61-692: The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. The game is played on the last Sunday in January by the two remaining playoff teams, following the AFC postseason's first two rounds. The AFC champion then advances to face
122-517: A 12-team to a 14-team tournament, adding a third wild card team for each conference for the first time since the 2001 season , and only awarding each conference's division winner with the best record a first round bye. The Wild Card round was thus extended from two to three games per day. The playoffs were played during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States , and each game's attendance
183-416: A 24–10 second half lead and held off an Indianapolis fourth quarter rally to earn their first playoff win since the 1995 season. In the first quarter, Colts quarterback Philip Rivers made completions to T. Y. Hilton and Michael Pittman Jr. for gains of 23 and 22 yards that set up the first score on a 30-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship . Buffalo responded with an 8-play, 85-yard drive, featuring
244-477: A 36-yard completion from Josh Allen to Stefon Diggs . Allen finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dawson Knox , giving the Bills a 7–3 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the quarter. On a second quarter drive, Rivers completed a 32-yard pass to Pittman, while running back Jonathan Taylor caught a 6-yard pass and rushed four times for 17 yards, the last carry a 1-yard touchdown run to put
305-453: A 51-yard touchdown pass to DK Metcalf . On Los Angeles' next possession, Akers had a 44-yard reception and a 20-yard carry before taking the ball into the end zone on a 5-yard run, giving the Rams a 20–10 lead with 2 minutes left in the half. Seattle cornerback D. J. Reed returned the second half kickoff 58 yards to Los Angeles' 41-yard line, setting up a 52-yard field goal by Myers that cut
366-516: A backup to John Wolford – due to a broken thumb on his throwing hand suffered in week 16 – but a neck injury suffered by Wolford on the Rams' second possession resulted in Goff returning to the starting lineup. Though Goff completed less than half his passes, he led the Rams to victory, with running back Cam Akers accumulating 176 scrimmage yards. Seahawks' safety Jamal Adams landed an illegal low helmet-to-helmet hit on Wolford, knocking him out of
427-491: A bye, if "meaningful" regular season games were canceled because of the virus. The Cleveland Browns and eventual Super Bowl champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had not made it to the playoffs since 2002 and 2007 , respectively, and thus held the two longest playoff appearance droughts in the league at the time, both qualified for the postseason in 2020, giving the New York Jets , who had not appeared since 2010 ,
488-491: A desperation pass to the end zone as time expired, but the pass was batted away safely to the ground for an incompletion to end the game. Allen finished the game 26-for-35 for 324 yards and two touchdowns, while also leading the Bills in rushing with 11 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown. Diggs caught 6 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown. Rivers was 27-for-46 for 309 yards and two touchdowns in what would end up being his final NFL game prior to announcing his retirement. Taylor
549-467: A drive to the Bills' 15-yard line, only to have Blankenship miss a 33-yard field goal attempt. Buffalo then drove 77 yards in 9 plays to go up 24–10 on Allen's 35-yard touchdown completion to Diggs, with 14:17 left. On the second play of the Colts' next possession, Nyheim Hines took off for a 29-yard run, and then Taylor rushed for 20 yards. The Colts were on the move and did not stop until Rivers finished
610-476: A fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the Wild Card playoffs or Super Wild Card Weekend , the second-seeded division winner hosts the seventh seed wild card, the third seed hosts the sixth seed, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth seed. The 1 seed from each conference receives a first-round bye . In
671-449: A scramble as he led the team 96 yards in 10 plays to score on a 5-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left before halftime, giving Buffalo a 14–10 lead. Buffalo took the second half kickoff and drove 44 yards in 9 plays, with Allen completing two passes to Cole Beasley for 23 yards and a 16-yard pass to Diggs. Tyler Bass finished the possession with a 46-yard field goal, that increased the team's lead to 17–10. Indianapolis responded with
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#1732765883534732-566: Is awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl . In recent years Conference championship rings are also awarded to members of the team who wins the AFC or NFC championship since they are the winners of the conference, even though they may not necessarily follow it up with a win in the Super Bowl. In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance. In
793-426: The 1970–71 to 2001–02 seasons; four since the 2002–03 season ) and a set number of " wild card " teams that possess the best win–loss records after the regular season yet fail to win their division (one wild card team from the 1970–71 to 1977–78 seasons; two wild cards from 1978–79 to 1989–90 , and from 2002–03 to 2019–20 ; three from 1990–91 to 2001–02, and since 2020–21 ). The two teams remaining following
