AFC Championship Game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| AFC Championship Game | |
|---|---|
 |
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| League | NFL |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Trophy | Lamar Hunt |
| No. of champions | 12 |
| Current champions | New England Patriots |
The American Football Conference Championship Game, otherwise 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. The current AFC Champions are the New England Patriots.
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.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] Game history
[edit] AFC Championship Game Records and facts
- Most Victories – 6; Denver Broncos (1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998); Pittsburgh Steelers (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1995, 2005); New England Patriots (1985, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007)
- Most Appearances – 13; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1974-76, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005)
- Most Consecutive Appearances – 5; Oakland Raiders (1973-77)[1]
- Most AFC championships hosted – 9; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004)
- Most Consecutive Victories – 4; Buffalo Bills (1990-93)
- Highest attendance – 91,445; Raiders vs. Seahawks in Los Angeles in 1984.
- Most points scored 51*; 1990 – Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Raiders.
- Fewest points scored, winning team 10; 1991 - Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos
- Most points scored, losing team 34*; 2006 - New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts
- Most aggregate points scored 73*; 1984 - Miami Dolphins (45) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (28)
- Fewest aggregate points scored 14; 1982 - Miami Dolphins (14) vs. New York Jets (0)
- Current AFC teams which have never appeared in an AFC Championship Game (AFC team) – Houston Texans[2]
- Current AFC teams which have never won an AFC Championship Game – Cleveland Browns (0-3), Houston Texans (no record), Kansas City Chiefs (0-1), Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) and New York Jets (0-2).
*Conference Championship record
[edit] List of Championship Games
^ a: Sudden-death overtime
TBD = To Be Determined
[edit] AFC Championship Game appearances 1970–present
| Num | Team | W | L | PCT | PF | PA | Last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 7 | .462 | 285 | 270 | 2005 |
| 11 | Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders | 4 | 7 | .364 | 202 | 253 | 2002 |
| 8 | Denver Broncos | 6 | 2 | .750 | 189 | 166 | 2005 |
| 7 | New England Patriots | 6 | 1 | .857 | 195 | 128 | 2007 |
| 7 | Miami Dolphins | 5 | 2 | .714 | 152 | 115 | 1992 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bills | 4 | 1 | .800 | 130 | 54 | 1993 |
| 5 | Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts | 2 | 3 | .400 | 95 | 116 | 2006 |
| 4 | Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Titans | 1 | 3 | .250 | 75 | 116 | 2002 |
| 4 | San Diego Chargers | 1 | 3 | .250 | 63 | 95 | 2007 |
| 3 | Cleveland Browns | 0 | 3 | .000 | 74 | 98 | 1989 |
| 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 48 | 17 | 1988 |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 0 | 2 | .000 | 20 | 53 | 1999 |
| 2 | New York Jets | 0 | 2 | .000 | 10 | 37 | 1998 |
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 16 | 3 | 2000 |
| 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | 0 | 1 | .000 | 13 | 30 | 1993 |
| 1 | Seattle Seahawksc[›] | 0 | 1 | .000 | 14 | 30 | 1983 |
| 0 | Houston Texans | 0 | 0 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
^ c: The Seattle Seahawks were members of the AFC from 1977 until 2002, and hold a combined 1-1 record between both Conference Championship Games.
[edit] See also
[edit] 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.
- ^ However it should be noted the franchise was founded in 2002.
- ^ 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.
