The NFL has long touted itself as the parity capital of sports. The Dolphins can go from 1-15 to 11-5; the Ravens can go from 5-11 to a conference title game appearance. Any team, in any season, can reach the Super Bowl.
As long as they don’t play in the AFC.
Ah yes, the proverbial dropping of the other shoe. You see, the AFC hasn’t exactly conformed to the NFL’s “sharing is caring” concept. Don’t believe us? Fine. Try this on for size:
Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Patriots, Steelers, . That isn’t a low-level SAT logic question; it’s the last five AFC representatives in the Super Bowl — in order. A Colts win on Sunday completes the loop. Meanwhile, in the pick-a-name-out-of-a-hat conference, the NFC is about to crown its sixth different champion in six years.
The reason, at face value, is quarterback play. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger are — along with San Diego’s Philip Rivers — the top signal-callers (by far) in the AFC. But their teams also are widely considered the best in football — from the front office down through the coaching staff and players.
Regardless of the reason, it makes a Super Bowl appearance more difficult for an up-and-coming AFC team than one in the NFC. A red-hot team can blast its way into the Super Bowl in the NFC, as the Cardinals and Giants have proven. But in the AFC, where at least one member of the old guard awaits, the final hurdle becomes much more difficult, as the Broncos, Chargers and Ravens have discovered the past few seasons.