854-761: The 2020 season began with the Wildcard Round on January 9, 2021, and concluded with Super Bowl LV at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida , on February 7, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 31–9. This marked the first time a team has played the Super Bowl at their home field, as the Buccaneers reached the title game after winning three playoff games on the road. The league expanded its playoff system from
915-679: The Cincinnati Bengals in 1968) before the merger. Modell was in the hospital for internal bleeding around the time negotiations were still going. When he was visited by Art Rooney (owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers ) and Wellington Mara (owner of the New York Giants ), Modell made the suggestion that his franchise would move to the AFC if the Steelers and Baltimore Colts did so as well. In order to equalize
976-518: The Kansas City Chiefs , Lamar Hunt . The first AFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the AFL. The game is considered the successor to the former AFL Championship , and its game results are listed with that of its predecessor in the annual NFL Record and Fact Book . Since the pre-merger NFL consisted of six more teams than the AFL (16 teams for
1037-514: The NFC has sent 13 of the 16 NFC teams during that same time frame with only the Detroit Lions , Minnesota Vikings , and Washington Commanders missing out on an appearance in the Super Bowl . 17 of the 19 AFC champions from 2001 to 2019 have started one of just three quarterbacks - Tom Brady , Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger - in the Super Bowl. The AFC has started 7 quarterbacks in
1098-713: The National Football Conference (NFC), each contain 16 teams with 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger between the National Football League, and the American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since
1159-753: The Super Bowl , the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference. In the event of a COVID-19 outbreak, the league stated playoff games or entire postseason rounds could be postponed, the bye week after the Conference Championships could be eliminated, and the Super Bowl could be moved up to three weeks later to February 28. None of these contingency plans were necessary. at Bills Stadium , Orchard Park, New York First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers Top rushers Top receivers Buffalo built up
1220-574: The Super Bowl . With the impending merger with the American Football League (AFL) for the 1970 NFL season , the league had careful discussion over the nature of which teams would play in the newly instituted conferences. Then-NFL President and owner of the Cleveland Browns Art Modell had suggested of a format in which three teams from the NFL would move to the AFC to create two thirteen-team conferences. But negotiations between NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle and other owners
1281-732: The Tennessee Titans . The NFL would again expand in 2002, adding the Houston Texans to the AFC. With the exception of the aforementioned relocations since that time, the divisional setup has remained static ever since. Between 1995 and 2022, the AFC has sent only 9 of its 16 teams to the Super Bowl : New England Patriots (10 times), Pittsburgh Steelers (4 times), Denver Broncos (4 times), Baltimore Ravens (2 times), Indianapolis Colts (2 times), Kansas City Chiefs (3 times), Cincinnati Bengals (1 time), Las Vegas Raiders (1 time), Tennessee Titans (1 time). By contrast,
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#17327658835341342-679: The 1997 season. From 1998 to 2013, CBS was the primary broadcast rightsholder to the AFC; in those years, all interconference games in which the AFC team was the visiting team were broadcast on either NBC or CBS. Since 2014, the cross-flex policy allows select AFC games (that involve them playing an NFC team at home or intraconference games) to be moved from CBS to Fox. Since 1990, select AFC playoff games have been seen on ABC or ESPN. AFC Divisions AFC Division Rivals AFC East AFC North AFC South Rivals AFC West Rivals AFC Interdivisional Rivals AFC Television Network 2020%E2%80%9321 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for
1403-578: The 2002 season, renaming the AFC Central as the AFC North, creating the AFC South, and shifting several teams among the divisions. Notes: American Football Conference The American Football Conference ( AFC ) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart,
1464-571: The 2018–2022 seasons. The Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only two AFC teams to appear in at least one AFC Championship game in every decade since 1970. The structure of the NFL playoffs has changed several times since 1970. At the end of each regular season , the top teams in the AFC qualify for the postseason, including all division champions (three division winners from
