AFC East explained

AFC East
Sport:	American football
League:	National Football League
Conference:	American Football Conference
Founded:	1960 (as the American Football League Eastern Division)
Teams:	4
Champion:	Buffalo Bills (14th title)
Most Champs:	New England Patriots (22 titles)

The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, and the New York Jets. All four members of the AFC East were previously members of the Eastern Division of the American Football League (AFL).

Both perfect regular seasons in professional football since the adoption of a 14-game schedule in the inaugural AFL season and by the NFL in 1961 have been achieved by teams in this division – the 1972 Dolphins, who completed the only perfect season in professional football at 17–0, and the 2007 Patriots, who finished 18–1 after losing Super Bowl XLII. Since the division's enfranchisement in 1960, with the creation of the AFL, the division has been represented in 22 Super Bowls and won 11 of them. The most recent appearance in the Super Bowl by an AFC East team was the Patriots victory in Super Bowl LIII. Among the current teams, they have a total of nine Super Bowl titles: six for the Patriots, two for the Dolphins, and one for the Jets.

The current champions of the AFC East are the Bills, who won 4 consecutive division titles in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Previously, the Patriots had won eleven consecutively from 2009 through 2019. The Patriots have won the most AFL/AFC East titles, at 22; followed by the Dolphins at 14(who also had the best record in the East during the strike shortened 82 season when divisions were scrapped for a seeded playoffs) and the Bills at 15. The Jets have won four. Two teams formerly in the division combined for ten AFL/AFC East titles – the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans) won four division titles (and the 1960 and 1961 AFL titles) during the AFL era^[1] while the Baltimore - Indianapolis Colts won six division titles (and Super Bowl V) in the 32 seasons they were in the division.^[2]

The AFC East teams have won 26 AFL or AFC championships: including 11 by the Patriots, 6 by the Bills, and 5 by the Dolphins. The now-Titans won 2, followed by 1 each by the Jets and Colts.

AFL Eastern Division

The American Football League Eastern Division was formed during the inaugural season of the American Football League in 1960, as a counterpart to the AFL Western Division. The divisional alignment consisted of the Buffalo Bills, Boston Patriots, New York Titans and Houston Oilers. The Miami Dolphins entered the AFL in 1966 as part of its Eastern division.^[3]

The division was absorbed nearly intact with the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, but Houston was moved to the AFC Central (formerly the NFL Century Division, now the AFC North) and replaced by the closer Baltimore Colts (from the NFL Coastal Division, which became the NFC West). Despite relocating to Indianapolis, Indiana in 1984, the Colts continued to play in the AFC East until NFL expansion from 31 to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans (successor club in Houston to the Oilers) and 2002 re-alignment when they were moved to the AFC South (the successor franchise to the Oilers, the Tennessee Titans, is also in the AFC South).^[4]

Although Miami is farther south than the home cities of the other three teams, all of which are in the Northeast, all four AFC East teams have historical rivalries among them, dating from their years in the AFL during the 1960s.^[5] All four teams in this division are based in the Eastern Time Zone.

None of the AFC East teams currently play within the central city of their metropolitan area (in New England's case, they also reflect the region they are based in):

The Bills play in Orchard Park, New York; they played in the city of Buffalo from 1960 to 1972.
The Jets play in East Rutherford, New Jersey (and share a stadium with the New York Giants; they played in the New York City borough of Manhattan from 1960 to 1963, and in the borough of Queens from 1964 to 1983).
The Dolphins play in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb of Miami (Miami Gardens was separated from the city itself and incorporated in 2003). The Dolphins also played in the Miami neighborhood of Little Havana from 1966 to 1986 when they played at the Orange Bowl.
The Patriots play in Foxborough, Massachusetts (they played in Boston, the largest city in New England, until 1970 and adopted their current name in 1971 when they moved into what eventually became known as Foxboro Stadium).

Almost analogously, three out of the four NFC East teams do not actually play within the city of their naming (only the Philadelphia Eagles do so).

All of the teams are or were coached by a first or second generation member of the Bill Parcells coaching tree: the Patriots had Bill Belichick; the Dolphins had Tony Sparano; the Jets had Eric Mangini (who served as an assistant with both Belichick and Parcells); and the Bills had Dick Jauron (fired on November 17, 2009), who served as an assistant with former Parcells assistant Tom Coughlin. The Jets were coached by Todd Bowles (2015–2018) and the Bills were coached by Rex Ryan for 31 games (the entire 2015–16 season, and he was fired before the last game of the 2016–17 season and replaced with interim Head Coach Anthony Lynn). Parcells himself coached the Patriots (1993–96) and the Jets (1997–99) and was Vice President of Football Operations for the Dolphins until the summer of 2010.^[6]

ESPN's Chris Berman often calls this division the "AFC Adams" due to its geographical similarity to the old Adams Division of the NHL, now succeeded by the Atlantic Division.

