AFC Championship Game

This article is about the game played annually since the 1970 season. For its predecessor, see AFL Championship Game.

Not to be confused with AFC Champions League Elite.

The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. The game is played on the last Sunday in January by the two remaining playoff teams, following the AFC postseason's first two rounds. The AFC champion then advances to face the winner of the NFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl.

AFC Championship Game

First played	January 3, 1971 (1970 season)
Trophy	Lamar Hunt Trophy
2024 season
Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri January 26, 2025 Kansas City Chiefs 32 Buffalo Bills 29

The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League (AFL), with the merged league realigning into two conferences. Since 1984,^[1] each winner of the AFC Championship Game has also received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of the AFL and founder and longtime owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Hunt.

History

The first AFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the AFL. The game is considered the successor to the former AFL Championship, and its game results are listed with that of its predecessor in the annual NFL Record and Fact Book.^[2] Since the pre-merger NFL consisted of six more teams than the AFL (16 teams for the NFL and 10 for the AFL), a realignment was required as part of the merger to create two conferences with an equal number of teams: The NFL's Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers joined the ten former AFL teams to form the AFC; while the remaining 13 pre-merger NFL clubs formed the NFC.

Every current AFC team except the Houston Texans has played in an AFC Championship Game at least once, while the New York Jets and the Tennessee Titans have yet to host one. The Seattle Seahawks, who have been members in both the AFC and the NFC, hold the distinction of appearing in both conference title games, a loss in the AFC conference title game to the Los Angeles Raiders for Super Bowl XVIII and, in their first appearance in an NFC conference title game, a win over the Carolina Panthers for Super Bowl XL. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most appearances in the AFC Championship Game at 16, with 11 of those games being in Pittsburgh, the most for either conference. The New England Patriots have won the most AFC Championships at 11, and played in a record eight straight AFC title games (2011–2018). At least one of New England quarterback Tom Brady and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played in every championship game between the 2003 and the 2018 seasons, except for the 2009 season. The Kansas City Chiefs have hosted the AFC Championship a record five consecutive times, between the 2018–2022 seasons.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

The Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only two AFC teams to appear in at least one AFC Championship game in every decade since 1970.

Playoff structure

Further information: NFL playoffs

The redesigned Lamar Hunt Trophy, awarded since 2010–11 season

The structure of the NFL playoffs has changed several times since 1970. At the end of each regular season, the top teams in the AFC qualify for the postseason, including all division champions (three division winners from the 1970–71 to 2001–02 seasons; four since the 2002–03 season) and a set number of "wild card" teams that possess the best win–loss records after the regular season yet fail to win their division (one wild card team from the 1970–71 to 1977–78 seasons; two wild cards from 1978–79 to 1989–90, and from 2002–03 to 2019–20; three from 1990–91 to 2001–02, and since 2020–21). The two teams remaining following the wild-card round (first round) and the divisional round (second round) play in the AFC Championship Game, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl.

Initially, the site of the AFC Championship Game was determined on a rotating basis.^[8]: 10 Since the 1975–76 season, the site of the game has been based on playoff seeding based on the regular season won-loss record, with the highest surviving seed hosting the game. A wild card team can only host the game if both participants are wild cards; such an instance has yet to occur in the NFL.^[9]

Lamar Hunt Trophy

External image
The (former version of the) Lamar Hunt Trophy on display at a press conference at the Westin Hotel in Denver, Colorado. Getty Images. January 20, 2006.

Beginning with the 1984–85 NFL playoffs,^[1] the winner of the AFC Championship Game has received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of the AFL and founder and longtime owner of the Kansas City Chiefs. The original design by Don Weller consisted of a wooden base with a sculpted AFC logo in the front and a sculpture of various football players in the back, with raised silver frieze utilized.^[10]

For the 2010–11 NFL playoffs, the Lamar Hunt Trophy and the George Halas Trophy, which is awarded to the NFC Champion, were redesigned by Tiffany & Co. at the request of the NFL in an attempt to make both awards more significant.^[11] The trophies are now a new, silver design with the outline of a hollow football positioned on a small base to more closely resemble the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl.^[12]

In recent years Conference championship rings are also awarded to members of the team who wins the AFC or NFC championship since they are the winners of the conference, even though they may not necessarily follow it up with a win in the Super Bowl.^[13][14]

List of AFC Championship Games

See also: List of AFL and AFC champions

Numbers in parentheses in the table are AFC Championships. Bold indicates team won Super Bowl that year.

