Difference Between NFC and AFC

NFC vs. AFC

Many NFL fan’s, when asked to compare NFC and AFC, don’t know how to differentiate and distinguish one from the other. Most of the fans don’t even give a fuzz about it, and often neglect the difference between these two. They only want to see the action, and feel the excitement that the game brings. I don’t blame them, I like the game as well, but it gets even more exciting if you know what and who will play from both sides of NFL.

To remove our confusion between the two leagues, NFC stands for National Football Conference, and AFC stands for American Football Conference. These are the conferences of the National Football league. In the Late 60’s, these were two different Pro Leagues, which were not connected to each other. They are often known as big rivals in the football world, but due to popular demand, they merged together to form one Pro League, which drove more fans and more money to both conferences.

The National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC) are somehow similar to the ‘National League’ and ‘American League’ of the ‘Major League Baseball Conference’. However, these two old Leagues have their own different rules about the designated hitter, while the AFC and the NFC have identical rules, and are in the same league. Each conference has an average of 16 teams, which are divided equally. The NFC has its own playoffs to determine who will be the next NFC Champ at the end of each regular season. The same goes for the AFC, before the end of the season, the AFC Champ is also selected in the same process. The champions of both sides will then face each other in the Super Bowl, to determine who will become the next NFL Champion. The Game at the Super Bowl will be immense. Most of the fans come from all across the United States to see the action, and the excitement, of a game which determines the Champion of Champions.

The NFC has divisions to get the final four teams, and they are divided based on their skills and categories. One of the divisions from the North is composed of the teams from Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota and Green Bay. Another division from the South is composed of teams from Carolina, New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Atlanta. The teams from the East are the following: The New York (giants), Washington, Dallas and Philadelphia. And lastly, those from the West are the teams from St. Louis, Arizona, Seattle and San Francisco. After the final 4 teams have won, they will play in the NFC playoff’s, to determine the Champion.

The AFC has several divisions as well. Those from the North are composed of teams from Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The teams from the South are coming from Tennessee, Houston, Jacksonville and Indianapolis. Easterners are the teams from Buffalo, New York (Jets), Miami and New England. Lastly, from the Western side, are the teams from San Diego, Denver, Oakland and Kansas City. These 16 teams will also fight for the AFC title. This is the way it has been since 2001, which makes each league more competitive.

1. The teams playing in each league varies.

2. The teams who play in one league, cannot co-exist or play concurrently in another league, because each winner in one conference or league will receive a different trophy.