Two storied franchises will meet in Mile High on Sunday with a Super Bowl berth on the line.
This year’s AFC Championship Game will feature the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos, two top seeds with unlikely paths to the conference title game.
After winning just eight games combined over the last two seasons, Drake Maye and the Patriots earned the AFC’s No. 2 seed with a 14-3 regular season record in Mike Vrabel’s first season as head coach. While Maye was an MVP contender in the regular season, it’s been New England’s defense that has carried the team in the postseason with dominant performances against the No. 7 Los Angeles Chargers in the wild card round and No. 5 Houston Texans in the divisional round.
On the other side, the Broncos earned the AFC’s top seed and coveted first-round bye with a 14-3 record. Sean Payton’s squad earned a thrilling overtime victory over the No. 6 Buffalo Bills in the divisional round but was dealt a devastating blow with Bo Nix suffering a season-ending ankle injury. The team will now turn to backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, a 2019 Patriots draft pick, with sights set on Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California.
Before the Patriots and Broncos square off, here is a look at which teams have won, lost and reached the most AFC Championship Games:
Which team has won the most AFC Championship Games?
The Patriots have far and away the most AFC Championship Game victories with 11.
Nine of those wins came from 2001 to 2019, when Tom Brady was the team’s starting quarterback. Those nine wins translated to six Super Bowl victories for Brady, head coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in NFL history.
Speaking of the Steelers, they are tied with the Broncos for the second-most AFC Championship Game victories with eight. The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins are next on the list with five conference title game wins.
Which team has lost the most AFC Championship Games?
Along with eight wins, the Steelers also have eight losses in AFC Championship Games, the most of any team.
Second on the list for most losses are the Las Vegas Raiders with seven. After them, the Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans and New York Jets are tied for third with four losses apiece.
Which team has the most AFC Championship Game appearances?
The Patriots will tie the Steelers with their 16th AFC Championship Game appearance on Sunday. The Broncos (11) and Raiders (11) are the only other teams with double-digit appearances.
Sixteen teams have reached an AFC Championship Game, but they are not the 16 teams that make up the current AFC. The Seattle Seahawks played in the AFC West from the time they joined the NFL as an expansion team in 1976 up until the 2002 season, when they joined the NFC West. Their AFC Championship Game appearance came in the 1983 season, when they lost to the Oakland Raiders 30-14.
The Texans are the only present-day AFC team to never reach the conference title game.
Here is the full list of teams listed by AFC Championship Game appearances:
T-1. New England Patriots: 16 (11-4)
T-1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 16 (8-8)
T-3. Denver Broncos: 11 (8-2)
T-3. Las Vegas Raiders: 11 (4-7)
5. Kansas City Chiefs: 8 (5-3)
T-6. Miami Dolphins: 7 (5-2)
T-6. Buffalo Bills: 7 (4-3)
T-6. Indianapolis Colts: 7 (3-4)
T-9. Baltimore Ravens: 5 (2-3)
T-9. Tennessee Titans: 5 (1-4)
T-11. Cincinnati Bengals: 4 (3-1)
T-11. Los Angeles Chargers: 4 (1-3)
T-11. New York Jets: 4 (0-4)
T-14. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 (0-3)
T-14. Cleveland Browns: 3 (0-3)
16. Seattle Seahawks: 1 (0-1)
T-17. Houston Texans: 0
T-17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0 (only played one season in the AFC)
Most common AFC Championship Game matchups
This will be the third Patriots-Broncos AFC Championship Game, with the Broncos winning the previous two matchups at home in 2013 and 2015.
Patriots-Broncos will tie the record for most common AFC Championship Game matchup, joining the following five matchups: Raiders-Steelers (Steelers 2-1), Broncos-Browns (Broncos 3-0), Colts-Patriots (Patriots 2-1), Patriots-Steelers (Patriots 3-0) and Bills-Chiefs (Chiefs 2-1).
