History of the NFL championship

Throughout its history, the National Football League and other leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champion, including a period of interleague match-ups determining a true world champion.

The NFL first determined champions through end-of-season standings, but switched over to a playoff system in 1933. The rival All-America Football Conference and American Football League, which have since merged with the NFL (some AAFC teams in 1950 and all ten AFL teams in 1970 respectively), began using the playoff system since the creation of their respective leagues.

From 1966–1969 prior to the AFL-NFL merger, the NFL and the AFL held a "world championship" game. The game was first called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game later renamed the Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers won the most of these World Championship Games with two victories.

Since 1970, the modern era NFL has become the only major professional football league in the United States, and its current league championship game is called the Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most with six Super Bowl wins. However, the franchise trails the Packers in the number of overall NFL league titles, twelve. The current defending champions of the NFL are the Pittsburgh Steelers who won Super Bowl XLIII over the Arizona Cardinals.

1920 – 1932: The early years

For a list of NFL standings champions prior to 1933, see List of NFL end-of-season champions

At its inception in 1920, the NFL had no playoff system or championship game. The champion was the team with the best record during the season, determined by winning percentage, with ties omitted. This sometimes led to very odd results, as teams played anywhere from eight to twenty league games in a season, and not all teams played the same number of games.

There were at least two controversial championships during this era. The first was in the 1921 NFL season, between the Buffalo All-Americans and the Chicago Staleys. Buffalo had insisted that the last matchup between the two was an exhibition match not to be counted toward the standings; however, Chicago owner George Halas, as well as league management, insisted the game be counted in its standings (the league, at the time, did not recognize exhibition matches). The result was that although the two teams were effectively tied in the standings, the disputed game, having been played later, was given more weight and thus ended up being considered a de facto championship game. (Chicago also had one less tie game.) The second disputed title was the 1925 NFL Championship controversy between the Pottsville Maroons and the Chicago Cardinals. The Maroons had been controversially suspended by the league at the end of the 1925 NFL season for an unauthorized game against a non-NFL team, allowing the Cardinals to throw together two fairly easy matches (one against a team comprised partly of high school players, also against league rules) to pass Pottsville in the standings. The league awarded the Cardinals the title, one of only two in the team's history, in a decision that continues to be disputed to this day, with Cardinals owners opposing any change in the record and the two current Pennsylvania teams in favor. No action has been taken by the league itself to address the issue, although a self-made championship trophy from the Maroons sits in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ironically, it was Pottsville's win in this game against the Notre Dame All-Stars that gave professional football legitimacy over college football.

In the 1932 season, the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied with the best regular-season winning percentages (although the Green Bay Packers had four more wins).

To determine the champion, the league voted to hold the first official playoff game in Chicago at Wrigley Field. Because of severe winter conditions before the game, and fear of low turnout, the game was held indoors at Chicago Stadium which forced some temporary rule changes.

The game was played on a modified 80-yard dirt field, and Chicago won 9-0, winning the league championship. The playoff game proved so popular that the league reorganized into two divisions for the 1933 season, with the winners advancing to a scheduled championship game.

A number of new rule changes were instituted, many inspired by the 1932 indoor championship game: the goal posts were moved forward to the goal line, every play started from between the hash marks, and forward passes could originate from anywhere behind the line of scrimmage (instead of five yards behind).

1933 – 1966: The advent of the postseason

1933 – 1966: NFL Championship Game

For a list of NFL Championship Games and winners, see List of NFL champions

Starting in 1933, the NFL decided its champion through a single postseason playoff game, called the NFL Championship Game. During this period, the league divided its teams into two groups, through 1949 as divisions and from 1950 onward as conferences.

• Divisions (1933–1949): Eastern and Western
• Conferences (1950–1952): American and National
• Conferences (1953–1966): Eastern and Western
• Conferences and Divisions (1966–1969): Eastern (Capitol and Century) and Western (Central and Coastal)

The home team for the NFL Championship Game was determined by a yearly rotation between the conferences (or divisions), not by regular-season records. If there was a tie for first place within the conference, an extra playoff game determined which team played in the NFL Championship Game. (This occurred nine times in these 34 seasons: 1941, 1943, 1947, 1950 (both conferences), 1952, 1957, 1958, and 1965.)

This last occurred during the 1965 season, when the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts tied for first place in the Western Conference at 10-3-1. Green Bay had won both its games with Baltimore during the regular season, but because no tie-breaker system was in place, a conference playoff game was held on December 26 (what was scheduled to be an off-week between the end of the regular schedule and the NFL Championship Game). The Cleveland Browns, the Eastern champion at 11-3-0, did not play that week. The championship game was then held on its originally-scheduled date, January 2, 1966 --- the first time the NFL champion was crowned in January. Green Bay won both post-season games at home, beating the injury-riddled Colts (with third-string QB Tom Matte) in overtime by a controversial field goal, and taking the title 23-12 on a very muddy field (in what turned out to be Jim Brown's final NFL game).

