The NFL takes great pride in the concept of parity, selling the idea that every team has a chance as a way to help every team sell tickets.
And in some places, it’s true.
As noted by NBC’s Peter King in Football Morning in America, the theory does not hold in the AFC, and the numbers show just how much of a mockery the Patriots have made it.
Comparing numbers from 2003-2017, the Patriots are 80 games better than their nearest rivals (?), the Jets.
New England is 189-51 over that span, winning 14 of the 15 division titles. The Jets are 109-131 over the same span, the Dolphins 106-134 (with the stray division title), and the Bills 102-138.
That means the Jets could tie the Patriots over the next five years, as long as they go 80-0 and the Patriots go 0-80.
Contrast that with the NFC South, where the concept is actually real and a single game
Over the same 15-year span, the Saints are 131-109, the Panthers are 130-109-1, and the Falcons are 130-110, with the Buccaneers bringing up the rear at 95-145.
But even the Bucs have won a pair of division titles during that span (the Panthers lead with five, and the Falcons and Saints have four each).