The playoff race is heating up.
At the time of writing, seven teams are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
Six of those seven teams play in the AFC, while only one – the New York Giants – are eliminated from the NFC.
This has affected the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a significant way, and it raises the question of which conference is better, NFC or AFC?
Before the NFL we know today, there were two separate rival leagues.
There was the AFL [American Football League], where most AFC teams originate and the NFL [National Football League], consisting mostly of NFC teams.
Both leagues were merged into one in the 1970s, and became the NFL we know today.
The AFC and NFC have shared domination of the Super Bowl over the decades.
Today, we are seeing a decline of historically good AFC teams such as the New England Patriots (3-10) or Las Vegas Raiders (2-11).
The NFC on the other hand has seen the emergence of the historically awful Detroit Lions (12-1) as Super Bowl favourites.
What do the numbers say?
The NFC is a bogged down, stalemated, gritty conference. The reason that teams like the 3-10 Carolina Panthers are still technically alive is because the good teams are not so good.
The Bucs are the NFC South division leaders and barely have a record above .500.
The NFC West is also extremely confusing, with every team having at least six wins but no more than eight.
The NFC North is also probably the best division in football, hosting two 11-win teams, as well as a nine-win Green Bay Packers team.
Even the Bears, who have supposedly had an awful season, have more wins than almost 50% of all AFC teams.
In head-to-head games, the NFC is 41-29 against AFC teams this season, showing again the strength of the conference.
So how does this affect the Bucs?
If the Bucs do not win the NFC South, it will be very very hard to make the playoffs.
Two of the three wildcard spots are already locked up by a combination of the Detroit Lions, Minneosta Vikings and Green Bay Packers.
This leaves one Wild Card spot for nine teams to fight over. The Washington Commanders currently occupy it at 8-5.
For the Bucs, this environment has been both a blessing and a curse. Making the playoffs will be hard but not impossible for Tampa Bay.
They have a chance to show more NFC dominance this weekend with a crucial match-up against the 8-5 Los Angeles Chargers.