For the 1960 through 1969 seasons, the NFL staged an additional postseason game called the "Playoff Bowl" (aka the "Bert Bell Benefit Bowl" or the "Runner-up Bowl"). These games matched the second-place teams from the two conferences; the CBS television network advertised them as "playoff games for third place in the NFL." All ten of these consolation games were played in the Orange Bowl in Miami in January, the week after the NFL championship game. The NFL now classifies these contests as exhibition games and does not include the records, participants, or results in the official league playoff statistics. The Playoff Bowl was discontinued after the AFL-NFL merger; the final edition was played in January 1970.

Starting with the 1934 game the winning team received the Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy. The trophy was named after Ed Thorp, a noted referee, rules expert, sporting goods dealer. Thorp died in 1934 and a large, traveling trophy was made that year, passed along from champion to champion each season with each championship team's name inscribed on it. Teams would also receive a replica trophy. The trophy was last awarded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1969. The actual trophy however is now missing.

1946 – 1949: AAFC Championship Game

For a list of AAFC Championship Games and winners, see List of AAFC champions

The All-America Football Conference was created in June of 1944 to compete against the NFL. Even though the league outdrew the NFL in attendance, the continuing dominance of the Cleveland Browns led to the league's downfall.

For its first three seasons, the league was divided into two divisions: Eastern and Western (1946–1948). The league had no divisions in 1949. The site of the championship game during the first three was determined just as it was in the NFL --- a divisional rotation. In 1949, the league held a four-team playoff, with home field based upon won-lost record.

The Browns, led by Quarterback Otto Graham, won all four of the league championship games.

A tiebreaker playoff game was played in 1948 to break a tie between the Baltimore Colts and Buffalo Bills (AAFC) for the Eastern Division championship. Semifinal playoff games were held in 1949, setting up a championship final between the first-place Browns and the second-place San Francisco 49ers.

In 1948, the Browns became the first professional football team to complete an entire season undefeated and untied — 24 years before the 1972 Miami Dolphins of the NFL would accomplish the task, but this feat is not recognized by NFL record books. Unlike the AFL statistics which are treated as NFL statistics, records of the AAFC and its teams (most of which folded) are not recognized. However, individual AAFC player statistics are included in Pro Football Hall of Fame records, and the defunct conference is memorialized in the Hall.

1960 – 1966: AFL Championship Game

For a list of AFL Championship Games and winners, see List of AFL champions

With its creation in 1960, the AFL determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions, the Eastern and Western. The AFL Championship games featured classics such as the 1962 double-overtime championship game between the Dallas Texans and the defending champion Houston Oilers. At the time it was the longest professional football championship game ever played. Also in 1963, an Eastern Division playoff was needed to determine the division winner between the Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills.

1966 – 1969: NFL vs. AFL - The beginning of the Super Bowl era

For a list of AFL Championship Games and winners, see List of AFL champions

For a list of NFL Championship Games and winners, see List of NFL champions

For a list of AFL-NFL World Championship games, see List of AFL-NFL World champions

In 1966, the success of the rival AFL, the spectre of the NFL's losing more stars to the AFL, and concern over a costly "bidding war" for players precipitated by the NFL's Giants' signing of Pete Gogolak, who was under contract to the AFL's Buffalo Bills, led the two leagues to discuss a merger. Pivotal to this was approval by Congress of a law (PL 89-800) that would waive jeopardy to anti-trust statutes for the merged leagues. The major point of the testimony given by the leagues to obtain the law was that if the merger were permitted, "Professional football operations will be preserved in the 23 cities and 25 stadiums where such operations are presently being conducted." The merger was announced on June 8, 1966, and became fully effective in 1970.

After expanding to enfranchise the New Orleans Saints in 1967, the NFL split its 16 teams into two conferences with two divisions each: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Coastal and Central Divisions in the Western Conference. The playoff format was expanded from a single championship game to a four-team tournament, with the four divisional champions participating. The two division winners in each conference met in the "Conference Championships," with the winners advancing to the NFL Championship Game. Again, the home team for each playoff game was determined by a yearly divisional or conference rotation.

The AFL on the other hand, raised its total franchise number to nine in 1966 with the Miami Dolphins, joining the Eastern Division and a tenth team, the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968. The league kept using the one-game-playoff format except when division tie-breakers were needed. With the addition of the Bengals to the Western Division in 1969, the AFL adopted a four-team playoff to determine its champion.