Numbers in parentheses in the city and stadium column is the number of times that metropolitan area and stadium has hosted an AFC Championship, respectively.

Season	Playoffs	Date	Winning team	Score	Losing team	Score	Location	Stadium
1970	1970–71	January 3, 1971	Baltimore Colts (1)	27	Oakland Raiders	17	Baltimore, Maryland[fn 1]	Memorial Stadium[15]
1971	1971–72	January 2, 1972	Miami Dolphins (1)	21	Baltimore Colts	0	Miami, Florida[fn 2]	Miami Orange Bowl[16]
1972	1972–73	December 31, 1972	Miami Dolphins (2)	21	Pittsburgh Steelers	17	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Three Rivers Stadium[17]
1973	1973–74	December 30, 1973	Miami Dolphins (3)	27	Oakland Raiders	10	Miami, Florida (2)[fn 2]	Miami Orange Bowl (2)[18]
1974	1974–75	December 29, 1974	Pittsburgh Steelers (1)	24	Oakland Raiders	13	Oakland, California	Oakland Coliseum[fn 3][19]
1975	1975–76	January 4, 1976	Pittsburgh Steelers (2)	16	Oakland Raiders	10	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2)	Three Rivers Stadium (2)[20]
1976	1976–77	December 26, 1976	Oakland Raiders (1)	24	Pittsburgh Steelers	7	Oakland, California (2)	Oakland Coliseum (2)[fn 3][21]
1977	1977–78	January 1, 1978	Denver Broncos (1)	20	Oakland Raiders	17	Denver, Colorado	Mile High Stadium[22]
1978	1978–79	January 7, 1979	Pittsburgh Steelers (3)	34	Houston Oilers	5	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (3)	Three Rivers Stadium (3)[23]
1979	1979–80	January 6, 1980	Pittsburgh Steelers (4)	27	Houston Oilers	13	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (4)	Three Rivers Stadium (4)[24]
1980	1980–81	January 11, 1981	Oakland Raiders (2)	34	San Diego Chargers	27	San Diego, California	Jack Murphy Stadium[25]
1981	1981–82	January 10, 1982	Cincinnati Bengals (1)	27	San Diego Chargers	7	Cincinnati, Ohio	Riverfront Stadium[26]
1982	1982–83	January 23, 1983	Miami Dolphins (4)	14	New York Jets	0	Miami, Florida (3)[fn 2]	Miami Orange Bowl (3)[27]
1983	1983–84	January 8, 1984	Los Angeles Raiders (3)	30	Seattle Seahawks	14	Los Angeles, California	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum[28]
1984	1984–85	January 6, 1985	Miami Dolphins (5)	45	Pittsburgh Steelers	28	Miami, Florida (4)[fn 2]	Miami Orange Bowl (4)[29]
1985	1985–86	January 12, 1986	New England Patriots (1)	31	Miami Dolphins	14	Miami, Florida (5)[fn 2]	Miami Orange Bowl (5)[30]
1986	1986–87	January 11, 1987	Denver Broncos (2)	23[fn 4]	Cleveland Browns	20	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Municipal Stadium[31]
1987	1987–88	January 17, 1988	Denver Broncos (3)	38	Cleveland Browns	33	Denver, Colorado (2)	Mile High Stadium (2)[32]
1988	1988–89	January 8, 1989	Cincinnati Bengals (2)	21	Buffalo Bills	10	Cincinnati, Ohio (2)	Riverfront Stadium (2)[33]
1989	1989–90	January 14, 1990	Denver Broncos (4)	37	Cleveland Browns	21	Denver, Colorado (3)	Mile High Stadium (3)[34]
1990	1990–91	January 20, 1991	Buffalo Bills (1)	51	Los Angeles Raiders	3	Orchard Park, New York	Rich Stadium[35]
1991	1991–92	January 12, 1992	Buffalo Bills (2)	10	Denver Broncos	7	Orchard Park, New York (2)	Rich Stadium (2)[36]
1992	1992–93	January 17, 1993	Buffalo Bills (3)	29	Miami Dolphins	10	Miami, Florida (6)[fn 2]	Joe Robbie Stadium[37]
1993	1993–94	January 23, 1994	Buffalo Bills (4)	30	Kansas City Chiefs	13	Orchard Park, New York (3)	Rich Stadium (3)[38]
1994	1994–95	January 15, 1995	San Diego Chargers (1)	17	Pittsburgh Steelers	13	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (5)	Three Rivers Stadium (5)[39]
1995	1995–96	January 14, 1996	Pittsburgh Steelers (5)	20	Indianapolis Colts	16	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (6)	Three Rivers Stadium (6)[40]
1996	1996–97	January 12, 1997	New England Patriots (2)	20	Jacksonville Jaguars	6	Foxborough, Massachusetts	Foxboro Stadium[41]
