AFC Championship Game

The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final 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	1971 (1970 season)
Trophy	Lamar Hunt Trophy
Recent and upcoming games
2021 season
Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri January 30, 2022 Cincinnati Bengals 27 Kansas City Chiefs 24

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 both the AFL and 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 American Football League. 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, the Cleveland Browns, and the 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. 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 a 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 Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger played in every championship game between the 2003 and the 2018 seasons, except for the 2009 season.

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 two 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. 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.^[3]

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. The original trophy consisted of a wooden base with a sculpted AFC logo in the front and a sculpture of various football players in the back.

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6][7]

List of AFC Championship Games

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

^ a: Overtime

Appearances, 1970–present

#	Team	W	L	Win %	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^[d]	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
7	Miami Dolphins	5	2	.714	152	115	1992	1984	6	4	2	.667	1	1	0	1.000
7	Indianapolis Colts^[e]	3	4	.429	132	178	2014	2009	3	3	0	1.000	4	0	4	.000
6	Buffalo Bills	4	2	.667	158	92	2020	1993	3	3	0	1.000	3	1	2	.333
5	Kansas City Chiefs	2	3	.400	141	142	2021	2020	4	2	2	.500	1	0	1	.000
5	Tennessee Titans^[f]	1	4	.200	99	151	2019	1999	0	0	0	—	5	1	4	.200
4	Baltimore Ravens	2	2	.500	78	62	2012	2012	0	0	0	—	4	2	2	.500
4	Los Angeles Chargers	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	Cincinnati Bengals	3	0	1.000	75	41	2021	2021	2	2	0	1.000	1	1	0	1.000
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	0	3	.000	40	77	2017	N/A	1	0	1	.000	2	0	2	.000
3	Cleveland Browns	0	3	.000	74	98	1989	N/A	1	0	1	.000	2	0	2	.000
1	Seattle Seahawks^[b]	0	1	.000	14	30	1983	N/A^[b]	0	0	0	—	1	0	1	.000
0	Houston Texans	0	0	—	—	—	N/A	N/A	0	0	0	—	0	0	0	—
0	Tampa Bay Buccaneers^[c]	0	0	—	—	—	N/A	N/A	0	0	0	—	0	0	0	—

^ b: 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.

^ c: The Buccaneers were members of the AFC in 1976 before moving to the NFC in 1977.

^ d: Includes appearances during their 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.

^ e: 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.

^ f: 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.

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	Los Angeles/Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders	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
7	Miami Dolphins	5	2	.714	1971, 1972, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1992
7	Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts	3	4	.429	1970, 1971, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2014
6	Buffalo Bills	4	2	.667	1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2020
5	Houston Oilers/ Tennessee Titans^[f]	1	4	.200	1978, 1979, 1999, 2002, 2019
5	Kansas City Chiefs	2	3	.400	1993, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
4	Baltimore Ravens	2	2	.500	2000, 2008, 2011, 2012
4	San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers	1	3	.250	1980, 1981, 1994, 2007
4	New York Jets	0	4	.000	1982, 1998, 2009, 2010
3	Cincinnati Bengals	3	0	1.000	1981, 1988, 2021
3	Jacksonville Jaguars	0	3	.000	1996, 1999, 2017
3	Cleveland Browns	0	3	.000	1986, 1987, 1989
1	Seattle Seahawks	0	1	.000	1983
0	Houston Texans	0	0	–
0	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0	0	–

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
2	Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs	Tie, 1–1	1993, 2020
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

