SafekipediaAFC Championship Game
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
The AFC Championship Game is an important game played every year since 1970. It is the championship game for the American Football Conference and one of the two big playoff games in the National Football League, the biggest professional American football league in the world. This game is played on the last Sunday in January by the two best teams left after the first rounds of the playoffs.
The winner of the AFC Championship Game gets to play against the winner of the NFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl, which is the final big game of the season. The game started when the NFL and the American Football League joined together in 1970, and since 1984, the winner has received the Lamar Hunt Trophy. This trophy is named after Lamar Hunt, who helped start the AFL and was a long-time owner of the Kansas City Chiefs.
History
The first AFC Championship Game was played after the 1970 regular season. This happened after the NFL and the AFL joined together. The game replaced the old AFL Championship.
Many teams have played in the AFC Championship Game. The New England Patriots have won the most, with 11 victories. The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost the most, with 8 losses. Some teams, like the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, have never hosted this game.
Playoff structure
Further information: NFL playoffs
The NFL playoffs have had different rules since 1970. At the end of each regular season, the best teams in the AFC make the playoffs. This includes the division winners and some extra teams called "wild card" teams. After two rounds of games, the last two teams left play in the AFC Championship Game. The winner goes on to the Super Bowl.
At first, the place for the AFC Championship Game changed each year. Since the 1975–76 season, the team with the best record from the regular season hosts the game. A wild card team can only host if both teams in the game are wild cards, but this has never happened in the NFL.
Lamar Hunt Trophy
Since the 1984–85 NFL playoffs, the team that wins the AFC Championship Game gets the Lamar Hunt Trophy. It is named after the founder of the AFL and a long-time owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. The trophy was made with wood and silver designs, showing the AFC logo and football players.
In 2010–11 NFL playoffs, the trophy was redesigned by Tiffany & Co.. Now it has a silver design shaped like a football, similar to the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is given to the Super Bowl winner.
Winners of the AFC Championship also get special rings to celebrate their conference victory, even if they don’t go on to win the Super Bowl.
List of AFC Championship Games
See also: List of AFL and AFC champions
This section shows the results of each AFC Championship Game. The numbers next to the teams show how many times they have won or lost these games. Bolded teams are those that went on to win the Super Bowl that year. The numbers next to the cities and stadiums show how many times they have hosted the AFC Championship Game.
Appearances, 1970–present
In the table below, you can see which teams have played in the AFC Championship Game the most, how many times they have won, and the year they first appeared.
The Houston Texans, the newest team in the AFC, have not yet played in this game.
| # | Team | W | L | % | PF | PA | Last game | Last win | Home | Away | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | % | G | W | L | % | |||||||||
| 16 | New England Patriots | 12 | 4 | .750 | 417 | 304 | 2025 | 2025 | 8 | 7 | 1 | .875 | 8 | 5 | 3 | .625 |
| 16 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 8 | 8 | .500 | 349 | 339 | 2016 | 2010 | 11 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 |
| 11 | Denver Broncos | 8 | 3 | .727 | 242 | 210 | 2025 | 2015 | 8 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 |
| 11 | Las Vegas Raiders | 4 | 7 | .364 | 202 | 253 | 2002 | 2002 | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 6 | 1 | 5 | .167 |
| 8 | Kansas City Chiefs | 5 | 3 | .625 | 213 | 201 | 2024 | 2024 | 6 | 4 | 2 | .667 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | 5 | 2 | .714 | 152 | 115 | 1992 | 1984 | 6 | 4 | 2 | .667 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | 4 | 3 | .571 | 183 | 124 | 2024 | 1993 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 |
| 7 | Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 4 | .429 | 132 | 178 | 2014 | 2009 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 |
| 5 | Baltimore Ravens | 2 | 3 | .400 | 88 | 79 | 2023 | 2012 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 4 | 2 | 2 | .500 |
| 5 | Tennessee Titans | 1 | 4 | .200 | 99 | 151 | 2019 | 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | —N/a | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 1 | .750 | 95 | 64 | 2022 | 2021 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Chargers | 1 | 3 | .250 | 63 | 95 | 2007 | 1994 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 4 | New York Jets | 0 | 4 | .000 | 46 | 91 | 2010 | —N/a | 0 | 0 | 0 | —N/a | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 |
| 3 | Cleveland Browns | 0 | 3 | .000 | 74 | 98 | 1989 | —N/a | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| 3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 3 | .000 | 40 | 77 | 2017 | —N/a | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawks | 0 | 1 | .000 | 14 | 30 | 1983 | —N/a[b] | 0 | 0 | 0 | —N/a | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Appearances by year
In the table below, you can see which teams have played in the AFC Championship Game. The teams are listed by how many times they’ve appeared, how many times they won, and the year they first played. The years shown in bold mean that the team won that year.