1997	1997–98	January 11, 1998	Denver Broncos (5)	24	Pittsburgh Steelers	21	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (7)	Three Rivers Stadium (7)[42]
1998	1998–99	January 17, 1999	Denver Broncos (6)	23	New York Jets	10	Denver, Colorado (4)	Mile High Stadium (4)[43]
1999	1999–00	January 23, 2000	Tennessee Titans (1)	33	Jacksonville Jaguars	14	Jacksonville, Florida	Alltel Stadium[44]
2000	2000–01	January 14, 2001	Baltimore Ravens (1)	16	Oakland Raiders	3	Oakland, California (3)	Oakland Coliseum (3)[fn 3][45]
2001	2001–02	January 27, 2002	New England Patriots (3)	24	Pittsburgh Steelers	17	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (8)	Heinz Field[fn 5][46]
2002	2002–03	January 19, 2003	Oakland Raiders (4)	41	Tennessee Titans	24	Oakland, California (4)	Network Associates Coliseum (4)[fn 3][47]
2003	2003–04	January 18, 2004	New England Patriots (4)	24	Indianapolis Colts	14	Foxborough, Massachusetts (2)	Gillette Stadium[48]
2004	2004–05	January 23, 2005	New England Patriots (5)	41	Pittsburgh Steelers	27	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (9)	Heinz Field (2)[fn 5][49]
2005	2005–06	January 22, 2006	Pittsburgh Steelers (6)	34	Denver Broncos	17	Denver, Colorado (5)	Invesco Field at Mile High[fn 6][50]
2006	2006–07	January 21, 2007	Indianapolis Colts (2)	38	New England Patriots	34	Indianapolis, Indiana	RCA Dome[51]
2007	2007–08	January 20, 2008	New England Patriots (6)	21	San Diego Chargers	12	Foxborough, Massachusetts (3)	Gillette Stadium (2)[52]
2008	2008–09	January 18, 2009	Pittsburgh Steelers (7)	23	Baltimore Ravens	14	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (10)	Heinz Field (3)[fn 5][53]
2009	2009–10	January 24, 2010	Indianapolis Colts (3)	30	New York Jets	17	Indianapolis, Indiana (2)	Lucas Oil Stadium[54]
2010	2010–11	January 23, 2011	Pittsburgh Steelers (8)	24	New York Jets	19	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (11)	Heinz Field (4)[fn 5][55]
2011	2011–12	January 22, 2012	New England Patriots (7)	23	Baltimore Ravens	20	Foxborough, Massachusetts (4)	Gillette Stadium (3)[56]
2012	2012–13	January 20, 2013	Baltimore Ravens (2)	28	New England Patriots	13	Foxborough, Massachusetts (5)	Gillette Stadium (4)[57]
2013	2013–14	January 19, 2014	Denver Broncos (7)	26	New England Patriots	16	Denver, Colorado (6)	Sports Authority Field at Mile High (2)[fn 6][58]
2014	2014–15	January 18, 2015	New England Patriots (8)	45	Indianapolis Colts	7	Foxborough, Massachusetts (6)	Gillette Stadium (5)[59]
2015	2015–16	January 24, 2016	Denver Broncos (8)	20	New England Patriots	18	Denver, Colorado (7)	Sports Authority Field at Mile High (3)[fn 6][60]
2016	2016–17	January 22, 2017	New England Patriots (9)	36	Pittsburgh Steelers	17	Foxborough, Massachusetts (7)	Gillette Stadium (6)[61]
2017	2017–18	January 21, 2018	New England Patriots (10)	24	Jacksonville Jaguars	20	Foxborough, Massachusetts (8)	Gillette Stadium (7)[62]
2018	2018–19	January 20, 2019	New England Patriots (11)	37[fn 4]	Kansas City Chiefs	31	Kansas City, Missouri	Arrowhead Stadium[63]
2019	2019–20	January 19, 2020	Kansas City Chiefs (1)	35	Tennessee Titans	24	Kansas City, Missouri (2)	Arrowhead Stadium (2)[64]
2020	2020–21	January 24, 2021	Kansas City Chiefs (2)	38	Buffalo Bills	24	Kansas City, Missouri (3)	Arrowhead Stadium (3)[65]
2021	2021–22	January 30, 2022	Cincinnati Bengals (3)	27[fn 4]	Kansas City Chiefs	24	Kansas City, Missouri (4)	Arrowhead Stadium (4)[66]
2022	2022–23	January 29, 2023	Kansas City Chiefs (3)	23	Cincinnati Bengals	20	Kansas City, Missouri (5)	Arrowhead Stadium (5)[67]
2023	2023–24	January 28, 2024	Kansas City Chiefs (4)	17	Baltimore Ravens	10	Baltimore, Maryland (2)[fn 1]	M&T Bank Stadium[68]
2024	2024–25	January 26, 2025	Kansas City Chiefs (5)	32	Buffalo Bills	29	Kansas City, Missouri (6)	Arrowhead Stadium (6)[69]