1525-696: The AFC and the NFC, hold the distinction of appearing in both conference title games, a loss in the AFC conference title game to the Los Angeles Raiders for Super Bowl XVIII and, in their first appearance in a NFC conference title game, a win over the Carolina Panthers for Super Bowl XL . The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most appearances in the AFC Championship Game at 16, with 11 of those games being in Pittsburgh,
1586-488: The AFC and two have left, thus making the current total 16. When the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the league in 1976, they were temporarily placed in the NFC and AFC respectively. This arrangement lasted for one season only before the two teams switched conferences. The Seahawks eventually returned to the NFC as a result of the 2002 realignment . The expansion Jacksonville Jaguars joined
1647-692: The AFC in 1995. There have been five teams that have relocated at least once. In 1984, the Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis. In 1995, the Cleveland Browns had attempted to move to Baltimore; the resulting dispute between Cleveland and the team led to Modell establishing the Baltimore Ravens with the players and personnel from the Browns, while the Browns were placed in suspended operations before they were reinstated by
1708-528: The Bengals defeated the Bills in the divisional round. Beginning with the 1984–85 NFL playoffs , the winner of the AFC Championship Game has received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of the AFL and founder and longtime owner of the Kansas City Chiefs . The original design consisted of a wooden base with a sculpted AFC logo in the front and a sculpture of various football players in
1769-426: The Bills' lead to 27–16 with just over 8 minutes left. Faced with 3rd and 7 on their ensuing drive, the Colts fooled Buffalo's defense with a draw play , in which Hines took a delayed handoff and ran 33 yards to the Bills' 27-yard line. On the next play, Rivers completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jack Doyle ; Rivers threw the ball to Doyle again on a 2-point conversion, making the score 27–24. Buffalo took
1830-503: The Colts up 10–7. Then after a punt, Indianapolis drove to a first and goal from the Bills 4-yard line; after a 2-yard pass and a 1-yard run, Taylor was tackled for a 3-yard loss by Tre'Davious White and Taron Johnson . Deciding to attempt a fourth-down conversion, Indianapolis turned the ball over as Rivers' pass to Pittman Jr. was incomplete. Taking the ball back with 1:46 left in the half, Allen completed passes to Gabe Davis for gains of 37 and 19 yards, while also picking up 16 yards on
1891-565: The Conference). The AFC logo basically remained unchanged from 1970 to 2009. The 2010 NFL season introduced an updated AFC logo, with the most notable revision being the removal of two stars (leaving four representing the four divisions of the AFC), and moving the stars inside the letter, similar to the NFC logo, which itself was updated at the same time to add a fourth star. NBC aired the AFC's Sunday afternoon and playoff games from 1970 through
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1952-536: The NFL and 10 for the AFL), a realignment was required as part of the merger to create two conferences with an equal number of teams: The NFL's Baltimore Colts , the Cleveland Browns , and the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC; while the remaining 13 pre-merger NFL clubs formed the NFC. Every current AFC team except the Houston Texans has played in an AFC Championship Game at least once. The Seattle Seahawks , who have been members in both
2013-517: The NFL to become the new AFC Central. Upon the completion of the merger of the AFL and NFL in 1970, the newly minted American Football Conference had already agreed upon their divisional setup along mostly geographical lines for the 1970 season ; the National Football Conference, however, could not agree upon their setup, and one was chosen from a fishbowl on January 16, 1970. Since the merger, five expansion teams have joined
2074-697: The NFL. The Ravens were treated as an expansion team. In California , the Oakland Raiders relocated to Los Angeles in 1982, back to Oakland in 1995, and then to Las Vegas in 2020, while the San Diego Chargers returned to Los Angeles in 2017 after 56 years in San Diego . The Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997, where they were renamed the Tennessee Oilers. The team would change its name again, two years later, to
2135-456: The Seahawks' 36-yard line, where the Rams went on to a 30–13 lead on Goff's 15-yard touchdown pass to Woods. Wilson responded with a 23-yard scramble and a 28-yard completion to Freddie Swain before throwing a 12-yard touchdown completion to Metcalf, with 2:34 left. Goff was 9-for-19 for 155 yards and a touchdown, while defensive tackle Aaron Donald had two sacks, despite having to leave
2196-689: The back. For the 2010–11 NFL playoffs , the Lamar Hunt Trophy and the George Halas Trophy , which is awarded to the NFC Champion, were redesigned by Tiffany & Co. at the request of the NFL in an attempt to make both awards more significant. The trophies are now a new, silver design with the outline of a hollow football positioned on a small base to more closely resemble the Vince Lombardi Trophy , which