Following the NFL and AFL Championship Games for the 1966 through 1969 seasons, the NFL champion played the AFL champion in Super Bowls I through IV, the only true inter-league championship games in the history of professional football. The first two of these games were known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, as the title Super Bowl was not chosen until 1968. Thus the third AFL-NFL matchup was dubbed "Super Bowl III" and the first two matches were retronamed as Super Bowls I and II. The first two games were convincingly won by the NFL's Packers, the last two by the AFL's New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs, leaving the leagues even at 2-2 in "World Championship" competition when they subsequently merged.

All participants in those four AFL-NFL championship games were either AFL champions or NFL champions in the record books, no matter the outcome of the Super Bowl. Three of the four league champions who lost one of the first four Super Bowls would eventually win at least one. The exception is the Minnesota Vikings.

1970 – present: The Super Bowl era

For a complete list of post-merger Super Bowl winners, see List of Super Bowl champions.

Post Merger

After the 1969 season and Super Bowl IV, the AFL and NFL fully merged and underwent a re-alignment for the 1970 season. Three of the pre-merger NFL teams were transferred to the AFC (Browns, Colts, and Steelers) to level the conferences (AFC and NFC) at 13 teams each; each conference split into three divisions. Since there was now only one league, the Super Bowl became a league championship and the winner is the NFL champion.

With only six division winners in the newly merged league, the NFL designed an eight-team playoff tournament, with four clubs from each conference qualifying. Along with the three division winners in each conference, two wild card teams (one from each conference), the second-place finishers with the best records in each conference, were added to the tournament. The first round was named the "Divisional Playoffs", with the winners advancing to the "Conference Championships" (AFC & NFC). Two weeks later, the AFC and NFC champions met in the Super Bowl, now the league's championship game. Thus, Super Bowl V in January 1971 was the first Super Bowl played for the NFL title.

With the introduction of the wild card, a rule was instituted to prohibit two teams from the same division (champion and wild card) from meeting in the first-round (Divisional Playoffs). This rule would remain in effect through the 1989 season. More significantly, the home teams in the playoffs were still decided by a yearly divisional rotation, not on regular-season records (excluding the wild-card teams, who would always play on the road). This lack of "home-field advantage" was most evident in the 1972 playoffs, when the undefeated Miami Dolphins played the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had recorded three losses during the regular season, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

Beginning in 1972, tie games were included in the computing of each team's winning percentage. Each tie was now counted as half of a win and half of a loss, rather than omitted from the computation.

The institution of "home-field advantage"

In 1975, the league modified its 1970 playoff format by instituting a seeding system. The surviving clubs with the higher seeds were made the home teams for each playoff round. The three division champions in each conference were seeded first through third based on their regular-season records, with the wild-card team in each conference as the fourth seed.

Teams that earned the top seed became known as clinching "home-field advantage" throughout the playoffs, since they played all of their playoff games at their home stadium (except for the Super Bowl, played at a neutral site).

However, the league continued to prohibit meetings between teams from the same division in the Divisional Playoffs. Thus, there would be times when the pairing in that round would pit the first seed versus the third, and the second versus the fourth. This system is identical to that now in use by Major League Baseball.

Further playoff expansion

The league expanded the playoffs to 10 teams in 1978, adding a second wild-card team (a fifth seed) from each conference. The two wild-card teams from each conference (the fourth and fifth seeds) played each other in the first round, called the "Wild Card Playoffs." The division winners (the first three seeds) would then receive a bye to automatically advance to the Divisional Playoffs, which became the second round of the playoffs. In the divisional round, much like the 1970 playoff format, teams from the same division were still prohibited from playing each other, regardless of seeding. Under the 1978 format, teams from the same division could meet only in the wild-card round or the conference championship. Thus, as before, a divisional champion could only play a divisional foe in the conference championship game.

A players' strike shortened the 1982 season to nine games. The league used a special 16-team playoff tournament for that year. The top eight teams from each conference qualified (ignoring the divisional races -- there were no division standings, and in some cases 2 teams from the same division did not play each other at all that season). The playoffs reverted to the 1978 format in the following year.

In 1990, the NFL expanded the playoffs to twelve teams by adding a third wild-card team (a sixth seed) from each conference. The restrictions on intra-division playoff games during the Divisional Playoffs were removed. However, only the top two division winners in each conference (the 1 and 2 seeds) received byes and automatically advanced to the Divisional Playoffs as host teams. The 3 seed, the division winner with the worst regular season record in each conference, would then host the 6 seed in the Wild Card Playoffs.

