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 2001 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 32nd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 42nd overall. It was their first year under head coach Dick Vermeil and 13th under general manager Carl Peterson. They finished the regular season with a 6–10 record.
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 1999 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 30th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 40th overall. The season began with the promotion of defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham to head coach following the resignation of Marty Schottenheimer after the Chiefs finished with a 7–9 record in 1998.
The 1998 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 39th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 29th overall.
The 2002 season was the Buffalo Bills' 43rd as a franchise and 33rd in the National Football League.
The 2003 Oakland Raiders season was the 44th season of professional football for the Oakland Raiders franchise, their 34th season as members of the National Football League (NFL), and their ninth season since returning to Oakland. They were led by head coach Bill Callahan in his second and final year as head coach of the Raiders. The Raiders played their home games at Network Associates Coliseum as members of the AFC West. They finished the season 4–12 to finish in a tie with the Chargers for last place, but the Raiders finished in 3rd place because they had a better conference record than the Chargers did. It marked the first time since 1999 that the Raiders failed to make the playoffs and finished with a losing record for the first time since 1997.
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 2013 season was the San Diego Chargers' 44th in the National Football League (NFL), their 54th overall, and their first under head coach Mike McCoy. The Chargers finished the regular season with a record of 9–7, improving on their 7–9 record from 2012. Also, they qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The Chargers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild Card round by a score of 27–10, but lost to division rival Denver Broncos in the Divisional round by a score of 24–17. This was the Chargers' final playoff appearance in San Diego. They did not play in the postseason again until 2018, after relocating to Los Angeles.
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 2015 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 46th in the National Football League (NFL), their 56th overall and their third under the head coach/general manager tandem of Andy Reid and John Dorsey. The Chiefs went through a poor start in their first six games as they were 1–5, and lost their star running back, Jamaal Charles, to a torn ACL in his right knee during an 18–17 Week 5 loss at home against the Chicago Bears. In week 16, after their ninth consecutive victory and the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth, their second in three years. They are the first team since the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals to start the season 1–5 and qualify for the playoffs. They also set the franchise record for the most consecutive victories, winning 10 in a row. In their Wild Card matchup, the Chiefs were set up to play against the Houston Texans. The Chiefs shutout the Texans 30–0 to earn their first playoff win in 22 years, ending what was at the time, until the Bengals broke the record the night the Chiefs won, an NFL record for consecutive playoff losses. The shutout was the Chiefs first ever playoff shutout and remains, as of the 2023–24 playoffs, the most recent playoff shutout in the NFL. The following week, they were defeated by the New England Patriots in the divisional round 27–20.
The 2019 season was the Los Angeles Chargers' 50th in the National Football League (NFL), their 60th overall, their fourth in the Greater Los Angeles Area and their third under head coach Anthony Lynn. It also marked the Chargers' third and final season playing their home games at Dignity Health Sports Park, as the team moved into SoFi Stadium in Inglewood beginning with the 2020 season alongside the Los Angeles Rams. With a 2–5 record after Week 7, the Chargers failed to match or improve on their 12–4 record from 2018. Despite winning on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 14, the Chargers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention the same week as a result of the Pittsburgh Steelers beating the Arizona Cardinals 23–17. After a Week 15 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Chargers suffered their first losing season since 2016, and their first as a Los Angeles-based team. Also, for the first time since 2015, the Chargers were swept by their division. The Chargers also suffered the most one-score losses by an NFL team during the season, with nine.
The 2020 season was the Los Angeles Chargers' 51st in the National Football League (NFL), their 61st overall, their fifth in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and their fourth and final season under head coach Anthony Lynn. It also marks the Chargers' first season playing their home games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, after using Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson as their temporary home stadium for the previous three seasons. This is also the Chargers' first season since 2007 with new uniforms, which were unveiled on April 21, 2020. The uniforms are somewhat similar in design to the ones they donned in their inaugural season in 1960.