AFC East Division Winners By Year

New England Patriots are the AFC East champions 22 times. Patriots won their first title in 1978. 

The majority of their divisional titles came under the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick dynasty, who are still known as the best Quarterback-Head Coach duo. Since their arrival, they dominated the 2000s era with multiple titles, consecutively from 2009 to 2019. 

Before the 2000s

The Patriots have won 4 divisional championships before the 2000 era. They clinched the trophies in 1978, 1986, 1996, and 1997. 

Their first AFC title came in 1978, excluding the 1963 title they received when they were still in the AFL. In 1978, they established an 11-5-0 record under coach Hank Bullough and ultimately lost to the Houston Oilers in the Divisional Round. 

Under HC Rayomd Berry, the Pats became 1st in the Eastern ranking again in 1986, with an 11-5 win-loss record. QB Tony Eason played 15 games and threw for 3328 passing yards and contributed 19 TDs. They lost to the Denver Broncos by 22-17 in the playoffs. 

In 1996, the Patriots launched another successful divisional win, with an 11-5 record. They went on to win the Conference title too, by defeating Jacksonville Jaguars 20-6. However, they lost the Super Bowl to the Packers. QB Drew Bledsoe made 4086 passing yards from 16 games. 

Titles After The 2000s

The Patriots won 17 titles after the 2000s and maintained a decade-long dynasty with QB Tom Brady and HC Bill Belichick. 

2001 was Brady’s debut as a starter, and he quickly made a great impact by helping the Pats win their Eastern title. They finished 11-5-0 under the guidance of HC Bill Belichick. Brady accumulated 2843 passing yards and won his first Super Bowl.

The Pats also continued their divisional success in 2009, where they finished 10-6. QB Brady passed for 4398 yards in 16 games and created 28 Touchdowns. However, the team lost to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round. 

From 2009 onwards, the Pats continuously dominated the AFC East, finishing 1st every time until the 2019 season. In 2019, they finished 12-4 but lost to Tennessee Titans in the Wild Card match. It was Brady’s last season as a Pat, and he made 4057 passing yards and 24 TDs. 

AFC East champions Buffalo Bills have clinched the divisional titles 13 times. Their recent title came in the 2022 season. 

Buffalo Bills AFC East shirt is Royal Blue and White with the alternate versions being Red. Donning these uniforms, they have achieved great success at the divisional level in recent years. They have consecutively won the Eastern division from 2020 to 2022. 

Titles Since 2020

Buffalo Bills win AFC East from 2020 to 2022 seasons under the guidance of Head Coach Sean McDermott. 

QB Josh Allen has been a vital part of the offense and divisional success of the Buffalo franchise. The team finished 13-3 in the 2022 season, with Allen making 4283 passing yards and 35 TDs from 16 starts. The Bills went on to lose to the Bengals in the Playoffs. 

Similarly, the Bills finished first in their division in the 2021 season, with 11 wins and 6 losses. Allen played 17 regular season games and passed for 4407 yards. Stefon Diggs was also a star WR during this season, accumulating 1225 receiving yards.

Wins Before The 2000s

Buffalo Bills won their first AFC East title in the 1980 season with an 11-5 win-loss record. 

Coached by Chuck Knox during that time, Joe Ferguson was the Quarterback who started 16 games and passed for 2805 yards from 251 completed passes. They ultimately lost to the San Diego Chargers in the divisional round. 

The Bills also achieved first position in the Eastern ranking in 1990, 1991, and 1993. Marv Levy was the head coach during these successful seasons.

However, the franchise faced one of the unluckiest situations in the NFL, going to the Super Bowl four times in a row (1990 – 1993) but losing all of them. For instance, they achieved 12 wins and 4 losses in 1993 but lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the SB XXVIII.

Miami Dolphins have won the AFC East championship 13 times. They won their recent title in the 2008 season. 

In 2008, the Dolphins achieved 11 wins and 5 losses to clinch the division’s first position. Tony Sparano was the head coach with Chad Pennington as the starting QB. Pennington played 16 games and contributed 3652 passing yards and 19 Touchdowns. 

Their first divisional title came in the 1971 season, where they garnered a 10-3-1 record. The team accumulated a total of 2248 passing yards and 2429 rushing yards that year. They eventually lost to the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. 

The Dolphins have only managed to win two titles after the 2000s since the Patriots dominated their division for over a decade. However, before the 2000s, they won 11 championships.

Under QB Dan Marino, the franchise consecutively won 3 divisional championships from 1983 to 1985. Marino accumulated a total of 11,431 passing yards and 98 passing touchdowns between these three years.

New York Jets have become the AFC East Champions 4 times in NFL history. Their last victory was in the 2002 season. 

During the 2002 season, the Jets established a 9-7-0 record under HC Herm Edwards to finish first in the divisional rankings. They went on to lose to Oakland Raiders in the playoffs. The team combined for 3619 passing yards and 1618 rushing yards.

In 1998, HC Bill Parcells helped the New York Jets to clinch their division title after more than 20 years. The team finished with a 12-4 win-loss record. Parcells took the team to the conference championship but lost to the Broncos by 23-10. 

Before the formation of the AFC, the Jets had won their Eastern title at the AFL twice, i.e. in 1968 and 1969 respectively. Weeb Ewbank was the Head Coach during these two years, along with Hall of Famer QB Joe Namath.

Namath passed for 5881 yards and made 34 TDs from 28 games during these two years. He also helped the Jets win their only Super Bowl in 1968 by beating Baltimore Colts 16-7. 

New England Patriots have dominated the AFC East champions title in the last 20 years.

The Patriots have achieved 17 division titles since 2000, while the Buffalo Bills trail at second position with 3. Nevertheless, the Bills have dominated the ranks since the 2020 season with Josh Allen at the QB helm. 

Tom Brady is the star player that comes to mind from this division and its success in the last 20 years. His presence assisted the Patriots to create a great offense. Bill Belichick is the star coach who guided the team to make a successful dynasty.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins achieved only 1 title in the previous 20 years of NFL seasons. The Jets won in 2002 and will seek to add another trophy to their collection, after the entry of the Packers’ legend QB Aaron Rodgers in the 2023 season.