The No. 2 Buffalo Bills beat the No. 3 Baltimore Ravens in the final game of the NFL divisional round.
Mahomes. Allen. Round 4.
This year's AFC Championship Game will feature a quarterback matchup that NFL fans have been treated to in three of the last four postseasons, as Patrick Mahomes' Kansas City Chiefs will battle Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills once again with a spot in Super Bowl LIX on the line.
On one side, the Chiefs have are suiting up for their seventh straight AFC title game, reaching the contest every year since making Mahomes their full-time starting quarterback in 2018. The Chiefs have gone 4-2 in the AFC Championship Game over the last six seasons, most recently outlasting the top-seeded Ravens in Baltimore en route to a Super Bowl LVIII win against the San Francisco 49ers.
On the other side, the Bills are chasing their first ever Super Bowl title, but they have met a common road block in recent years. Buffalo has been bounced by Kansas City in three of the last four playoffs, including a divisional round defeat last January. Allen and Co. handed the Chiefs their only loss in a game in which Mahomes started during the 2024 regular season, and they will look to finally turn regular season success against Kansas City into postseason success.
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Before the Chiefs and Bills face off again, 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 New England Patriots have far and away the most AFC Championship Game victories with 11.
NFL
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 Denver Broncos for the second-most AFC Championship Game victories with eight. The 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 Steelers have played in a record 16 AFC Championship Games overall, one more than the Patriots. The Raiders (11) and Broncos (10) 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 only present-day AFC team to never reach the conference title game is the Houston Texans.
Here is the full list of teams listed by AFC Championship Game appearances:
1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 16 (8-8)
2. New England Patriots: 15 (11-4)
3. Las Vegas Raiders: 11 (4-7)
4. Denver Broncos: 10 (8-2)
5. Kansas City Chiefs: 8 (4-3)
T-6. Miami Dolphins: 7 (5-2)
T-6. Indianapolis Colts: 7 (3-4)
T-6. Buffalo Bills: 7 (4-2)
T-9. Tennessee Titans: 5 (1-4)
T-9. Baltimore Ravens: 5 (2-3)
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)