2257-468: The ball back and drove to the Colts' 34-yard line, but Colts defensive end Denico Autry sacked Allen and forced a fumble. Bills offensive tackle Daryl Williams recovered the ball, but the team lost 18 yards and ended up having to punt with 2:38 left, giving the Colts a chance to drive for a winning or tying score. The Colts proceeded to drive to the Buffalo 46-yard line, converting two fourth downs along
2318-464: The drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zach Pascal , making the score 24–16. After a Bills penalty moved the ball to the 1-yard line on the extra point attempt, the Colts decided to try a 2-point conversion. Linebacker Matt Milano broke up the play by getting through the line and dropping Taylor for a 1-yard loss. Buffalo then responded with a pair of 16-yard receptions by Diggs and Beasley that set up Bass' 54-yard field goal, increasing
2379-420: The first AFC team to face every team within their respective conference in the postseason at least once. Within each conference, the four division winners and the top three non-division winners with the best overall regular season records qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–7. The NFL does not use
2440-448: The fourteen opponents each team faces over the 17-game regular season schedule are set using a predetermined formula: Each AFC team plays the other teams in their respective division twice (home and away) during the regular season, in addition to eleven other games assigned to their schedule by the NFL: three games are assigned on the basis of a particular team's final divisional standing from
2501-471: The game during the Rams' second possession, after he completed a pair of passes to Cooper Kupp for gains of 15 and 13 yards that set up Matt Gay 's 40-yard field goal, giving the team a 3–0 lead. In the second quarter, Michael Dickson 's 48-yard punt pinned the Rams back on their own 5-yard line. Following a three-and-out , Johnny Hekker 's 44-yard punt gave Seattle good field position on their own 49-yard line, where they proceeded to drive 19 yards and tie
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2562-413: The game on a 50-yard field goal by Jason Myers . Los Angeles struck back with Goff's 44-yard completion to Kupp setting up Gay's second field goal, a 39-yard kick. Then they increased their lead to 13–3 when Darious Williams intercepted a pass from Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Wilson quickly recovered, leading the team 79 yards in five plays and scoring on
2623-413: The game with a rib injury. Wilson was held to 11-for-27 for 174 yards, with two touchdowns – both to Metcalf, who had five receptions for 96 yards – and an interception, as well as 50 yards on 4 carries; linebacker Bobby Wagner had 11 solo tackles, 5 assists, and 1 sack. It would be Wilson's final playoff game as a Seahawk. This was the second meeting between the Rams and Seahawks. The Rams had also won
2684-485: The game, and therefore both Buffalo and Cincinnati finished the regular season with one less game than the other NFL teams. Because both the Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs ended with the same number of regular season losses, it was decided that a Buffalo–Kansas City AFC Championship Game would be played at a neutral site, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta , if both teams advanced that far. This never came to fruition, as
2745-514: The game. A wild card team can only host the game if both participants are wild cards; such an instance has yet to occur in the NFL. For the 2022–23 season , NFL owners passed a temporary modification to accommodate for a Buffalo Bills – Cincinnati Bengals regular season game that was eventually canceled after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest in the first quarter of that contest. (See also Damar Hamlin § In-game collapse .) The league decided neither to resume nor replay
2806-409: The last 20 Super Bowls, while the NFC has started 16. The merged league created a new logo for the AFC that took elements of the old AFL logo, specifically the "A" and the six stars surrounding it. The NFC also adopted a logo in 1970 which like the AFL and AFC logos also contained only the first letter as opposed to a full abbreviation, but with only three stars (to represent the then-three divisions of
2867-668: The longest active playoff appearance drought. Conversely, the New England Patriots missed the postseason for the first time since 2008 , ending the longest playoff appearance streak in NFL history. With the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens facing each other in the AFC Divisional playoffs, Buffalo became the third team in NFL history (joining the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles) and
2928-605: The merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the Kansas City Chiefs , who defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 season 's AFC Championship Game for their fourth conference championship and went on to win Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers . Like the NFC, the conference has 16 teams organized into four divisions each with four teams: East , North , South and West . Currently,