Along with the AFC (formerly AFL) West, the AFC East is the oldest NFL division in terms of creation date (1960).

Division lineups

Place cursor over year for division champion or Super Bowl team.

AFL Eastern Division
1900s
60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69

Buffalo Bills
Boston Patriots
New York Titans

AFC East Division
1900s																														2000s
70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80	81	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01

Buffalo Bills
Boston Patriots	New England Patriots
New York Jets
														Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins

AFC East Division
2000s
02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25

New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills
New York Jets
Miami Dolphins
Team not in division Division Won AFL Championship Division Won AFC Championship Division Won Super Bowl

Boston Patriots renamed to New England Patriots.

Houston Oilers move to newly created AFC Central division (1970 season) and later are renamed the Tennessee Oilers (1997 season), then Tennessee Titans (1999 season). Moved to AFC South in 2002.

New York Titans renamed to New York Jets (1963 season)

Miami Dolphins enfranchised (1966 season)

Baltimore Colts merge from NFL's Coastal Division (1970 season)

Baltimore Colts relocate to Indianapolis subsequently renamed Indianapolis Colts (1984 season). Moved to AFC South in 2002.

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.
++ – Due to the Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals being declared a no-contest (and later cancelled), the Buffalo Bills officially played 16 games in the 2022 season.

Wild Card qualifiers

Season	Record	Playoff Results
1969	6–6–2	Lost Divisional playoffs (at Raiders) 7–56
1970	10–4	Lost Divisional playoffs (at Raiders) 14–21
1971	10–4	Won Divisional playoffs (at Browns) 20–3 Lost AFC Championship (at Dolphins) 0–21
1974	9–5	Lost Divisional playoffs (at Steelers) 14–32
1976	11–3	Lost Divisional playoffs (at Raiders) 21–24
1978	11–5	Lost Wild Card playoffs (Oilers) 9–17
1981	10–5–1	Lost Wild Card playoffs (Bills) 27–31
1981	10–6	Won Wild Card playoffs (at Jets) 31–27 Lost Divisional playoffs (at Bengals) 21–28
1982+	6–3	Won First Round playoffs (at Bengals) 44–17 Won Second Round playoffs (at Raiders) 17–14 Lost AFC Championship (at Dolphins) 0–14
1982+	5–4	Lost First Round playoffs (at Dolphins) 13–28
1985	11–5	Lost Wild Card playoffs (Patriots) 14–26
1985	11–5	Won Wild Card playoffs (at Jets) 26–14 Won Divisional playoffs (at Raiders) 27–20 Won AFC Championship (at Dolphins) 31–14 Lost Super Bowl XX (vs. Bears) 10–46
1986	10–6	Won Wild Card playoffs (Chiefs) 35–15 Lost Divisional playoffs (at Browns) 20–23
1990	12–4	Won Wild Card playoffs (Chiefs) 17–16 Lost Divisional playoffs (at Bills) 34–44
1991	8–8	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Oilers) 10–17
1992	11–5	Won Wild Card playoffs (Oilers) 41–38 Won Divisional playoffs (at Steelers) 24–3 Won AFC Championship (at Dolphins) 29–10 Lost Super Bowl XXVII (vs. Cowboys) 17–52
1994	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Browns) 13–20
1995	9–7	Won Wild Card playoffs (at Chargers) 35–20 Won Divisional playoffs (at Chiefs) 10–7 Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 16–20
1995	9–7	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Bills) 22–37
1996	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (Jaguars) 27–30
1996	9–7	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Steelers) 14–42
1997	9–7	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Patriots) 3–17
1998	10–6	Won Wild Card playoffs (Bills) 24–17 Lost Divisional playoffs (at Broncos) 3–38
	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Dolphins) 17–24
	9–7	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Jaguars) 10–25
1999	11–5	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Titans) 16–22
1999	9–7	Won Wild Card playoffs (at Seahawks) 20–17 Lost Divisional playoffs (at Jaguars) 7–62
2000	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Dolphins) 17–23
2001	11–5	Lost Wild Card playoffs (Ravens) 3–20
2001	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Raiders) 24–38
2004	10–6	Won Wild Card playoffs (at Chargers) 20–17 Lost Divisional playoffs (at Steelers) 17–20
2006	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Patriots) 16–37
2009	9–7	Won Wild Card playoffs (at Bengals) 24–14 Won Divisional playoffs (at Chargers) 17–14 Lost AFC Championship (at Colts) 17–30
2010	11–5	Won Wild Card playoffs (at Colts) 17–16 Won Divisional playoffs (at Patriots) 28–21 Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 19–24
2016	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Steelers) 12–30
2017	9–7	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Jaguars) 3–10
2019	10–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Texans) 19–22
2021	10–7	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Bills) 17–47
2022	9–8	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Bills) 31–34
2023	11–6	Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Chiefs) 7–26

