American Football Conference East Division
The AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It currently has four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, and New York Jets. They are all former members of the American Football League (AFL).
When the division was created after the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970, it also included the Baltimore Colts. Despite relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1984, the Colts continued to play in the AFC East until the 2002 re-alignment when they were moved to the AFC South.
Although Miami is further south than the other three teams's home cities, all of which are located in Northeast, all four AFC East teams have historical rivalries among one another dating back to their years in the AFL during the 1960s. None of the AFC East teams play in the central city of their represented metropolitan area. The Patriots play in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts, the Jets play in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Bills play in Orchard Park, New York and the Dolphins play in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Division champions
- A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored, Miami had the best record of the division teams.
Wild Card qualifiers
- Since 1970
- 1970 - Miami Dolphins
- 1971 - Baltimore Colts
- 1972 - None
- 1973 - None
- 1974 - Buffalo Bills
- 1975 - None
- 1976 - New England Patriots
- 1977 - None
- 1978 - Miami Dolphins
- 1979 - None
- 1980 - None
- 1981 - Buffalo Bills, New York Jets
- 1982 - *
- 1983 - None
- 1984 - None
- 1985 - New England Patriots, New York Jets
- 1986 - New York Jets
- 1987 - None
- 1988 - None
- 1989 - None
- 1990 - Miami Dolphins
- 1991 - New York Jets
- 1992 - Buffalo Bills
- 1993 - None
- 1994 - New England Patriots
- 1995 - Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins
- 1996 - Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts
- 1997 - Miami Dolphins
- 1998 - Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots
- 1999 - Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins
- 2000 - Indianapolis Colts
- 2001 - Miami Dolphins, New York Jets
- 2002 - None
- 2003 - None
- 2004 - New York Jets
- 2005 - None
- 2006 - New York Jets
* - A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored.
Total playoff berths
| Team | Championships | Playoff Berths |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 13 | 21 |
| New England Patriots | 9 | 13 |
| Buffalo Bills | 7 | 13 |
| New York Jets | 2 | 9 |
| Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts1 | 6 | 10 |
1 Known as the Baltimore Colts before 1984. Realigned into the AFC South during the 2002 NFL season.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
