The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), each contain 16 teams with 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger between the National Football League, and the American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 season's AFC Championship Game for their fourth conference championship and went on to win Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers.
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The Titans play their home games at Nissan Stadium and are building a new stadium in 2024. It will be completed in 2027.
Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr. was an American businessman who was the founder and owner of the Houston Oilers of the American Football League, of which he was also a co-founder. The franchise eventually was moved to Nashville, where it was re-named the Tennessee Titans, a National Football League (NFL) franchise. A member of the Cherokee Nation who originally made his fortune in the petroleum business, Adams was chairman and CEO of Adams Resources & Energy Inc., a wholesale supplier of oil and natural gas. He was instrumental in the founding and establishment of the former American Football League (AFL).
James Charles Norton was an American professional football safety and punter who played for the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL). An original member of the Oilers franchise, he played in their first nine seasons from 1960 to 1968. Norton was an AFL All-Star for three seasons and holds the league's record for career interceptions. His jersey No. 43 was the first of eight retired by the Oilers/Titans franchise.
The Comeback or The Choke was a National Football League (NFL) game held on January 3, 1993, as part of the 1992–93 NFL playoffs. The Buffalo Bills overcame a 35–3 deficit to defeat the visiting Houston Oilers 41–38 in overtime and set the then-record for largest comeback in NFL history. Though surpassed by the Minnesota Vikings in 2022, the Bills' 32-point comeback remains the largest comeback in postseason history and the second largest overall. It was also the first time an NFL team with a lead of at least 30 points lost the game.
The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, and the New York Jets. All four members of the AFC East were previously members of the Eastern Division of the American Football League (AFL).
The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. The division consists of the Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers. This is the only division in the NFL in which no member team has hosted a Super Bowl in their stadiums. The division, however, has won eight Super Bowl titles in total.
The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. Since its creation, the division has had the same four members: the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans.
Jeffrey Michael Fisher is an American football coach and former cornerback and return specialist. He served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 22 seasons, primarily with the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise. Fisher coached the Oilers / Titans from 1994 to 2010 and the St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams from 2012 to 2016. He is currently the interim commissioner of the Arena Football League.
The Tennessee Titans are the professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the then Houston, Texas, team began play in 1960 as a charter member of the AFL American Football League. The Houston Oilers won two AFL championships before joining the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger. In 1999, the Tennessee Titans played their most memorable season since joining the NFL, when they made it all the way to Super Bowl XXXIV, but they fell, at the 1 yard line, to the Kurt Warner-led St. Louis Rams.
The Foolish Club were the owners of the eight original franchises of the American Football League (AFL). When Texas oil magnates Lamar Hunt and Bud Adams Jr. were refused entry to the established National Football League (NFL) in 1959, they founded franchises in Dallas and Houston, and recruited businessmen in six other U.S. markets to form an eight-team rival circuit, calling it the American Football League.
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996. The Oilers began play as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and won two AFL championships before joining the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger of the late 1960s.
The Jaguars–Titans rivalry is a professional American football rivalry between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans in the National Football League (NFL)'s AFC South division. While it isn't the most well-known or historic rivalry in the NFL, it is one of the more famous rivalries in the AFC South.
The Bills–Titans rivalry is a National Football League rivalry between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans. The series originated during the American Football League's inaugural season in 1960, as both the Titans, then known as the Houston Oilers, and Bills were charter teams in the league, playing as divisional opponents in the AFL's East division. Despite being moved to different divisions following the AFL–NFL merger, the Bills and Oilers/Titans have had several heated competitions since, including two of the most memorable moments in NFL playoff history, namely The Comeback and the Music City Miracle. Since 1999, several games have been decided by less than a touchdown.