The AFC East Division is one of the four divisions that make up the American Football Conference. Born out of the old American Football League (AFL), the current AFC East is made up of four teams:
The division started as the old AFL East and included the Houston Oilers, who are now the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers won four division titles, all in the AFL era. Houston moved on to the AFC Central with the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.
The AFC East has also included the Baltimore Colts, the franchise that is now in Indianapolis. The Colts were in the division for 32 seasons and won six division crowns. The Indianapolis Colts moved to the AFC South in 2002.
There have been two franchises that have recorded perfect regular seasons in the Super Bowl era. Both teams – Miami and New England – hail from the AFC East.
The division has been represented in 21 of 54 Super Bowls. AFC East teams have won ten Lombardi Trophies.
Buffalo, which captured the 2020 AFC East Division title, has won 11 division titles in franchise history. The Buffalo Bills won four straight division titles from 1988 to 1991 and six of eight from 1988 to 1995.
When the AFL and NFL merged in 1970, the AFL East became the AFC East, and Houston moved to the AFC Central. Baltimore replaced the Oilers because of the city’s relative geographic location. The Colts continued to play in the AFC East until 2002, even after the franchise moved to Indianapolis.
The AFC East has a long history of traditional rivalries. All four teams share some things in common as well. None of the four AFC East teams currently play their home games within the central city of their metropolitan area.
The Buffalo Bills have played in Orchard Park, New York, since 1973. Before that, they played at War Memorial Stadium in the city of Buffalo. The Miami Dolphins have played in Miami Gardens, a suburb of Miami, Florida, since 1987. Before that, the Dolphins played at the Orange Bowl in Miami from 1966-1986 when they moved to Joe Robbie Stadium (currently named Hard Rock Stadium). The New England Patriots played in Boston until 1970 but now plays its home games in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The New York Jets have called East Rutherford, New Jersey home since 1984 after playing at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan (1960-1963) and Shea Stadium in Queens, New York (1964-1983).
All four AFC East teams also have had a head coach from the Bill Parcells coaching tree. Parcells, of course, coached both the Patriots and Jets. Bill Belichick was an assistant for Parcells and is still the Patriots head coach. Tony Sparano spent time as the head coach in Miami, and the Jets had both Eric Mangini and Todd Bowles. Former Parcells assistant Rex Ryan coached Buffalo in 2015 and 2016.
Current Head Coaches of the AFC East teams are Sean McDermott for the Buffalo Bills, Brian Flores for the Miami Dolphins, Bill Belichick for the New England Patriots, and Robert Saleh for the New York Jets.
Current General Managers for the AFC East teams are Brandon Beane for the Buffalo Bills, Chris Grier for the Miami Dolphins, Bill Belichick for the New England Patriots, and Joe Douglas for the New York Jets.
Current owners for the ACE East teams are Terry and Kim Pegula own the Buffalo Bills, Stephen Ross owns the Miami Dolphins, Robert Kraft owns the New England Patriots, and Robert “Woody” Johnson owns the New York Jets.
BillsFans.com - Editorial Staff
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