The Utter Non-Parity of the AFC’s Past Two Decades

Occasionally, there may be some fun football facts that cross my mind that I feel deserve a quick mention somewhere.  Here are some that have been in my head for a while, and that I finally took the time to investigate further.

That, as the title suggests, is how top heavy the AFC has been for the past 20 seasons.  During that time, just five teams (about one third of the conference) have dominated.  Good news, the Broncos are one of those teams!  The other four are the Steelers, Patriots, Ravens, and Colts.

These five teams have accounted for the following:

  • 90% of the AFC champions (18 of 20)
  • 75% of the AFC Championship Game participants (30 of 40)
  • 80% of the AFC playoff wins (80 of 100)
  • 53.3% of the AFC playoff appearances (64 of 120)

Who knows what surprises lie in 2015, but it’s certainly reasonable as of now to consider these five teams to be playoff favorites once again.  The Patriots are defending Super Bowl champs. The Broncos have enough talent on both sides to get a fifth straight AFC West title.  The Colts have the best quarterback in a terrible division.  The Steelers’ offense and the Ravens’ defense should keep them both in contention.

Teams like the Bengals, Chiefs, Chargers, Bills, and Dolphins are capable of competing for more than just one playoff spot between them, but it may be a tough climb for them to make that happen.