We have our NFL championship weekend. In the AFC, we will have the New England Patriots traveling to Denver to face the Broncos. In the NFC, it is a western battle as division foes Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks will face off in the Pacific Northwest. Let's look at some interesting trends involving these teams and these games.
Years I use are for the seasons played and not the year (this is the 2025 season, for example, so I will refer to it as 2025).
NFC
*Rams are making their 12th appearance in the NFC championship game. Only the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys have reached more. The Rams are 5-6 in NFC title games.
*This is the Seahawks' fourth ever NFC championship appearance. They are 3-0 in their previous games with all of them coming in Seattle. The Seahawks did play in the 1983 AFC championship game, which was a loss to the Los Angeles Raiders.
*This is the second straight year --and third time in five years -- that the NFC championship game features teams in the same division.
*The NFC Champion will come from the NFC West for the 8th time in the last 14 years. The NFC East and NFC South have won three titles each in that time while the NFC North hasn't won the NFC since the 2010 season.
*The NFC West has lost 4 of its last 5 appearances in the Super Bowl. That lone win was the 2021 Rams. Meanwhile the NFC East has won 4 of their last 5 appearances in the Super Bowl.
*The home team has won 5 of the last 6 NFC Championship games. The home team is 10-2 in the last dozen NFC title tilts.
*There have been six shutouts in NFC championship history. The Rams were involved in three of them.
AFC
*This will be the Patriots' 16th appearance in the AFC championship, tying them with the Pittsburgh Steelers for most all-time.
*The Broncos have been in 11 ... third all-time.
*These are the two most successful teams in the AFC championship. The Patriots are 11-4 in the title game, while the Broncos are 8-2. No team has won this game more that these two (the Steelers have also won 8 ... but have also lost 8).
*The home team in the AFC isn't as dominant as the NFC. The home team is just 4-3 in the last 7 championship games. The Patriots and Broncos, however, have combined to win their last five home AFC championship games.
*The AFC East and West have made the most appearances in the AFC championship game and most wins.
*The Patriots-Broncos matchup is the third ever in this round, and ties five other matchups for most in AFC conference championship game history. The Raiders-Steelers, Broncos-Browns, Patriots-Colts, Patriots-Steelers and Chiefs-Bills have all faced off three times in the AFC title game. The Cowboys-49ers have met six times for the NFC championship.
*The Chiefs had won 5 of the last 6 AFC championship games and appeared in the last 7 games. Six of those games were played in Kansas City (2023 game was in Baltimore).
*From 2001 to 2018, the Patriots appeared in 13 AFC championship games in those 18 seasons.
*Drake Maye will be the fourth QB to start for the Patriots in the AFC title game. Tom Brady started 13 times. Tony Eason and Drew Bledsoe started once each.
*These two tend to run together. From 2013 to 2018, either the Patriots or Broncos were the AFC champions. From 1985 to 1989, those two teams won 4 of 5 AFC titles. These two won three consecutive from 1996 to 1998.
*This year's AFC championship will end the longest drought of the Patriots or Broncos not winning the conference. It will be six years since one of these teams won the AFC, tying the mark from 1990-1995.
No comments:
Post a Comment