American Football Conference Championship Game
| AFC Championship Game | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| League | NFL |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Trophy | Lamar Hunt |
| No. of champions | 12 |
| Current champions | Indianapolis Colts |
The American Football Conference Championship game other wise known as AFC Championship Game is one of the two semi-final matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is currently played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American Football Conference. The winner receives the Lamar Hunt Trophy and advances to face the winner of the NFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl on the first Sunday in February. The current AFC Champions are the Indianapolis Colts.
It began in 1970 after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The AFC was formed by joining the 10 former AFL teams with 3 NFL teams: the then-Baltimore Colts, the Cleveland Browns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Playoff structure
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For more details on this topic, see NFL playoffs.
At the end of each football season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the AFC are conducted, consisting of the four division champions and two wild card teams. The two teams remaining play in the AFC Championship game.
Since the 1975-76 season, the site of the AFC Championship has been based on playoff seeding. The surviving club with the highest initial seeding in the playoffs hosts the game. A wild card team can not host the game unless both participants are wild cards. Prior to 1975-76, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis.
Game history
AFC Championship Game Records
- Most Victories – 6; TIE: Denver Broncos (1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998); Pittsburgh Steelers (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995, 2005)
- Most Appearances – 13; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005)
- Most Consecutive Appearances – 5; Oakland Raiders (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977)[1]
- Most AFC championships hosted – 9; Pittsburgh (1972, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004)
- Highest attendance – 91,445; Raiders vs. Seahawks in Los Angeles in 1984.
- Overtime Games[2] – 1986; Denver Broncos vs. Cleveland Browns
- Most points by the winning team[2] – 51;1990 – Buffalo Bills defeating the Los Angeles Raiders.
- Current AFC teams which have never appeared in a AFC Championship Game (AFC team) – Houston Texans[3]
- Current AFC teams which have never won an AFC Championship Game – Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets.
- Lineman scoring a touchdown – 2006;New England Patriots guard Logan Mankins, Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, and also Indianapolis Colts tackle Dan Klecko.
- AFC Championship Games in a dome – 1; 2006 Indianapolis, Indiana
- Largest Comeback – 18 points; 2006; Indianapolis Colts defeating the New England Patriots
T-Shirt Trivia
- The winning team is rewarded with t-shirts and hats after the game that usually declare them "AFC Conference Champions", an example of a redundant acronym
List of Championship Games
AFC Championship Game appearances 1970–present
| Num | Team | W | L | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 7 | .462 |
| 11 | Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders | 4 | 7 | .364 |
| 8 | Denver Broncos | 6 | 2 | .750 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | 5 | 2 | .714 |
| 6 | New England Patriots | 5 | 1 | .833 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bills | 4 | 1 | .800 |
| 5 | Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts | 2 | 3 | .400 |
| 4 | Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Titans | 1 | 3 | .250 |
| 3 | San Diego Chargers | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 3 | Cleveland Browns | 0 | 3 | .000 |
| 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| 2 | New York Jets | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks[6] | 0 | 1 | .000 |
The Houston Texans have never appeared in an AFC Championship Game.
Footnotes
- ^ The Raiders won only one of those five, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-7 in 1976 en route to victory in Super Bowl XI.
- ^ a b Does not include the 1962 AFL Championship.
- ^ However it should be noted the franchise was founded in 2002.
- ^ Sudden-death overtime
- ^ Joe Robbie Stadium now Dolphin Stadium is located in Miami Gardens. However the city was not incorporated until 2003. Prior to that, the area was an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, and the stadium used a Miami address.
- ^ The Seattle Seahawks are no longer members of the AFC. They moved to the NFC in 2002.
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