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 victories without a loss: 3; Cincinnati Bengals (1981, 1988, 2021)^{[fn 2]}
• Most appearances without a win: 4; New York Jets (1982, 1998, 2009, 2010)
• Most consecutive losses without a win: 4; (tie) Oakland Raiders (1970, 1973, 1974, 1975)
• Most 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: 4**; Kansas City Chiefs (2018–2021)
• Most numerous matchups: 3 (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)
• 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)
• Fewest points scored, winning team: 10; January 12, 1992 (1991) – Buffalo Bills (10) vs. Denver Broncos (7)
• Fewest points scored: 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)
• Current AFC teams which have never appeared in a Conference Championship Game: Houston Texans^{[fn 3]}
• Current AFC teams which have never hosted a Conference Championship Game: Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans,^{[fn 3]} New York Jets,^{[fn 4]} Tennessee Titans^{[fn 5]}
• 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: 32 years; Cleveland Browns (last appearance – 1989)
• Longest drought without an AFC Championship: 50 years**: New York Jets^{[fn 6]}
• Highest attendance: 91,445; Los Angeles Raiders vs. Seattle Seahawks in Los Angeles on January 8, 1984 (1983)
• 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^[8]
• 2003: 41.5 million
• 2005: 44.3 million
• 2006: 39 million viewers^[9]
• 2007: 46.7 million viewers^[10]
• 2009: 42 million viewers^[11]
• 2010: 42.352 million viewers
• 2011: 54.9 million viewers^[12]
• 2012: 48.7 million viewers^[13][14]
• 2013: 47.7 million viewers^[15]
• 2014: 51.3 million viewers^[16]
• 2015: 42.1 million viewers^[17]
• 2016: 53.3 million viewers^[18]
• 2017: 41.2 million viewers^[19]
• 2018: 53.9 million viewers^[20]
• 2019: 41.1 million viewers^[20]
• 2020: 41.85 million viewers^[21]
• 2021: 47.85 million viewers^[22]

Footnotes

1. Joe Robbie Stadium, now Hard Rock Stadium, is located in Miami Gardens. However, the city was not incorporated until 2003. Prior to that, the area was an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, and the stadium used a Miami address.
2. The Miami Dolphins won 5 AFC Championships before losing their first championship game. The New England Patriots equaled that record before losing a championship game.
3. The franchise was founded in 2002.
4. The Jets last hosted the 1968 AFL Championship Game during the pre-Super Bowl era.
5. The Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise last hosted the 1962 AFL Championship Game.
6. The Jets won Super Bowl III as the 1968 AFL Champion.

References

1. "Patriots Blog: AFC Championship Trophy In The House". WBZ-TV. January 18, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2014. The Lamar Hunt Trophy, given to the winners of the AFC Championship since 1984
2. "Playoff". NFL Record and Fact Book 2009. Time, Inc. Home Entertainment. 28 July 2009. ISBN 978-1-60320-809-3.
3. Palmer, Pete; Pullis, Ken; Lahman, Sean; Maher, Tod; Silverman, Matthew; Gillette, Gary (2007). The ESPN pro football encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Sterling Pub. Co. p. 1207. ISBN 9781402752506.
4. "NFC's Halas trophy has new look". Chicago Sun-Times.
5. Bell, Jarrett (January 25, 2011). "NFL Replay: Gritty Steelers aren't pretty, but they are Super". USA Today.
6. "First look at the Atlanta Falcons NFC Championship rings". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
7. "Brandin Cooks thanks Patriots for AFC Championship ring". 247sports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
8. "Ratings - "The NFL on CBS" Scores with Second Highest Rating for AFC Championship Game in 27 Years". TheFutonCritic.com. 2014-01-20. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
9. "Ratings - CBS Sports' Coverage of the Afc Championship (Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos) Attracts 39 Million Viewers - the Number One Broadcast on Any Network This Season". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
10. "Ratings - CBS Wins the Week with the Best Viewer Delivery by Any Network This Season and Best by Any Network in Nearly a Year". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
11. "AFC Champ Highest rated telecast of 2008-09 TV season". 20 January 2009.
12. "NFL passes new records in TV ratings". USA Today. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
13. "NFL Ratings Spike: 48.7 Million Watch AFC Title Game, NFC Game Draws 57.6 Mil". Deadline Hollywood. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
14. . TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
15. "Astonishing Chart Shows How The NFL Dominates TV Ratings". Business Insider. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
16. . tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
17. Patten, Dominic (19 January 2015). "AFC Championship Game Ratings Stumble For CBS, 'Revenge' Rises". deadline.com.
18. Hipes, Patrick (25 January 2016). "AFC Title Game Ratings Score For CBS With 53.3 Million Viewers". deadline.com.
19. "NFL Conference Championships Overnight TV Ratings 2006-2016". sportstvratings.com. 23 January 2017.
20. "Without the Patriots, TV ratings for AFC championship game reportedly take a dip - the Boston Globe". The Boston Globe.
21. "TV Ratings: NFL Conference Championships Grow". HollywoodReporter.com. 26 January 2021.
22. "TV Ratings: NFL Conference Championships Hit Multi-Year Highs". HollywoodReporter.com. February 2022.