List of AFL and AFC champions
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The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of two conferences within the National Football League, the National Football Conference (NFC) being the other.
The AFC has its roots in the American Football League (AFL), which began to play in 1960. In 1970, the AFL merged with the NFL. As part of the merger, the former AFL teams, plus three former NFL teams (Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers), were placed in the AFC. The remaining former NFL teams were placed in the NFC. As of the 2025 season only the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans have not won an AFC or AFL championship.
Background
The AFC champion is not necessarily the team with the best record in the regular season. Rather, the champion is decided by the AFC Championship Game (formerly the AFL Championship Game) as part of the post-season playoffs involving the teams with the best regular season records. The Houston Oilers won the first two AFL championships, in 1960 and 1961. The only other team to win two consecutive AFL championships prior to the merger was the Buffalo Bills, who won in 1964 and 1965 with future United States Congressman, HUD Secretary and Vice-Presidential nominee Jack Kemp at quarterback. After the merger, the first team to win three consecutive AFC championships was the Miami Dolphins in 1971 through 1973. The only team to win four consecutive AFC championships was the Buffalo Bills in 1990 through 1993. The New England Patriots and the Kansas City Chiefs are the only other AFC teams to win three consecutive championships, from 2016 through 2018, and 2022 through 2024 respectively.
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