Appearances, 1970–present

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance.

The Houston Texans, the last current AFC team to have never made an appearance, are omitted.^{[fn 7]}

#	Team	W	L	%	PF	PA	Last game	Last win	Home games	Home wins	Home losses	Home win %	Away games	Away wins	Away losses	Away win %
16	Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8	.500	332	303	2016	2010	11	6	5	.545	5	2	3	.400
15	New England Patriots	11	4	.733	371	280	2018	2018	8	7	1	.875	7	4	3	.571
11	Las Vegas Raiders[fn 8]	4	7	.364	202	253	2002	2002	5	3	2	.600	6	1	5	.167
10	Denver Broncos	8	2	.800	235	200	2015	2015	7	6	1	.857	3	2	1	.667
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	187	124	2024	1993	3	3	0	1.000	4	1	3	.250
7	Indianapolis Colts[fn 9]	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[fn 10]	1	4	.200	99	151	2019	1999	0	0	0	—	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[fn 11]	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	—	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[fn 12]	0	1	.000	14	30	1983	N/A[b]	0	0	0	—	1	0	1	.000

Appearances by year

In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by year of first appearance. In the "Season(s)" column, bold years indicate winning Conference Championship appearances.

Apps	Team	Wins	Losses	Win %	Season(s)
16	Pittsburgh Steelers	8	8	.500	1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2016
15	New England Patriots	11	4	.733	1985, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
11	Oakland/Los Angeles/Las Vegas Raiders[fn 8]	4	7	.364	1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1990, 2000, 2002
10	Denver Broncos	8	2	.800	1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2013, 2015
8	Kansas City Chiefs	5	3	.625	1993, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
7	Miami Dolphins	5	2	.714	1971, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1992
7	Buffalo Bills	4	3	.571	1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2020, 2024
7	Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts[fn 9]	3	4	.429	1970, 1971, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2014
5	Houston Oilers/ Tennessee Titans[fn 10]	1	4	.200	1978, 1979, 1999, 2002, 2019
5	Baltimore Ravens	2	3	.400	2000, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2023
4	Cincinnati Bengals	3	1	.750	1981, 1988, 2021, 2022
4	San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers[fn 11]	1	3	.250	1980, 1981, 1994, 2007
4	New York Jets	0	4	.000	1982, 1998, 2009, 2010
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	0	3	.000	1996, 1999, 2017
3	Cleveland Browns	0	3	.000	1986, 1987, 1989
1	Seattle Seahawks[fn 12]	0	1	.000	1983
0	Houston Texans[fn 7]	0	0	–
0	Tampa Bay Buccaneers[fn 13]	0	0	–

Records by division

The table below shows AFC Championship Game records by division, based on the division the franchise was in during the season the championship game was played. The NFL realigned divisions prior to the 2002 season, renaming the AFC Central as the AFC North, creating the AFC South, and shifting several teams among the divisions.

