Last Sunday the world watched Super Bowl XLII ½ . The New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts are the best teams in the NFL. Combine that with the fact the AFC won the past 4 Super Bowls and it gives the impression of a weak NFC. The National Football Conference has been called the “little brother� or “junior varsity� conference for some time now. Although the NFC does not boast the two top teams in the NFL, the conference is far from little league.

The AFC contains three of the elite teams in the NFL, the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Beyond those three teams, the conference is not very strong. An argument can be made for the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the San Diego Chargers as the next level of top AFC teams, but this second tier is not a step above the NFC. The Tennessee Titans are 6-2, but have only beaten one team with a winning record, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Speaking of the 5-3 Jaguars, they were crushed by the NFC South, New Orleans Saints this past Sunday. The 4-4 Saints proved they are no one’s “little brother� as quarterback Drew Brees threw for 445yards and 3touchdowns, completing 71% of his passes against Jacksonville’s vaunted defense. Similarly the 3-5 Minnesota Vikings rushed into the history books with a win over the 4-4 San Diego Chargers. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson was held to only 40yards rushing by the “mediocre� Vikings while their rookie running back Adrian Peterson ran for 295yards and 3touchdowns against one of the AFC’s best defenses. The AFC’s second tier teams losing to sub .500 NFC hardly equals dominance.

The Patriots, Colts, and Steelers play in the AFC, but let’s not forget about the NFC’s Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, and Green Bay Packers. The 7-1 Dallas Cowboys have one of the best offenses in the league led by Terrell Owens and Tony Romo. The Dallas Cowboys are second in yards per game in the NFL trailing the New England Patriots by only 22 yards per(428ypg to 406ypg). The 6-2 New York Giants might have the best pass rushing defense line in the league and have the second longest winning streak in the NFL with six victories.

Against the AFC the NFC’s elite have held their own. The 6-1 Green Bay Packers played their last two contests on the road in two of the toughest stadiums in the NFL(Mile High Stadium & Arrowhead Stadium) and came victorious over AFC teams. And we won’t bring up the drubbing the Detroit Lions put on the Denver Broncos this weekend.

The NFC and AFC have split their 40 games against each other this season, proving the conferences are fairly even. The AFC West and the NFC West are divisions that are without a team with a winning record. While both conferences have winless embarrassments such as the Miami Dolphins and the St. Louis Rams. The NFC has seven teams under .500 while the AFC only has six. In contrast, the AFC has four team with at least six loses while the NFC has three. The stat that proves equality is the 20-20 record both conferences share against one another. I am not claiming that one conference is better than the other, but the NFC is by no means the NFL’s junior varsity.