The AFC has been the NFL’s dominant conference for years. More recently it’s been Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen. Through the first seven weeks of the season, NFC teams were 25-13 vs. AFC teams.

The New York Jets likely took the Cincinnati Bengals out of the AFC North hunt with their upset win. The Dallas Cowboys' playoff chances took a massive hit with their loss to the Denver Broncos, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be cruising toward their fifth straight NFC South title.

Going into Week 8, the NFC had a 25-13 record against the AFC during the 2025 season, a win percentage of 66 percent. For perspective, that was a higher win rate for the NFC than in any NFL season previously, outside of 1970 — the first year of the NFL-AFL merger.

The NFL season is a third of the way over. Here's a way-too-early look at the league's playoff picture entering Week 7.

In the 2000s, the AFC re-emerged with Tom Brady's Patriots, Peyton Manning's Colts, Ben Roethlisberger's Steelers and others leading the way. Still, since 2000, interconference play has been basically even. It just feels like the NFC is so much stronger because it is so far this year and was last year, too.