In 2002, the NFL realigned into eight divisions, four per conference, to accommodate a 32nd team, the Houston Texans. The playoffs remained a 12-team tournament, with four division winners (the 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds) and two wild cards (the 5 and 6 seeds) from each conference advancing to the playoffs. Again, only the top two division winners in each conference would automatically advance to the Divisional Playoffs, while everybody else had to play in the Wild Card round. Furthermore, the league still maintains the names "Wild Card Playoffs", "Divisional Playoffs", and "Conference Championships" for the first, second, and third rounds of the playoffs, respectively.

A proposal to expand the playoffs to 14 teams by adding a third wild card team (a seventh seed) from each conference, and only giving the 1 seeds the bye in the first round, was tabled by the league owners in 2003.

Championship games per season

Below is a list of Professional Football champions per season as recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

KEY:

• (#) – the number of league championships won during the Pre-Super Bowl era including the NFL, AAFC, and American Football League.
• (#) – the number of Super Bowl Championships in the Super Bowl era.
• (#) – the total number of league championships won.
• (#) – the number of world championships won; these were only available during the first four Super Bowls, which were interleague matches.

APFA/NFL Standings Champions (1920 – 1932)

(For the first thirteen seasons, the APFA/NFL did not hold a championship game except in 1932 when a playoff game was held, the precursor to the championship game; from 1920–1971, the NFL did not officially include tie games in the winning percentage.)

Season	League	Team	Win	Loss	Tie	Pct.
1920	APFA	Akron Pros (1) (1)	8	0	3	1.000
1921	APFA	Chicago Staleys (2) (2)	9	1	1	.900
1922	NFL	Canton Bulldogs (1) (1)	10	0	2	1.000
1923	NFL	Canton Bulldogs (2) (2)	11	0	1	1.000
1924	NFL	Cleveland Bulldogs (1) (1)	7	1	1	.875
1925	NFL	Chicago Cardinals (1) (1)	11	2	1	.846
1926	NFL	Frankford Yellow Jackets (1) (1)	14	1	2	.933
1927	NFL	New York Giants (1) (1)	11	1	1	.917
1928	NFL	Providence Steam Roller (1) (1)	8	1	2	.889
1929	NFL	Green Bay Packers (1) (1)	12	0	1	1.000
1930	NFL	Green Bay Packers (2) (2)	10	3	1	.769
1931	NFL	Green Bay Packers (3) (3)	12	2	0	.857
1932	NFL	Chicago Bears (2) (2)	7	1	6	.875

NFL Championship Game (1933 – 1945)

(The NFL begins having a championship game, which would continue until 1969.)

Season	League	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location	Attendance
1933	NFL	Chicago Bears (3) (3)	23–21	New York Giants	Wrigley Field	26,000
1934	NFL	New York Giants (2) (2)	30–13	Chicago Bears	Polo Grounds	35,059
1935	NFL	Detroit Lions (1) (1)	26–7	New York Giants	University of Detroit Stadium	15,000
1936	NFL	Green Bay Packers (4) (4)	21–6	Boston Redskins	Polo Grounds (New York, NY)	29,545
1937	NFL	Washington Redskins (1) (1)	28–21	Chicago Bears	Wrigley Field	15,870
1938	NFL	New York Giants (3) (3)	23–17	Green Bay Packers	Polo Grounds	48,120
1939	NFL	Green Bay Packers (5) (5)	27–0	New York Giants	Wisconsin State Fair Park (West Allis, WI)	32,279
1940	NFL	Chicago Bears (4) (4)	73–0	Washington Redskins	Griffith Stadium	36,034
1941	NFL	Chicago Bears (5) (5)	37–9	New York Giants	Wrigley Field	13,341
1942	NFL	Washington Redskins (2) (2)	14–6	Chicago Bears	Griffith Stadium	36,006
1943	NFL	Chicago Bears (6) (6)	41–21	Washington Redskins	Wrigley Field	34,320
1944	NFL	Green Bay Packers (6) (6)	14–7	New York Giants	Polo Grounds	46,016
1945	NFL	Cleveland Rams (1) (1)	15–14	Washington Redskins	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	32,178

NFL Championship Game and AAFC Championship Game (1946 – 1949)

(Between 1946 and 1949 both the NFL and AAFC were in operation with the merger of the AAFC into the NFL taking place in 1950.)