2989-488: The most for either conference. The New England Patriots have won the most AFC Championships at 11, and played in a record eight straight AFC title games (2011–2018). At least one of Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger played in every championship game between the 2003 and the 2018 seasons, except for the 2009 season. The Kansas City Chiefs have hosted the AFC Championship a record five consecutive times, between
3050-400: The number of teams in each conference, three NFL teams that predated the AFL's launch (the Cleveland Browns , Pittsburgh Steelers , and the then- Baltimore Colts ) joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC. The two AFL divisions AFL East and AFL West were more or less intact, while the NFL's Century Division , in which the Browns and the Steelers had played since 1967, was moved from
3111-522: The previous season, and the remaining eight games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions. This assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle. Using the 2023 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the AFC West plays against every team in the AFC East and NFC North. In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being
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#17327658835343172-401: The score to 20–13. After six consecutive drives resulted in punts, Goff's 20-yard completion to Robert Woods started up a 9-play, 52-yard drive that ended on a 36-yard field goal from Gay, giving the Rams a 23–13 lead with 11:37 remaining. Then after a punt from each team, Rams linebacker Samson Ebukam forced a fumble from Reed on a punt return, which Micah Kiser recovered for Los Angeles on
3233-472: The second round, the Divisional playoffs , the number 1 seed hosts the lowest-seeded surviving team from the first round (seed 4, 5, 6, or 7), while the other two surviving teams play each other, with the higher-seeded team hosting. The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games then meet in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championships , hosted by the higher seed. Although
3294-433: The sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning Conference Championship appearances. The table below shows AFC Championship Game records by division, based on the division the franchise was in during the season the championship game was played. The NFL realigned divisions prior to
3355-482: The three games assigned based on the team's prior-season divisional standing. At the end of each season, the four division winners and three wild cards (non-division winners with best regular season record) in the AFC qualify for the playoffs . The AFC playoffs culminate in the AFC Championship Game , with the winner receiving the Lamar Hunt Trophy. The AFC champion then plays the NFC champion in
3416-420: The way. On the second one, Pascal made a diving catch for 17 yards on fourth and 10, then appeared to fumble the ball as he got up, which Buffalo recovered. However, officials ruled him down by contact after making the catch, and this was upheld by replay review. Still, Buffalo's defense managed to hang on after this, forcing a 1-yard loss and two incompletions to set up a 4th down at the 47 yard line. Rivers flung
3477-408: The wild-card round (first round) and the divisional round (second round) play in the AFC Championship Game, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl. Initially, the site of the AFC Championship Game was determined on a rotating basis. Since the 1975–76 season , the site of the game has been based on playoff seeding based on the regular season won-loss record, with the highest surviving seed hosting
3538-538: The winner of the NFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl . The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League (AFL), with the merged league realigning into two conferences . Since 1984, each winner of the AFC Championship Game has also received the Lamar Hunt Trophy , named after the founder of the AFL and founder and longtime owner of
3599-444: Was limited due to local health restrictions (See also 2020 NFL season § COVID-19 restrictions ) . Had a serious outbreak occurred during the regular season, the league had contingency plans to delay the postseason, eliminate the bye week before the Super Bowl and postpone the game itself to as late as February 28. NFL owners also approved an additional alternative plan to implement a 16-team playoff format, with no teams getting
3660-464: Was rampant in who would move (for his part, Modell had first thought the three most recent expansion NFL teams - Minnesota Vikings , Atlanta Falcons , New Orleans Saints should be the ones to move to the AFC), since others wanted to simply have no realignment of NFL teams. The AFL had begun play in 1960 with eight teams before adding two more expansion clubs (the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and
3721-532: Was the top rusher for the game with 21 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown, while Hines had 75 yards on 6 rushes and Pittman caught 5 passes for 90 yards. Colts linebacker Shaquille Leonard had 9 solo tackles and 3 assists. The Bills won despite being outgained in total yards 472 to 397. at Lumen Field , Seattle, Washington First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers Top rushers Top receivers Rams starting quarterback Jared Goff came into this game as
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