Records by division
The table below shows records for the AFC Championship Game by division. It depends on which division a team was in during the season the game was played. The NFL changed its divisions before the 2002 season. It renamed the AFC Central to the AFC North, created the AFC South, and moved some teams to different divisions.
Most common matchups
| Count | Matchup | Record | Years Played |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Oakland / Los Angeles / Las Vegas Raiders vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | Steelers, 2–1 | 1974, 1975, 1976 |
| 3 | Denver Broncos vs. Cleveland Browns | Broncos, 3–0 | 1986, 1987, 1989 |
| 3 | Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots | Patriots, 2–1 | 2003, 2006, 2014 |
| 3 | New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | Patriots, 3–0 | 2001, 2004, 2016 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs | Chiefs, 2–1 | 1993, 2020, 2024 |
| 3 | Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots | Broncos, 2–1 | 2013, 2015, 2025 |
| 2 | Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | Steelers, 2–0 | 1978, 1979 |
| 2 | Miami Dolphins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | Dolphins, 2–0 | 1972, 1984 |
| 2 | Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers | Tie, 1–1 | 1997, 2005 |
| 2 | Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots | Tie, 1–1 | 2011, 2012 |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots | Patriots, 2–0 | 1996, 2017 |
| 2 | Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs | Tie, 1–1 | 2021, 2022 |
AFC Championship Game records
The AFC Championship Game has many interesting records. The New England Patriots have the most wins with 12, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have the most losses with 8. Both teams have played in the game the most, with 16 appearances each.
Other records include the Buffalo Bills having the most consecutive wins with 4, and the New York Jets having the most appearances without a win at 4. The Miami Dolphins hold the record for the most defensive shutouts with 2.
The game with the most points scored was in 1991, when the Buffalo Bills scored 51 points against the Los Angeles Raiders. The largest margin of victory was also in 1991, with a difference of 48 points. The smallest margin of victory was just 2 points in 2016.
There have been several overtime games, including notable matchups like the Denver Broncos vs. Cleveland Browns in 1987 and the New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs in 2019.
TV ratings
The AFC Championship Game has had many viewers over the years. Here are the number of viewers for some recent games:
- 1982: 51.6 million viewers
- 2003: 41.5 million viewers
- 2005: 44.3 million viewers
- 2006: 39 million viewers
- 2007: 46.7 million viewers
- 2009: 42 million viewers
- 2010: 42.3 million viewers
- 2011: 54.9 million viewers
- 2012: 48.7 million viewers
- 2013: 47.7 million viewers
- 2014: 51.3 million viewers
- 2015: 42.1 million viewers
- 2016: 53.3 million viewers
- 2017: 41.2 million viewers
- 2018: 53.9 million viewers
- 2019: 41.1 million viewers
- 2020: 41.8 million viewers
- 2021: 47.8 million viewers
- 2022: 53.1 million viewers
- 2023: 55.5 million viewers
- 2024: 57.4 million viewers
Related articles
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on AFC Championship Game, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Images from Wikimedia Commons. Tap any image to view credits and license.