Between 1997 and 2008 we witnessed the AFC win nine of a total 12 Super Bowl’s. There was no doubt who the superior conference was. For a couple of years in the mid-2000’s it even seemed like a given that the real Super Bowl was the AFC Championship game and the actual title was just an afterthought. That has all changed now. The NFC has taken down the last three Super Bowl’s and four of the last five. It’s not tough to pinpoint where it all started. The New York Giants knocked off the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII in one of those title games that was supposed to be an afterthought. In the last three years the Saints, Packers and Giants have out-dueled Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady respectively to earn their conference the NFL’s ultimate prize.
Is this just a small trend or is it a pattern that is here to stay?
Before the AFC took over the league starting in 1997 the NFC had won 13 straight Super Bowl’s dating back to 1984. Why? Well, they had the best teams. Obviously. But they had the best teams because they had Joe Montana and Troy Aikman and Steve Young and Brett Favre. In the league of the Quarterback who ever has the most talent at that position is going to prevail over a long enough period of time. And that talent is not always evenly distributed, especially when it usually ends up being a handful of superstars who carry the bulk of the load.
If you were to make a list of the best 12 Quarterbacks in the league right now only four of those QB’s would come from the AFC. Three of those QB’s are listed above as the last three Super Bowl losers. They are Peyton Manning, age 36, Ben Roethlisberger, age 30, and Tom Brady, age 34. These are the players responsible for six of the last nine AFC Super Bowl’s. As dominant as we know they still could be there is no denying that at least two of them are on the downside of their careers. Only four Quarterbacks have ever started a Super Bowl past age 34 and had their team claim victory, and only one, John Elway, has done it in the last 28 years.
On the other hand the NFC right now is loaded. The Green Bay Packers right now are the most dominant team in the league and they a built around Quarterback Aaron Rodgers who is right in his prime. They also have Eli Manning, winner of two Super Bowls and Drew Brees, winner of most passing yards ever. But it is the talent beyond these three that is what makes the NFC stand out. Cam Newton appears to be next in line for future stardom and is only entering his second year. Tony Romo, Michael Vick and Jay cutler are high-caliber veteran players who all play on quality teams, and Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford are young players who appear capable of taking that next step to post-season success.
It is totally realistic to expect the NFC has what it takes to go on a long run of Super Bowl’s led by the uber-talented Green Bay Packers and play-off specialist New York Giants. If the AFC doesn’t get to hoist the Lombardi Trophy again for a while don’t say you weren’t warned.
…and that’s that last word.
