Ian Allan
Best division in football? You would think the NFC East, with high-spending Jerry Jones and three teams in huge markets -- Washington, Philadelphia and New York. That division put three teams in the playoffs last year, and it’s won 11 Super Bowls, more than any other division.
But the numbers actually show that another division has been even better (at least since the league went to its current eight-division format in 2002. The AFC South. Toss out games inside the division (where every division goes 12-12 each year) and the AFC South has compiled a league-best 134-106 record over the last six years. And that division also put three teams in the playoffs last year, and it also didn’t have any team with a losing record.
The AFC South’s record last year -- 30-10 outside the division -- is the best by any division since the change to the eight-division format.
These unbalanced divisions, by the way (with the AFC South and NFC East being particularly strong right now), are going to make for some crazy schedules this year. Some teams will play unusually hard schedules, while others will play wildly soft schedules. I spent a couple of days compiling a whole bunch of information on strength of schedule – how important is it and does it really make a difference – for the magazine this year. We ended up using five pages on that feature in the magazine; I think you’ll like it.
DIVISION RECORDS SINCE 2002:
W L T Pct.
134 106 0 .558 AFC South
132 108 0 .550 NFC East
127 113 0 .529 AFC East
125 115 0 .521 AFC West
120 119 1 .502 AFC North
116 123 1 .485 NFC South
107 133 0 .446 NFC North
98 142 0 .408 NFC West
During the last six years, by the way, the AFC holds a 218-165-1 record in games played between the two conferences.
--Ian Allan
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Posted by Keith Swiniarski | Jun. 22 at 09:30 AM
I guess you have the Jags with a few good years, but most of those wins come from the Colts who have had some 13 and 12 wins seasons, so I think that makes the NFC more impressive as it has come from several teams sine they only trail by 2 games.