+ – 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.

Total playoff berths while in the AFL/AFC East

(AFC East records 1960–2021 seasons)
Reflects Colts & Oilers results only while in the East Division.
In the sortable table below, teams can be ordered by name, number of division wins, playoff berths, or titles.

Team	Division Titles	Playoff Berths	AFL Titles	AFC Championships	Super Bowl Championships
	22	28	0	11	6
	14	22	2	4	0
	13	24	0	5	2
	4	14	1	0	1
Indianapolis Colts¹*	6	10	0	2	1
Houston Oilers²*	4	5	2	0	0

¹ Realigned from NFL Coastal in 1970 merger. Known as the Baltimore Colts before 1984. Realigned into the AFC South beginning with the 2002 NFL season.
² Realigned into the AFC Central in 1970 merger, and into the AFC South in 2002. Known as Tennessee Oilers from 1997 to 1998, and Tennessee Titans since 1999.

Season results

bgcolor=#FFCC00 align=center width=10px	^(#)	Denotes team that won the Super Bowl
bgcolor=#C0C0C0 align=center width=10px	^(#)	Denotes team that won the AFC Championship
bgcolor=#FFCCCC align=center width=10px	^(#)	Denotes team that won the AFL Championship
bgcolor=#CCFFCC align=center width=10px	^(#)	Denotes team that qualified for the NFL Playoffs or AFL Playoffs

