia Nacional (NFL) para niños

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