Season	League	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location	Attendance
1946	AAFC	Cleveland Browns (1) (1)	14–9	New York Yankees	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	41,181
	NFL	Chicago Bears (7) (7)	24–14	New York Giants	Polo Grounds	58,346
1947	AAFC	Cleveland Browns (2) (2)	14–3	New York Yankees	Yankee Stadium	60,103
	NFL	Chicago Cardinals (2) (2)	28–21	Philadelphia Eagles	Comiskey Park	30,759
1948	AAFC	Cleveland Browns (3) (3)	49–7	Buffalo Bills	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	22,981
	NFL	Philadelphia Eagles (1) (1)	7–0	Chicago Cardinals	Shibe Park	36,309
1949	AAFC	Cleveland Browns (4) (4)	21–7	San Francisco 49ers	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	22,550
	NFL	Philadelphia Eagles (2) (2)	14–0	Los Angeles Rams	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	27,980

NFL Championship Game (1950 – 1959)

(Between 1950 and 1959 the NFL was the only operating league with former AAFC franchises the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, and Baltimore Colts joining the NFL. The number in the parentheses is the total number of NFL championships and the bolded number in parentheses is the total number of league championships.)

Year	League	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location	Attendance
1950	NFL	Cleveland Browns (1) (5)	30–28	Los Angeles Rams	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	29,751
1951	NFL	Los Angeles Rams (2) (2)	24–17	Cleveland Browns	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,522
1952	NFL	Detroit Lions (2) (2)	17–7	Cleveland Browns	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	50,934
1953	NFL	Detroit Lions (3) (3)	17–16	Cleveland Browns	Briggs Stadium	54,577
1954	NFL	Cleveland Browns (2) (6)	56–10	Detroit Lions	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	43,827
1955	NFL	Cleveland Browns (3) (7)	38–14	Los Angeles Rams	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	85,693
1956	NFL	New York Giants (4) (4)	47–7	Chicago Bears	Yankee Stadium	56,836
1957	NFL	Detroit Lions (4) (4)	59–14	Cleveland Browns	Briggs Stadium	55,263
1958	NFL	Baltimore Colts (1) (1)	23–17 (OT)	New York Giants	Yankee Stadium	64,185
1959	NFL	Baltimore Colts (2) (2)	31–16	New York Giants	Memorial Stadium	57,545

AFL Championship Game and NFL Championship Game (1960 – 1965)

(The NFL was joined by the American Football League from 1960 to 1969 with the AFL merging with the NFL in 1970. The number in the parentheses is the total number of NFL or AFL championships and the bolded number in parentheses is the total number of league championships.)

Season	League	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location	Attendance
1960	AFL	Houston Oilers (1) (1)	24–16	Los Angeles Chargers	Jeppesen Stadium	32,183
	NFL	Philadelphia Eagles (3) (3)	17–13	Green Bay Packers	Franklin Field	67,325
1961	AFL	Houston Oilers (2) (2)	10–3	San Diego Chargers	Balboa Stadium	29,556
	NFL	Green Bay Packers (7) (7)	37–0	New York Giants	"New" City Stadium	39,029
1962	AFL	Dallas Texans (1) (1)	20–17 (2OT)	Houston Oilers	Jeppesen Stadium	37,981
	NFL	Green Bay Packers (8) (8)	16–7	New York Giants	Yankee Stadium	64,892
1963	AFL	San Diego Chargers (1) (1)	51–10	Boston Patriots	Balboa Stadium	30,127
	NFL	Chicago Bears (8) (8)	14–10	New York Giants	Wrigley Field	45,801
1964	AFL	Buffalo Bills (1) (1)	20–7	San Diego Chargers	War Memorial Stadium	40,242
	NFL	Cleveland Browns (4) (8)	27–0	Baltimore Colts	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	79,544
1965	AFL	Buffalo Bills (2) (2)	23–0	San Diego Chargers	Balboa Stadium	30,361
	NFL	Green Bay Packers (9) (9)	23–12	Cleveland Browns	Lambeau Field	50,777

AFL-NFL World Championship Game (The Super Bowl) (1966 – 1969)

(From 1966 to 1969 both NFL and AFL champions meet in the first and so far only World Championship games to decide a champion between leagues, the series ended NFL two, AFL two.)

Season	League	Game	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Location	Attendance
1966	AFL		Kansas City Chiefs (2) (2)	31–7	Buffalo Bills	War Memorial Stadium	42,080
	NFL		Green Bay Packers (10) (10)	34–27	Dallas Cowboys	Cotton Bowl	74,152
		I	Green Bay Packers (1)	35–10	Kansas City Chiefs	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	61,946
1967	AFL		Oakland Raiders (1) (1)	40–7	Houston Oilers	Oakland Coliseum	53,330
	NFL		Green Bay Packers (11) (11)	21–17	Dallas Cowboys	Lambeau Field	50,861
		II	Green Bay Packers (2)	33–14	Oakland Raiders	Miami Orange Bowl	75,546
1968	AFL		New York Jets (1) (1)	27–23	Oakland Raiders	Shea Stadium	62,627
	NFL		Baltimore Colts (3) (3)	34–0	Cleveland Browns	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,410
		III	New York Jets (1)	16–7	Baltimore Colts	Miami Orange Bowl	75,389
1969	AFL		Kansas City Chiefs (3) (3)	17–7	Oakland Raiders	Oakland Coliseum	53,561
	NFL		Minnesota Vikings (1) (1)	27–7	Cleveland Browns	Metropolitan Stadium	46,503
		IV	Kansas City Chiefs (1)	23–7	Minnesota Vikings	Tulane Stadium, New Orleans	80,562

Super Bowl Championship (1970 – present)

(With the merger of the AFL with the NFL, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game. The number in the parentheses is the total number of Super Bowl championships and the bolded number in parentheses is the total number of league championships.)

