AFC South

AFC South
ConferenceAmerican Football Conference
LeagueNational Football League
SportAmerican football
Founded2002
No. of teams4
Most recent
champion(s)
Houston Texans
(7th title)
Most titlesIndianapolis Colts
(9 titles)
AFC South Teams Location

The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season when the league realigned divisions after expanding to 32 teams. Since its creation, the division has had the same four members: the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans.

Before the 2002 season, the Texans did not exist, the Colts belonged to the AFC East, and the Titans and Jaguars were members of the AFC Central. The AFC South is often regarded as the NFL's "newest" division since at the time of its establishment none of the new division's members had played more than eighteen seasons in their current cities. The Colts had played in Baltimore until the end of the 1983 season, the Jaguars commenced play in 1995 and the Titans had been based in Houston (where they were known as the Oilers) until 1996. However, Indianapolis, Tennessee and Jacksonville had all won multiple division titles and wild card berths in their prior respective divisions.

The Colts hold a 534–474–7 record and a 23–25 playoff record with two NFL league crowns, four Super Bowl appearances and two wins. The Titans hold a record of 451–475–6 with a playoff record of 17–21 including two AFL championships (as the Houston Oilers) and a loss in Super Bowl XXXIV. The Jaguars hold a 177–239 record and a 7–7 playoff record. The Texans made the playoffs for the first time in their ten-season existence in 2011 and hold a 135–169 record and a 4–6 playoff record.

The Colts' Super Bowl XLI victory in 2006 is the only Super Bowl win from the AFC South to date, although the Colts have won another Super Bowl while playing in a different division (and a different city). The division owns the longest active Super Bowl victory drought, since at least one team from each of the other seven divisions has won one of the eighteen subsequenct Super Bowls — in fact seven divisions won seven Super Bowls between 2009 and 2015 — although the Colts did participate in 2009's Super Bowl XLIV.