The 2003 Indianapolis Colts season was the 51st season for the team in the National Football League (NFL) and 20th in Indianapolis. The Colts improved on their 10–6 record from 2002, going 12-4 and reached the postseason for the second straight season. After the season, quarterback Peyton Manning was named league MVP along with Steve McNair of the Tennessee Titans.
The 2003 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 34th in the National Football League (NFL), their 44th overall and their third under head coach Dick Vermeil.
The 2005 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 36th in the National Football League (NFL), their 46th overall, and their fifth and final season under head coach Dick Vermeil.
The 2002 season was the New England Patriots' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd overall and their third under head coach Bill Belichick. They finished with a 9–7 record, good enough for second in the division but not a playoff berth. It was their first season at their new home field, Gillette Stadium, which replaced the adjacent Foxboro Stadium.
The 2002 season was the New York Jets' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd season overall and their second under head coach Herman Edwards. The team tried to improve upon their 10–6 record from 2001 but failed to do so after a 2–5 start. However, the Jets recovered and finished 9–7, winning their second AFC East division title.
The 2004 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 35th in the National Football League (NFL), their 45th overall and their 42nd in Kansas City.
The 2002 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd overall and the franchise's 40th in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 2000 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 31st in the National Football League (NFL), their 41st overall and their second and final season under head coach Gunther Cunningham. They failed to improve on their 9–7 record from 1999 and finished the season 7–9, marked by a series of on and off-field struggles and incidents.
The 1998 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 39th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 29th overall.
The 2001 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 69th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). After finishing the previous three seasons a combined 22–26, the Steelers returned to the top seed in the AFC, rolling to a 13–3 record in their first playoff berth and AFC Central title since 1997 and playing at Heinz Field. The Steelers went 7–1 in their new home stadium, with the only loss coming to the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.
The 2002 season was the Oakland Raiders' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 43rd overall, their eighth since returning to Oakland and their first under head coach Bill Callahan. The Raiders played their home games at Network Associates Coliseum as members of the AFC West. The Raiders had essentially traded their head coach Jon Gruden following the 2001 season. The Raiders hired Callahan, the offensive coordinator under Gruden, to return them to the playoffs.
The 2003 Denver Broncos season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 44th overall.
The 2002 season was the Miami Dolphins' 33rd in the National Football League (NFL), their 37th overall and their third under head coach Dave Wannstedt. The Dolphins failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 11–5, winning only nine games. The team missed the playoffs for the first time since 1996.
The 2002 season was the Tennessee Titans' 33rd in the National Football League and 43rd overall. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 7–9, managing eleven victories. After starting 1-4, the Titans won 10 of their next 11 games. They qualified for the playoffs with a first-round bye, but were unable to reach the Super Bowl, losing to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship. The Titans would not return to the AFC Championship again until 2019.
The 2010 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 8th under head coach Jack Del Rio. The Jaguars, who were in their second year of "rebuilding" under general manager Gene Smith, improved upon their 7–9 record from 2009, but narrowly missed the playoffs with an 8–8 record. Although blackouts were a problem in 2009 for the franchise, they sold out all of their 2010 home games.
The 2013 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 44th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the first under head coach Doug Marrone. It was also the final season under the ownership of Ralph Wilson, who died in March 2014 at the age of 95. The team equaled their record from 2012 and missed the playoffs, increasing their playoff drought to 14 seasons. This was the first year of renewed leases on Ralph Wilson Stadium and for the Bills Toronto Series, both of which were signed in the preceding offseason.
The 2014 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 45th in the National Football League (NFL), their 55th overall and their second under the head coach/general manager tandem of Andy Reid and John Dorsey. The Chiefs broke the crowd noise record on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots on September 29, 2014 with a crowd roar of 142.2 decibels. The Chiefs failed to match their 11–5 record from 2013, and missed the playoffs. However, they defeated both teams that would eventually meet in that season's Super Bowl: the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. The 2014 Kansas City Chiefs became the first NFL team since the 1964 New York Giants, and the only team in the 16 game season era, to complete an entire season with no touchdown passes to a wide receiver.
The 2014 season was the Miami Dolphins' 45th in the National Football League (NFL), their 49th overall and their third under head coach Joe Philbin. Following the appointment of Dennis Hickey, the team had a new general manager for the first time since 2007 after Jeff Ireland was fired on January 7, 2014. The Dolphins equaled their 8–8 record from 2013 and missed the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season.
The 2018 season was the New York Jets' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their 59th overall and their fourth and final under head coach Todd Bowles. Despite starting 3–3, they lost 9 of their last 10 games. In Week 3, the Jets lost to the Browns by a score of 21–17, becoming the first team to lose to the Browns since the Chargers lost 20–17 on Christmas Eve 2016. The win by the Browns ended a 19-game winless streak. Week 6 marked the first season the Jets have scored 40+ points in multiple games since the 2008 season. They were officially mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the 8th consecutive season after the Titans defeated the Jaguars 30–9 in Week 14. The Jets failed to improve on their 5–11 record from the previous season with a 38–3 blowout loss in Week 17 to the New England Patriots, finishing at last place in the AFC East with a 4–12 record. Following the season finale, the Jets fired Bowles.
The 2020 season was the Indianapolis Colts' 68th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 37th in Indianapolis. It was also their third season under head coach Frank Reich and fourth under the leadership of general manager Chris Ballard. Long-time San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers signed a one-year contract worth $25 million on March 17, 2020, to take over as the team's starting quarterback, reuniting him with Frank Reich, who served as quarterbacks coach for the Chargers during the 2013 season.