The NFL has a problem, one that may not be obvious to some. The lack of team variation in the league, specifically the American Football Conference (AFC), is something that has become unnoticeable. It is especially apparent in the Kansas City Chiefs dynasty. 

I was doing research about the divisional round and noticed the same four teams in the round also made it to the divisional round last year, something that only happened once before. 

The Chiefs have made seven consecutive AFC title appearances, and were going for another title win in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. 

This season, it was clear the top three teams in the AFC were the three best teams in the league. The problem, however, is much deeper than the best teams playing against each other and spans a completely different dynasty. 

One that I hold deep in my football fandom. 

To understand the complexities of the lack of team variation within the NFL, we need to head to 2012. The 2011 season had just concluded, and the playoffs games were ablaze. The home teams took care of business the first three games of Wild Card Weekend (first round of playoffs) with an average margin of a 20-point victory. 

The only upset was the Denver Broncos beating the Pittsburgh Steelers on this legendary play. 

The next round, the AFC suffered a blowout in primetime during the matchup hyped to be Tim Tebow vs. Tom Brady. A complete masterclass in quarterbacking by Brady led the New England Patriots to a 45-10 victory over Denver. The other AFC game was close, but the Ravens won. Setting up the first of two AFC title game matchups between the Ravens and Patriots.

Now, why mention this year specifically? It was the start of the second big “Tom Brady prime.” Brady and Patriots made it to the first of eight consecutive title games, the last of which started the aforementioned Chiefs streak that continues to this day. 

Another reason why 2012 is important in the NFL is because many of the bottom-dwellers from that season also finished at the bottom of this most recent season. 

The Cleveland Browns and the Jacksonville Jaguars are direct examples of this. The New York Jets, despite finishing .500, started a playoff drought that continues to this day. 

In recent years, the AFC is also home to weaker divisions. 

The AFC South usually gets its divisional winner in and that’s it. The AFC East is still as weak with the Buffalo Bills taking the spot the New England Patriots used to occupy, winning the last five AFC East titles after the Patriots took home 11 straight from 2009-2019. 

The Patriots’ time of domination spans further back, but the conference had an odd period from 2006-2010 where teams like the Los Angeles (formerly San Diego) Chargers and Tennessee Titans were No. 1 seeds. The Patriots and the Ravens went on the road and upset them, respectively. 

Even the AFC title games got odd for a bit when the Jets went to back-to-back title games, taking out Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in back-to-back rounds in 2010. 

That was perhaps the last true time of playoff parity until 2019 — Brady’s final season in New England where the Titans came out of nowhere and upset the Patriots and Ravens to reach the AFC title game where the new mainstays Chiefs ended the Cinderella run.

Meanwhile, the NFC, especially the last four years, have had very fun and balanced teams in the conference. The No. 6 seeds have put up incredible fights in the playoffs, pulling off multiple upsets with a few even upsetting the top seed in the Divisional Round to make it to their conference title games, Washington being the latest team to do it. 

Even in defeat, teams like the Green Bay Packers, who are the only No. 7 seed to win a playoff game since the format expanded to 14 teams, have played their opponents very competitively. The other divisional matchup has also produced competitive results most years. 

The AFC cannot say the same for themselves. 

The Browns are the last Wild Card team from the conference to win a playoff game with their upset of the Steelers during the 2020 AFC Wild Card game. Most years, it’s the top three seeds competing, seen in classic match-ups such as Kansas City vs. Buffalo happening four times in total. 

Who will be the AFC teams to buck the trend and end this lack of parity? Time will tell, but they will have to do what the NFC teams have done.

Stone O’Bryant is a columnist. Contact him at [email protected].