Further information: List of Super Bowl champions

Season	League	Game	Winning Team	Score	Losing Team	Venue	City
1970	NFL	V	Baltimore Colts (1) (4)	16–13	Dallas Cowboys	Miami Orange Bowl	Miami
1971	NFL	VI	Dallas Cowboys (1) (1)	24–3	Miami Dolphins	Tulane Stadium	New Orleans
1972	NFL	VII	Miami Dolphins (1) (1)	14–7	Washington Redskins	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	Los Angeles
1973	NFL	VIII	Miami Dolphins (2) (2)	24–7	Minnesota Vikings	Rice Stadium	Houston
1974	NFL	IX	Pittsburgh Steelers (1) (1)	16–6	Minnesota Vikings	Tulane Stadium	New Orleans
1975	NFL	X	Pittsburgh Steelers (2) (2)	21–17	Dallas Cowboys	Miami Orange Bowl	Miami
1976	NFL	XI	Oakland Raiders (1) (2)	32–14	Minnesota Vikings	Rose Bowl Stadium	Pasadena
1977	NFL	XII	Dallas Cowboys (2) (2)	27–10	Denver Broncos	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans
1978	NFL	XIII	Pittsburgh Steelers (3) (3)	35–31	Dallas Cowboys	Miami Orange Bowl	Miami
1979	NFL	XIV	Pittsburgh Steelers (4) (4)	31–19	Los Angeles Rams	Rose Bowl Stadium	Pasadena
1980	NFL	XV	Oakland Raiders (2) (3)	27–10	Philadelphia Eagles	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans
1981	NFL	XVI	San Francisco 49ers (1) (1)	26–21	Cincinnati Bengals	Pontiac Silverdome	Pontiac
1982	NFL	XVII	Washington Redskins (1) (3)	27–17	Miami Dolphins	Rose Bowl Stadium	Pasadena
1983	NFL	XVIII	Los Angeles Raiders (3) (4)	38–9	Washington Redskins	Tampa Stadium	Tampa
1984	NFL	XIX	San Francisco 49ers (2) (2)	38–16	Miami Dolphins	Stanford Stadium	Stanford
1985	NFL	XX	Chicago Bears (1) (9)	46–10	New England Patriots	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans
1986	NFL	XXI	New York Giants (1) (5)	39–20	Denver Broncos	Rose Bowl Stadium	Pasadena
1987	NFL	XXII	Washington Redskins (2) (4)	42–10	Denver Broncos	Jack Murphy Stadium	San Diego
1988	NFL	XXIII	San Francisco 49ers (3) (3)	20–16	Cincinnati Bengals	Joe Robbie Stadium	Miami
1989	NFL	XXIV	San Francisco 49ers (4) (4)	55–10	Denver Broncos	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans
1990	NFL	XXV	New York Giants (2) (6)	20–19	Buffalo Bills	Tampa Stadium	Tampa
1991	NFL	XXVI	Washington Redskins (3) (5)	37–24	Buffalo Bills	Metrodome	Minneapolis
1992	NFL	XXVII	Dallas Cowboys (3) (3)	52–17	Buffalo Bills	Rose Bowl Stadium	Pasadena
1993	NFL	XXVIII	Dallas Cowboys (4) (4)	30–13	Buffalo Bills	Georgia Dome	Atlanta
1994	NFL	XXIX	San Francisco 49ers (5) (5)	49–26	San Diego Chargers	Joe Robbie Stadium	Miami
1995	NFL	XXX	Dallas Cowboys (5) (5)	27–17	Pittsburgh Steelers	Sun Devil Stadium	Tempe
1996	NFL	XXXI	Green Bay Packers (3) (12)	35–21	New England Patriots	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans
1997	NFL	XXXII	Denver Broncos (1) (1)	31–24	Green Bay Packers	Qualcomm Stadium	San Diego
1998	NFL	XXXIII	Denver Broncos (2) (2)	34–19	Atlanta Falcons	Pro Player Stadium	Miami
1999	NFL	XXXIV	St. Louis Rams (1) (3)	23–16	Tennessee Titans	Georgia Dome	Atlanta
2000	NFL	XXXV	Baltimore Ravens (1) (1)	34–7	New York Giants	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa
2001	NFL	XXXVI	New England Patriots (1) (1)	20–17	St. Louis Rams	Louisiana Superdome	New Orleans
2002	NFL	XXXVII	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1) (1)	48–21	Oakland Raiders	Qualcomm Stadium	San Diego
2003	NFL	XXXVIII	New England Patriots (2) (2)	32–29	Carolina Panthers	Reliant Stadium	Houston
2004	NFL	XXXIX	New England Patriots (3) (3)	24–21	Philadelphia Eagles	ALLTEL Stadium	Jacksonville
2005	NFL	XL	Pittsburgh Steelers (5) (5)	21–10	Seattle Seahawks	Ford Field	Detroit
2006	NFL	XLI	Indianapolis Colts (2) (5)	29–17	Chicago Bears	Dolphin Stadium	Miami Gardens
2007	NFL	XLII	New York Giants (3) (7)	17-14	New England Patriots	University of Phoenix Stadium	Glendale
2008	NFL	XLIII	Pittsburgh Steelers (6) (6)	27-23	Arizona Cardinals	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa

