What is the AFC?
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of two primary conferences in the National Football League (NFL). The AFC is a relic of the old American Football League (AFL), which formally merged with the NFL in 1970. Every year, the Super Bowl is played between the winner of the AFC and the winner of the NFC (the other primary conference in the NFL).
How many teams are in the AFC?
Today there are 16 teams in the AFC.
There were 13 original AFC teams in 1970. 10 came from the former AFL, and three from the former NFL. The three from the former NFL moved into the AFC to keep the number of teams in each conference even. Prior to the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams.
The 16 teams in the AFC today are divided geographically into 4 divisions with 4 teams in each division.
Divisions in the AFC
There are 4 divisions in the AFC. They are the:
Teams in the AFC East
The four teams in the AFC East are the:
- Buffalo Bills
- New England Patriots
- Miami Dolphins
- New York Jets
Teams in the AFC West
The four teams in the AFC West are the:
- Denver Broncos
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Los Angeles Chargers
Teams in the AFC North
The four teams in the AFC North are the:
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
Teams in the AFC South
The four teams in the AFC South are the:
- Indianapolis Colts
- Tennessee Titans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Houston Texans