The NFL regular season is officially over, and out of the 272 games played, only 13 remain for the playoffs, including Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Teams like the Bills, Texans, and Chiefs clinched their divisions weeks ago, while others like the Ravens and Lions had to fight until the final week. The Buccaneers barely made it in, needing a win combined with a Falcons loss to secure their spot – and fortunately the Falcons fell short. The Lions, on the other hand with their win clinched the #1 seed in their conference and joined the Chiefs as top Super Bowl favorites, both finishing with impressive 15-2 records.
Last 10 Division Champions in the NFC
There’s been an ongoing debate about the uneven difficulty of the divisions. In the NFC North, for example, three teams made the playoffs, while only the Buccaneers of the NFC South finished with a winning record. A similar scenario played out in the AFC, where the West sent three teams to the playoffs while only the Texans finished above .500 from the South. Despite these disparities, division championships often come down to a variety of factors – most importantly, consistent performance throughout the season.
A clear example is the NFC, where the New York Giants are the only team out of 16 that hasn’t won its division in the last 10 years. Remarkably, the NFC East hasn’t had a repeat champion since 2004. The Cowboys and Eagles have dominated, winning four titles each in the last decade, but Jayden Daniels looks poised to be a contender for years to come. Meanwhile, the NFC North had a combined record of 45-23 this year. The Lions became consecutive division champions for the first time in their history, although the division has been largely controlled by the Green Bay Packers, who have won 12 titles since the realignment in 2002.
In the NFC West, the Rams have been the dominant force since Sean McVay took over as head coach in 2017, securing eight division titles and winning a Super Bowl in two appearances. Over the past decade, the 49ers have won three division championships and reached two Super Bowls, losing both times. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are entering a new era following the departure of Pete Carroll, who led the team to three division titles in the last decade. As for the Cardinals, they’ve only won one title in the last 10 years (2015). Finally, the NFC South has seen limited playoff success from the Falcons and Panthers, who have combined for just four appearances in the last decade. The Buccaneers have dominated in recent years, highlighted by a Super Bowl win with Tom Brady, while the Saints appear to have found their successor to Drew Brees.
Last 10 Division Champions in the AFC
The story is different in the AFC, where six of the 16 teams have failed to win a division title in the last decade. They include the Jets and Dolphins in the East, the Colts in the South – despite winning seven titles from 2005 to 2014 – the Browns in the North, who have never won the division since the 2002 realignment, and both the Raiders and Chargers in the West, where the Chiefs have won nine straight titles. Kansas City is now just two titles shy of the NFL record held by Tom Brady’s Patriots. However, with Jim Harbaugh taking over the Chargers and the promising start to the Bo Nix era in Denver, coupled with Sean Payton’s coaching expertise, the competition for the Chiefs could intensify.
In the North, the Steelers and Bengals are tied with three division titles each over the past decade, while the Ravens lead with four, including three in the six years since Lamar Jackson became their starting quarterback. In the East, the Bills have dominated with five consecutive titles, with Josh Allen effectively filling the void left by Tom Brady, who won 16 of the 18 division titles since 2002. The Dolphins, on the other hand, have only one division title (2008), which came during the season when Brady was sidelined after a Week 1 injury. Meanwhile, the Jets have just one division title in this era, which came in 2002. The South has been largely dominated by the Texans, who have won six titles in the last 10 years while the Jaguars and Titans have two each.
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