List of various league/world championship game systems

Current NFL Championship system

World Championship system

Defunct league championship system

League	Official Name	Common Name	First year	Last year	Trophy name	Most successful clubs (# titles)
NFL	(Old) NFL Championship Game	(Old) NFL Championship	1920	1969	Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy	Green Bay Packers (9) Chicago Bears (8) Cleveland Browns (4) Detroit Lions (4) New York Giants (4)
AAFC	AAFC Championship Game	AAFC Championship	1946	1949	AAFC Trophy	Cleveland Browns (4)
AFL	AFL Championship Game	AFL Championship	1960	1969	AFL Trophy	Kansas City Chiefs (3) Buffalo Bills (2) Houston Oilers (2)
AFL NFL	AFL-NFL World Championship Game	World Championship of Pro Football AFL-NFL World Championship Game Super Bowl	1966	1969	World Championship Game Trophy	Green Bay Packers (2) New York Jets (1) Kansas City Chiefs (1)
NFL	Super Bowl "(Modern) NFL Championship"	Super Bowl World Championship (Modern) NFL Championship	1970		Vince Lombardi Trophy	Pittsburgh Steelers (6) Dallas Cowboys (5) San Francisco 49ers (5)

Super Bowl Championship (1970 – present)

(With the merger of the AFL with the NFL, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game. The number in the parentheses is the total number of Super Bowl championships and the bolded number in parentheses is the total number of league championships.)

Further information: List of Super Bowl champions

Undefeated regular seasons and "perfect seasons" in professional football

Perfect Season

League	Season	Franchise	Regular Season					Post Season Result(s)	Recognition
			Wins	Losses	Ties	Pct.	Finish
NFL	1929	Green Bay Packers	12	0	1	1.000	1st NFL	No Post-Season - Championship by standings	NFL: Yes HOF: Yes
	1934	Chicago Bears	13	0	0	1.000	1st NFL West	Lost NFL Championship (Giants) (13-30)	NFL: Yes HOF: Yes
	1942	Chicago Bears	11	0	0	1.000	1st NFL West	Lost NFL Championship (Redskins) (6-14)	NFL: Yes HOF: Yes
AAFC	1948	Cleveland Browns	14	0	0	1.000	1st AAFC West	Won AAFC championship (Bills) (49-7)	NFL: No HOF: Yes
NFL	1972	Miami Dolphins	14	0	0	1.000	1st AFC East	Won Divisional Playoffs (Browns) (20-14) Won Conference Championship (Steelers) (21-17) Won Super Bowl VII (Redskins) (14-7)	NFL: Yes HOF: Yes
NFL	2007	New England Patriots	16	0	0	1.000	1st AFC East	Won Divisional Playoffs (Jaguars) (31-20) Won Conference Championship (Chargers) (21-12) Lost Super Bowl XLII (New York Giants) (17-14)	NFL: Yes HOF: Yes

Championships by Franchise

• After the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and the emergence of the Super Bowl, all AFL and NFL league championship games prior to merger are listed along with the AFC and NFC conference championship games, respectively, in the NFL's official records, but are recorded as league titles for each victorious franchise between 1920 and 1969. The Super Bowl victories for each franchise between 1966 and 1969 are looked upon as "World Championship titles" not league titles so they are not included in most NFL lists due to their short time span.

Most successful professional football franchises in league titles (1920 – present)

These are the championships of professional American football leagues that are recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but not necessarily the National Football League official record books.

