The AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It 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).
The division has its roots in the AFL's Eastern Division, which featured all of the above teams as well as the Houston Oilers. The division was absorbed nearly intact with the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970, but Houston was removed and replaced by the closer 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 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. None of the AFC East teams play within the central city of their metropolitan area. The Patriots play in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts; the Jets play in East Rutherford, New Jersey; the Dolphins play in Miami Gardens, Florida; and the Bills play 7 games in Orchard Park, New York and 1 in Toronto, Ontario. Also Miami has a large population of former residents of the northeast, especially the New York Metro area, thus making Miami a "northeastern city" in some manner.
| Conference | American Football Conference |
|---|---|
| League | National Football League |
| Sport | American football |
| Founded | 1960 (as the American Football League Eastern Division) |
| Teams | |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Championships | |
| Most recent AFC East champions | New England Patriots |
| Most AFC East titles | New England Patriots (19 titles, have won 8 straight AFC East Titles) |
Division champions
- A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to 9 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.
| Season | Team | Record | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Baltimore Colts | 11-2-1 | Won Super Bowl V |
| 1971 | Miami Dolphins | 10-3-1 | Lost Super Bowl VI |
| 1972 | Miami Dolphins | 14-0 | Won Super Bowl VII |
| 1973 | Miami Dolphins | 12-2 | Won Super Bowl VIII |
| 1974 | Miami Dolphins | 11-3 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1975 | Baltimore Colts | 10-4 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1976 | Baltimore Colts | 11-3 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1977 | Baltimore Colts | 10-4 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1978 | New England Patriots | 11-5 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1979 | Miami Dolphins | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1980 | Buffalo Bills | 11-5 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1981 | Miami Dolphins | 11-4-1 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1982+ | Miami Dolphins | 7-2 | Lost Super Bowl XVII |
| 1983 | Miami Dolphins | 12-4 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1984 | Miami Dolphins | 14-2 | Lost Super Bowl XIX |
| 1985 | Miami Dolphins | 12-4 | Lost AFC Championship Game |
| 1986 | New England Patriots | 11-5 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1987 | Indianapolis Colts | 9-6 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1988 | Buffalo Bills | 12-4 | Lost AFC Championship Game |
| 1989 | Buffalo Bills | 9-7 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1990 | Buffalo Bills | 13-3 | Lost Super Bowl XXV |
| 1991 | Buffalo Bills | 13-3 | Lost Super Bowl XXVI |
| 1992 | Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | Lost AFC Championship Game |
| 1993 | Buffalo Bills | 12-4 | Lost Super Bowl XXVIII |
| 1994 | Miami Dolphins | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1995 | Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1996 | New England Patriots | 11-5 | Lost Super Bowl XXXI |
| 1997 | New England Patriots | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1998 | New York Jets | 12-4 | Lost AFC Championship Game |
| 1999 | Indianapolis Colts | 13-3 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 2000 | Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 2001 | New England Patriots | 11-5 | Won Super Bowl XXXVI |
| 2002 | New York Jets | 9-7 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 2003 | New England Patriots | 14-2 | Won Super Bowl XXXVIII |
| 2004 | New England Patriots | 14-2 | Won Super Bowl XXXIX |
| 2005 | New England Patriots | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 2006 | New England Patriots | 12-4 | Lost AFC Championship Game |
| 2007 | New England Patriots | 16-0 | Lost Super Bowl XLII |
| 2008 | Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | Lost AFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 2009 | New England Patriots | 10-6 | Lost AFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 2010 | New England Patriots | 14-2 | Lost AFC Divional Playoffs |
| 2011 | New England Patriots | 13-3 |
Lost Super Bowl XLVI |
Wild Card qualifiers
- Since 1970
| Season | Team | Record | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Miami Dolphins | 10-4 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 1971 | Baltimore Colts | 10-4 | Lost Conference Championship |
| 1972 | None | -- | -- |
| 1973 | None | -- | -- |
| 1974 | Buffalo Bills | 9-5 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 1975 | None | -- | -- |
| 1976 | New England Patriots | 11-3 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 1977 | None | -- | -- |
| 1978 | Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1979 | None | -- | -- |
| 1980 | None | -- | -- |
| 1981 | Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 1981 | New York Jets | 10-5 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1982 | None* | -- | -- |
| 1983 | None | -- | -- |
| 1984 | None | -- | -- |
| 1985 | New England Patriots | 11-5 | Lost Super Bowl XX |
| 1985 | New York Jets | 11-5 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1986 | New York Jets | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 1987 | None | -- | -- |
| 1988 | None | -- | -- |
| 1989 | None | -- | -- |
| 1990 | Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 1991 | New York Jets | 8-8 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1992 | Buffalo Bills | 11-5 | Lost Super Bowl XXVII |
| 1993 | None | -- | -- |
| 1994 | New England Patriots | 10-6 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1995 | Indianapolis Colts | 9-7 | Lost AFC Championship |
| 1995 | Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1996 | Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1996 | Indianapolis Colts | 9-7 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1997 | Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1998 | Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1998 | Miami Dolphins | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 1998 | New England Patriots | 9-7 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1999 | Buffalo Bills | 11-5 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 1999 | Miami Dolphins | 9-7 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 2000 | Indianapolis Colts | 10-6 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 2001 | Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 2001 | New York Jets | 10-6 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 2002 | None | -- | -- |
| 2003 | None | -- | -- |
| 2004 | New York Jets | 10-6 | Lost AFC Divisional playoffs |
| 2005 | None | -- | -- |
| 2006 | New York Jets | 10-6 | Lost AFC Wild Card playoffs |
| 2007 | None | -- |
-- |
| 2008 | None | -- |
-- |
| 2009 | New York Jets | 9-7 | Lost AFC Championship Game |
| 2010 | New York Jets | 11-5 | Lost AFC Championship Game |
* - 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 |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 19 | 24 |
| Miami Dolphins | 13 | 23 |
| Buffalo Bills | 11 | 18 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 13 |
| Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts1 | 6 | 10 |
| Houston Oilers | 4 | 5 |
1 Known as the Baltimore Colts before 1984. Realigned into the AFC South during the 2002 NFL season.
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