Today, the National Football League (NFL) is divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference consists of 16 teams and is divided into four divisions — East, West, North, and South — of four teams each.
These division titles don’t necessarily correspond to geographic parts of the country, though. For example, the St. Louis Rams are in the NFC West, yet St. Louis is smack-dab in the middle of the United States.
The American Football Conference
Here are the four regional divisions for the American Football Conference (AFC):
- East Division: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
- West Division: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers
- North Division: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
- South Division: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
These teams in the AFC were once part of the old American Football League (AFL):
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
- New England Patriots
- New York Jets
- Denver Broncos
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Oakland Raiders
- San Diego Chargers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Tennessee Titans
The National Football Conference
The National Football Conference (NFC) is divided into the following regional groups:
- East Division: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins
- West Division: Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
- North Division: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
- South Division: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
These three teams once formed the original NFL:
- Arizona Cardinals
- Chicago Bears
- Green Bay Packers