Season	Team (record)
Season	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
AFL Eastern
1960: The AFL was established with 8 teams. The Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, and New York Titans comprised the Eastern Division.
1960	Houston (10–4)	N.Y. Titans (7–7)	Buffalo (5–8–1)	Boston (5–9)
1961	Houston (10–3–1)	Boston (9–4–1)	N.Y. Titans (7–7)	Buffalo (6–8)
1962	Houston (11–3)	Boston (9–4–1)	Buffalo (7–6–1)	N.Y. Titans (5–9)
1963: The New York Titans renamed as the New York Jets
1963	Boston (7–6–1)	Buffalo (7–6–1)	Houston (6–8)	N.Y. Jets (5–8–1)
1964	Buffalo (12–2)	Boston (10–3–1)	N.Y. Jets (5–8–1)	Houston (4–10)
1965	Buffalo (10–3–1)	N.Y. Jets (5–8–1)	Boston (4–8–2)	Houston (4–10)
1966: An expansion team, Miami Dolphins joined AFL Eastern.
1966	Buffalo (9–4–1)	Boston (8–4–2)	N.Y. Jets (6–6–2)	Houston (3–11)	Miami (3–11)
1967	Houston (9–4–1)	N.Y. Jets (8–5–1)	Buffalo (4–10)	Miami (4–10)	Boston (3–10–1)
1968	N.Y. Jets (11–3)	Houston (7–7)	Miami (5–8–1)	Boston (4–10)	Buffalo (1–12–1)
1969	N.Y. Jets (10–4)	Houston (6–6–2)	Boston (4–10)	Buffalo (4–10)	Miami (3–10–1)
AFC East
1970: As part of AFL–NFL merger, AFL Eastern adopted its current name with the Houston Oilers moving to the AFC Central while the Baltimore Colts moved in from the NFL Coastal.
	Baltimore (11–2–1)	Miami (10–4)	N.Y. Jets (4–10)	Buffalo (3–10–1)	Boston (2–12)
1971: The Boston Patriots were renamed as the New England Patriots
	Miami (10–3–1)	Baltimore (10–4)	New England (6–8)	N.Y. Jets (6–8)	Buffalo (1–13)
	Miami (14–0)	N.Y. Jets (7–7)	Baltimore (5–9)	Buffalo (4–9–1)	New England (3–11)
	Miami (12–2)	Buffalo (9–5)	New England (5–9)	N.Y. Jets (4–10)	Baltimore (4–10)
	Miami (11–3)	Buffalo (9–5)	New England (7–7)	N.Y. Jets (7–7)	Baltimore (2–12)
	⁽³⁾ Baltimore (10–4)	Miami (10–4)	Buffalo (8–6)	N.Y. Jets (3–11)	New England (3–11)
	⁽²⁾ Baltimore (11–3)	⁽⁴⁾ New England (11–3)	Miami (6–8)	N.Y. Jets (3–11)	Buffalo (2–12)
	⁽²⁾ Baltimore (10–4)	Miami (10–4)	New England (9–5)	Buffalo (3–11)	N.Y. Jets (3–11)
	⁽²⁾ New England (11–5)	⁽⁴⁾ Miami (11–5)	N.Y. Jets (8–8)	Buffalo (5–11)	Baltimore (5–11)
	⁽³⁾ Miami (10–6)	New England (9–7)	N.Y. Jets (8–8)	Buffalo (7–9)	Baltimore (5–11)
	⁽³⁾ Buffalo (11–5)	New England (10–6)	Miami (8–8)	Baltimore (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (4–12)
	⁽²⁾ Miami (11–4–1)	⁽⁴⁾ N.Y. Jets (10–5–1)	⁽⁵⁾ Buffalo (10–6)	Baltimore (2–14)	New England (2–14)
^	⁽²⁾ Miami (7–2)	⁽⁶⁾ N.Y. Jets (6–3)	⁽⁷⁾ New England (5–4)	Buffalo (4–5)	Baltimore (0–8–1)
	⁽²⁾ Miami (12–4)	New England (8–8)	Buffalo (8–8)	Baltimore (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (7–9)
1984: The Baltimore Colts moved to Indianapolis and became the Indianapolis Colts.
	⁽¹⁾ Miami (14–2)	New England (9–7)	N.Y. Jets (7–9)	Indianapolis (4–12)	Buffalo (2–14)
	⁽²⁾ Miami (12–4)	⁽⁴⁾ N.Y. Jets (11–5)	⁽⁵⁾ New England (11–5)	Indianapolis (5–11)	Buffalo (2–14)
	⁽³⁾ New England (11–5)	⁽⁴⁾ N.Y. Jets (10–6)	Miami (8–8)	Buffalo (4–12)	Indianapolis (3–13)
	⁽³⁾ Indianapolis (9–6)	New England (8–7)	Miami (8–7)	Buffalo (7–8)	N.Y. Jets (6–9)
	⁽²⁾ Buffalo (12–4)	Indianapolis (9–7)	New England (9–7)	N.Y. Jets (8–7–1)	Miami (6–10)
	⁽³⁾ Buffalo (9–7)	Indianapolis (8–8)	Miami (8–8)	New England (5–11)	N.Y. Jets (4–12)
	⁽¹⁾ Buffalo (13–3)	⁽⁴⁾ Miami (12–4)	Indianapolis (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (6–10)	New England (1–15)
	⁽¹⁾ Buffalo (13–3)	⁽⁶⁾ N.Y. Jets (8–8)	Miami (8–8)	New England (6–10)	Indianapolis (1–15)