Division	Total				1970–2001				2002–present
	Apps	Wins	Losses	Win %	Apps	Wins	Losses	Win %	Apps	Wins	Losses	Win %
AFC East	36	21	15	.583	20	13[fn 14]	7[fn 15]	.650	16	8[fn 14]	8[fn 15]	.500
AFC North	33	14	19	.424	22	9[fn 16]	13[fn 17]	.409	11	5[fn 16]	6[fn 17]	.455
AFC South	7	2	5	.286	—				7	2[fn 18]	5[fn 19]	.286
AFC West	34	18	16	.529	22	10[fn 20]	12[fn 21]	.455	12	8[fn 20]	4[fn 21]	.667

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	New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	Patriots, 3–0	2001, 2004, 2016
3	Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots	Patriots, 2–1	2003, 2006, 2014
3	Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs	Chiefs, 2–1	1993, 2020, 2024
2	Miami Dolphins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	Dolphins, 2–0	1972, 1984
2	Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	Steelers, 2–0	1978, 1979
2	Jacksonville Jaguars vs. New England Patriots	Patriots, 2–0	1996, 2017
2	Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	Tie, 1–1	1997, 2005
2	Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots	Tie, 1–1	2011, 2012
2	Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots	Broncos, 2–0	2013, 2015
2	Cincinnati Bengals vs. Kansas City Chiefs	Tie, 1–1	2021, 2022

AFC Championship Game records

AFC Championship Game logo, 2001–2005

AFC Championship Game logo, 2008–2010 (Used with old shield since 2005)

• Most victories: 11**; New England Patriots (1985, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018)
• Most losses: 8; Pittsburgh Steelers, (1972, 1976, 1984, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2016)
• Most appearances: 16; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1974–1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2016)
• Most consecutive appearances: 8**; New England Patriots (2011–2018)
• Most consecutive victories: 4**; Buffalo Bills (1990–1993)
• Most appearances without a win: 4**; New York Jets (1982, 1998, 2009, 2010)
• Most consecutive losses before first win: 4*; Oakland Raiders (1970, 1973, 1974, 1975)
• Most consecutive appearances without a win: 4; (tie) Oakland Raiders (1970, 1973, 1974, 1975), New York Jets (1982, 1998, 2009, 2010)
• Most defensive shutouts: 2*; Miami Dolphins (1971, 21–0 vs Colts and 1982, 14–0 vs Jets)
• Most consecutive losses: 3*; Oakland Raiders (1973–1975)
• Most games hosted: 11*; Pittsburgh Steelers (1972, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010)
• Most consecutive games hosted: 5**; Kansas City Chiefs (2018–2022)
• Most common matchups: 5 (tie)
  • Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders (1974, 1975, 1976)
  • Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos (1986, 1987, 1989)
  • New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (2001, 2004, 2016)
  • New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts (2003, 2006, 2014)
  • Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs (1993, 2020, 2024)
• Most points scored: 51; January 20, 1991 (1990) – Buffalo Bills (51) vs. Los Angeles Raiders (3)
• Largest margin of victory: 48 points**; January 20, 1991 (1990) – Buffalo Bills (51) vs. Los Angeles Raiders (3)
• Closest margin of victory: 2 points; January 24, 2016 (2015) − Denver Broncos (20) vs. New England Patriots (18)
• Fewest points scored, winning team: 10; January 12, 1992 (1991) – Buffalo Bills (10) vs. Denver Broncos (7)
• Fewest points scored, losing team: 0*; (tie) Jan 2, 1972 (1971) Baltimore Colts 0 vs Dolphins 21, Jan 23, 1983 (1982) NY Jets (0) vs Dolphins (14)
• Most points scored, losing team: 34**; January 21, 2007 (2006) – New England Patriots (34) vs. Indianapolis Colts (38)
• Most combined points scored: 73; January 6, 1985 (1984) – Miami Dolphins (45) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (28)
• Fewest combined points scored: 14; January 23, 1983 (1982) – Miami Dolphins (14) vs. New York Jets (0)
• Most AFC Championships lost in overtime: 2*; Kansas City Chiefs (2018, 2021)
• Current AFC teams which have never appeared in a Conference Championship Game: Houston Texans^{[fn 7]}
• Current AFC teams which have never hosted a Conference Championship Game: Houston Texans,^{[fn 7]} New York Jets,^{[fn 22]} Tennessee Titans^{[fn 23]}
• Current AFC teams which have never won a Conference Championship: Cleveland Browns (0–3), Houston Texans (0–0), Jacksonville Jaguars (0–3) and New York Jets (0–4)
• Longest drought without appearing in an AFC Championship Game: Cleveland Browns (last appearance – 1989)
• Longest drought without an AFC Championship: New York Jets^{[fn 24]}
• Highest attendance: 91,445**; Seattle Seahawks vs. Los Angeles Raiders at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 8, 1984 (1983)
• Largest comeback: 18 points** (tie)
  • Indianapolis Colts (trailed 21–3; won 38–34) 2006
  • Cincinnati Bengals (trailed 21–3; won 27–24), 2021
• Overtime games:
  • 1986: Denver Broncos 23, Cleveland Browns 20
  • 2018: New England Patriots 37, Kansas City Chiefs 31
  • 2021: Cincinnati Bengals 27, Kansas City Chiefs 24