• Note – in this list, AFL or NFL Championship counts in bold do not include championships won during the same seasons as the AFL-NFL Super Bowl Championships prior to the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger; only their Super Bowl wins are counted (Packers I-II, Jets III, Chiefs IV). AFL or NFL Championships won by the losing teams of Super Bowls I-IV (Chiefs I, Raiders II, Colts III, Vikings IV) are counted.
• (*) – Defunct NFL franchises
• (#) – current NFL Champion

Franchise	NFL Championships	AFL Championships	AAFC Championships	Super Bowls	Total
Green Bay Packers	9			3	12
Chicago Bears	8			1	9
Cleveland Browns	4		4		8
New York Giants	4			3	7
Pittsburgh Steelers#				6	6
Dallas Cowboys				5	5
San Francisco 49ers				5	5
Washington Redskins	2			3	5
Baltimore Colts	3			1	4
Detroit Lions	4				4
Oakland Raiders		1		3	4
New England Patriots				3	3
Philadelphia Eagles	3				3
St. Louis Rams	2			1	3
Kansas City Chiefs		2		1	3
Denver Broncos				2	2
Miami Dolphins				2	2
Arizona Cardinals	2				2
Buffalo Bills		2			2
Canton Bulldogs*	2				2
Tennessee Titans		2			2
Indianapolis Colts				1	1
New York Jets				1	1
Baltimore Ravens				1	1
Akron Pros*	1				1
Cleveland Bulldogs*	1				1
Frankford Yellow Jackets*	1				1
Minnesota Vikings	1				1
Providence Steam Roller*	1				1
San Diego Chargers		1			1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers				1	1

Most successful professional football franchises in AFL-NFL world championships (1966 – 1969)

Franchise	AFL-NFL World Championships	League	Season(s)	Opponent(s) (League)
Green Bay Packers	2	NFL	1966, 1967	Kansas City Chiefs (AFL), Oakland Raiders (AFL)
New York Jets	1	AFL	1968	Baltimore Colts (NFL)
Kansas City Chiefs	1	AFL	1969	Minnesota Vikings (NFL)

Pro Football Dynasties

Franchise	Years	League	League Championships (Years)	Notes
Green Bay Packers	1929–1931	NFL	3 (1929, 1930, 1931)	Three NFL consecutive championships (first time)
Chicago Bears	1940–1946	NFL	4 (1940, 1941, 1943, 1946)	Three NFL Championships in four years; Four NFL Championships in seven years; five NFL Championship Game appearances (1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946). Perfect regular season in 1942.
Cleveland Browns	1946–1957	AAFC NFL	7 (1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1955)	Four AAFC Championships and three NFL Championships; Ten consecutive AAFC or NFL Championship Game appearances (1946–1955); 11 AAFC or NFL conference championships in 12 years (1946–1955, '57)
Detroit Lions	1952-1957	NFL	3 (1952, 1953, 1957)	Three NFL Championships; four NFL Championship Game appearances in six years
Green Bay Packers	1961–1968	NFL	5 (1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967)	Five NFL Championships in seven years including Super Bowl I and II (World Championship Games); also three straight NFL Championships (second time)
Pittsburgh Steelers	1972–1980	NFL	4 (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979)	Four Super Bowls in 6 years; six straight AFC Central division title|-
Oakland Raiders (last title in Los Angeles)	1976–1983	NFL	3 (1976, 1980, 1983)	Three Super Bowls in eight years
San Francisco 49ers	1981–1998	NFL	5 (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1994)	Four Super Bowls in nine years, Five total Super Bowls in fourteen years; Five straight division titles (once), Four straight division titles (once); Thirteen total NFC West division titles; Sixteen straight winning seasons, Seventeen of eighteen winning seasons during era. Sixteen consecutive seasons of 10 wins or more. Only team with 5-0 Super Bowl record.
Washington Redskins	1982–1992	NFL	3 (1982, 1987, 1991)	Three Super Bowl titles in four Super Bowl appearances in a 10 year span. Won four NFC Championships while appearing in five. Four NFC East division championships even with the 1982 season not recognized.
Dallas Cowboys	1991–1998	NFL	3 (1992, 1993, 1995)	First team to win three Super Bowls in four years; three NFC Championships in four straight appearances; five straight NFC East division championships, six total NFC East titles
New England Patriots	2001–2008	NFL	3 (2001, 2003, 2004)	Appearances in four Super Bowls in seven years; five AFC Championship Game appearances in seven years; five AFC East division titles in six years, winnings steaks of 18 and 21 straight games, first perfect regular season in 35 years but lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl XLII (first in salary cap era.)

Footnotes

• National Football Conference Championship Game

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