	⁽²⁾ Miami (11–5)	⁽⁴⁾ Buffalo (11–5)	Indianapolis (9–7)	N.Y. Jets (4–12)	New England (2–14)
	⁽¹⁾ Buffalo (12–4)	Miami (9–7)	N.Y. Jets (8–8)	New England (5–11)	Indianapolis (4–12)
	⁽³⁾ Miami (10–6)	⁽⁵⁾ New England (10–6)	Indianapolis (8–8)	Buffalo (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (6–10)
	⁽³⁾ Buffalo (10–6)	⁽⁵⁾ Indianapolis (9–7)	⁽⁶⁾ Miami (9–7)	New England (6–10)	N.Y. Jets (3–13)
	⁽²⁾ New England (11–5)	⁽⁴⁾ Buffalo (10–6)	⁽⁶⁾ Indianapolis (9–7)	Miami (8–8)	N.Y. Jets (1–15)
	⁽³⁾ New England (10–6)	⁽⁶⁾ Miami (9–7)	N.Y. Jets (9–7)	Buffalo (6–10)	Indianapolis (3–13)
	⁽²⁾ N.Y. Jets (12–4)	⁽⁴⁾ Miami (10–6)	⁽⁵⁾ Buffalo (10–6)	⁽⁶⁾ New England (9–7)	Indianapolis (3–13)
	⁽²⁾ Indianapolis (13–3)	⁽⁵⁾ Buffalo (11–5)	⁽⁶⁾ Miami (9–7)	N.Y. Jets (8–8)	New England (8–8)
	⁽³⁾ Miami (11–5)	⁽⁶⁾ Indianapolis (10–6)	N.Y. Jets (9–7)	Buffalo (8–8)	New England (5–11)
	⁽²⁾ New England (11–5)	⁽⁴⁾ Miami (11–5)	⁽⁶⁾ N.Y. Jets (10–6)	Indianapolis (6–10)	Buffalo (3–13)
2002: As part of the 2002 realignment, the Indianapolis Colts moved to the newly formed AFC South.
	⁽⁴⁾ N.Y. Jets (9–7)	New England (9–7)	Miami (9–7)	Buffalo (8–8)
	⁽¹⁾ New England (14–2)	Miami (10–6)	Buffalo (6–10)	N.Y. Jets (6–10)
	⁽²⁾ New England (14–2)	⁽⁵⁾ N.Y. Jets (10–6)	Buffalo (9–7)	Miami (4–12)
	⁽⁴⁾ New England (10–6)	Miami (9–7)	Buffalo (5–11)	N.Y. Jets (4–12)
	⁽⁴⁾ New England (12–4)	⁽⁵⁾ N.Y. Jets (10–6)	Buffalo (7–9)	Miami (6–10)
	⁽¹⁾ New England (16–0)	Buffalo (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (4–12)	Miami (1–15)
	⁽³⁾ Miami (11–5)	New England (11–5)	N.Y. Jets (9–7)	Buffalo (7–9)
	⁽³⁾ New England (10–6)	⁽⁵⁾ N.Y. Jets (9–7)	Miami (7–9)	Buffalo (6–10)
	⁽¹⁾ New England (14–2)	⁽⁶⁾ N.Y. Jets (11–5)	Miami (7–9)	Buffalo (4–12)
	⁽¹⁾ New England (13–3)	N.Y. Jets (8–8)	Miami (6–10)	Buffalo (6–10)
	⁽²⁾ New England (12–4)	Miami (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (6–10)	Buffalo (6–10)
	⁽²⁾ New England (12–4)	N.Y. Jets (8–8)	Miami (8–8)	Buffalo (6–10)
	⁽¹⁾ New England (12–4)	Buffalo (9–7)	Miami (8–8)	N.Y. Jets (4–12)
	⁽²⁾ New England (12–4)	N.Y. Jets (10–6)	Buffalo (8–8)	Miami (6–10)
	⁽¹⁾ New England (14–2)	⁽⁶⁾ Miami (10–6)	Buffalo (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (5–11)
	⁽¹⁾ New England (13–3)	⁽⁶⁾ Buffalo (9–7)	Miami (6–10)	N.Y. Jets (5–11)
	⁽²⁾ New England (11–5)	Miami (7–9)	Buffalo (6–10)	N.Y. Jets (4–12)
	⁽³⁾ New England (12–4)	⁽⁵⁾ Buffalo (10–6)	N.Y. Jets (7–9)	Miami (5–11)
	⁽²⁾ Buffalo (13–3)	Miami (10–6)	New England (7–9)	N.Y. Jets (2–14)
	⁽³⁾ Buffalo (11–6)	⁽⁶⁾ New England (10–7)	Miami (9–8)	N.Y. Jets (4–13)
	⁽²⁾ Buffalo (13–3)	⁽⁷⁾ Miami (9–8)	New England (8–9)	N.Y. Jets (7–10)
	⁽²⁾ Buffalo (11–6)	⁽⁶⁾ Miami (11–6)	N.Y. Jets (7–10)	New England (4–13)

Notes and References

Web site: Houston Oilers/Tennessee Oilers/Tennessee Titans Team Encyclopedia - Pro-Football-Reference.com. Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Web site: Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts Team Encyclopedia - Pro-Football-Reference.com. Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Book: Urena, Ivan. Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present. December 11, 2013. McFarland. 9780786473519. Google Books.
Web site: NFL and AFL announce merger - Jun 08, 1966 - HISTORY.com.
Web site: Clayton . John . October 26, 2015 . Clayton: AFC South could be worst division ever . May 16, 2024 . ESPN.com . en.
Web site: Bill Parcells thinks Miami Dolphins could make a run at the AFC East title. July 17, 2013 .