Notes:

• *Tied for Conference Championship record
• **Conference Championship record

TV ratings

• 1982: 51.6 million viewers^[70]
• 2003: 41.5 million viewers
• 2005: 44.3 million viewers
• 2006: 39 million viewers^[71]
• 2007: 46.7 million viewers^[72]
• 2009: 42 million viewers^[73]
• 2010: 42.3 million viewers
• 2011: 54.9 million viewers^[74]
• 2012: 48.7 million viewers^[75][76]
• 2013: 47.7 million viewers^[77]
• 2014: 51.3 million viewers^[78]
• 2015: 42.1 million viewers^[79]
• 2016: 53.3 million viewers^[80]
• 2017: 41.2 million viewers^[81]
• 2018: 53.9 million viewers^[82]
• 2019: 41.1 million viewers^[82]
• 2020: 41.8 million viewers^[83]
• 2021: 47.8 million viewers^[84]
• 2022: 53.1 million viewers^[85]
• 2023: 55.5 million viewers^[86]
• 2024: 57.4 million viewers^[87]

Footnotes

1. Baltimore has hosted 2 total AFC Championship Games: 1 Colts home game and 1 Ravens home game.
2. The Miami Orange Bowl was in Miami proper. Joe Robbie Stadium, now Hard Rock Stadium, opened in 1987 in an unincorporated area with a Miami address; the area was then incorporated as Miami Gardens in 2003.
3. The Oakland Coliseum was also known as Network Associates Coliseum.
4. Overtime
5. Acrisure Stadium was previously known as Heinz Field
6. Empower Field at Mile High was also known as Invesco Field at Mile High, then Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
7. The Houston Texans were founded in 2002.
8. Includes appearances during the Raiders' first tenure in Oakland (the 1970 merger until 1981), where they went 2–5 in AFC Championship Games; their period as the Los Angeles Raiders (1982–1994), where they went 1–1 in AFC Championship Games; and their second tenure in Oakland (1995–2019), where they went 1–1 in AFC Championship Games. Since moving to Las Vegas in 2020, the Raiders are 0–0 in AFC Championship Games.
9. Includes appearances as the Baltimore Colts (the 1970 merger to 1983), where they went 1–1 in AFC Championship Games. Since moving to Indianapolis in 1984, the Colts are 2–3 in AFC Championship Games.
10. Includes appearances as the Houston Oilers (the 1970 merger to 1996), where they went 0–2 in AFC Championship Games. Since moving to Tennessee in 1997, they are 1–2 in AFC Championship Games.
11. The Chargers were playing in San Diego at the time of all their AFC Championship appearances.
12. The Seahawks were members of the NFC in 1976 and then members of the AFC from 1977 to 2001, before rejoining the NFC in 2002. Including their appearances in the NFC Championship Game (3–0), they hold a combined 3–1 record between both Conference Championship Games.
13. The Buccaneers were members of the AFC in 1976 before moving to the NFC in 1977.
14. AFC East conference championship game victories. Pre-2002: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001. Since 2002: 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018.
15. AFC East conference championship game losses. Pre-2002: 1971, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1998. Since 2002: 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020, 2024.
16. AFC North conference championship game victories. Pre-2002: 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2000. Since 2002: 2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2021.
17. AFC North conference championship game losses. Pre-2002: 1972, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001. Since 2002: 2004, 2008, 2011, 2016, 2022, 2023.
18. AFC South conference championship game victories: 2006, 2009.
19. AFC South conference championship game losses: 2002, 2003, 2014, 2017, 2019.
20. AFC West conference championship game victories. Pre-2002: 1976, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1994, 1997, 1998. Since 2002: 2002, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024.
21. AFC West conference championship game losses. Pre-2002: 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2000. Since 2002: 2005, 2007, 2018, 2021
22. The Jets last hosted the 1968 AFL Championship Game during the pre-AFL-NFL merger era.
23. The Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise last hosted the 1962 AFL Championship Game.
24. The Jets won Super Bowl III as the 1968 AFL Champion.