The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of two conferences within the National Football League (NFL), the American Football Conference (AFC) being the other. Prior to 1970, there were two separate professional football leagues, the National Football League and the American Football League (AFL). In 1970, the AFL merged with the NFL. As part of the merger, the former AFL teams, plus three former NFL teams (Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers), were placed in the AFC. The remaining former NFL teams were placed in the NFC. As of the 2025 season only the Detroit Lions have not won an NFC championship.
Background The NFC champion is not necessarily the team with the best record in the regular season. Rather, the champion is decided by the NFC Championship Game as part of the post-season playoffs involving the teams with the best regular season records. The Dallas Cowboys won the first two NFC championships, in 1970 and 1971. No team has won more than two consecutive NFC championships. The Cowboys won two consecutive NFC championships three times (1970–1971, 1977–1978, 1992–1993). The Minnesota Vikings (1973–1974), Washington Redskins (1982–1983), San Francisco 49ers (1988–1989), Green Bay Packers (1996–1997), and Seattle Seahawks (2013–2014) have also won two consecutive NFC championships.
Through the 2024 season, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have won more NFC championships than any other team, with eight. The Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, New York Giants, and Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams have each won five NFC championships. The Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers, and Seattle Seahawks have won three apiece. The San Francisco 49ers have also been the NFC runner up, as a result of losing the NFC Championship Game, a record 11 times. The Rams, Cowboys and Packers have each been the runner up six times.
The record for the most regular season wins by an NFC champion is 15, by the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 2015 Carolina Panthers, each with a 15–1 record in a 16-game season, and the 2024 Detroit Lions with a 15–2 record in a 17-game season. Excluding the strike-shortened 1982 season, the fewest wins by an NFC champion in a complete season were by the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, 2008 Arizona Cardinals, and the 2011 New York Giants, who each had a 9–7 record.
Tom Landry was the head coach for five NFC championships, more than any other head coach. Landry coached the Dallas Cowboys to NFC championships in 1970, 1971, 1975, 1977 and 1978. Joe Gibbs coached four NFC champions, and Bud Grant, Bill Walsh and Mike Holmgren each coached three. Holmgren and Dick Vermeil both won NFC championships for two different franchises. Holmgren was the head coach of the 1996 and 1997 NFC champion Green Bay Packers and of the 2005 NFC champion Seattle Seahawks. Vermeil was the head coach of the 1980 NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, and 19 years later was the head coach of the 1999 NFC champion St. Louis Rams.
Roger Staubach and Joe Montana were each the starting quarterback for four NFC championships, more than any other quarterback. Staubach was the starting quarterback for the 1971, 1975, 1977 and 1978 Dallas Cowboys. Montana was the starting quarterback for the 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1989 San Francisco 49ers. Fran Tarkenton, Troy Aikman and Kurt Warner were each the starting quarterback for three NFC champions. Warner accomplished this for two different franchises, the 1999 and 2001 St. Louis Rams and the 2008 Arizona Cardinals. Joe Theismann, Phil Simms, Brett Favre, Eli Manning, Russell Wilson and Jalen Hurts were each the starting quarterback for two NFC champions, although Simms missed the NFC Championship Game in one of those seasons (1990) due to injury.
Chuck Foreman and Emmitt Smith were each the leader in rushing yards for an NFC champion three times. Others who led an NFC champion in rushing yards multiple times are Duane Thomas, Tony Dorsett, John Riggins, Wendell Tyler, Roger Craig, Marshall Faulk and Marshawn Lynch. Tyler did so with two different franchises, the 1979 Los Angeles Rams and the 1984 San Francisco 49ers. Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin each led an NFC champion in receiving yards three times. Bob Hayes, Drew Pearson, Charlie Brown, Dwight Clark, Gary Clark, Antonio Freeman and A. J. Brown each led an NFC champion in receiving yards twice.
The 1983 Washington Redskins had seven 1st team All-Pros, more than any other NFC champion. The 2012 San Francisco 49ers and 2015 Carolina Panthers each had six and 1985 Chicago Bears had five. The 1975 Dallas Cowboys, 2000 New York Giants and 2007 New York Giants did not have any 1st team All-Pros. Ron Yary of the 1973, 1974 and 1976 Minnesota Vikings is the only offensive lineman with three 1st team All-Pro selections for an NFC champion. Several defensive players have been 1st team All-Pros for two NFC champions, including Alan Page, Cliff Harris, Ronnie Lott, LeRoy Butler, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas.
The Super Bowl is played annually between the AFC champion and the NFC champion. The first four Super Bowls were played prior to the AFL–NFL merger between the AFL and NFL champion. The 1970 NFC champion Dallas Cowboys lost the first Super Bowl played after the merger, but the 1971 Cowboys were the first NFC team to win the Super Bowl. The NFC had a streak in which its champion won 13 consecutive Super Bowls, from the 1984 NFC champion San Francisco 49ers through the 1996 NFC champion Green Bay Packers. Overall, the NFC champion has won 27 of the 54 Super Bowls played since the formation of the NFC with the AFL–NFL merger through the end of the 2023 season.
Key SeasonEach year is linked to an article about that particular NFL season.TeamName of NFC Championship team, linked to the team's championship seasonRecordChampionship team's regular season record wins–losses; if the team played any tie games the record is shown as wins–losses–tiesHead CoachChampionship team's head coach; if the team had multiple head coaches for the season they are shown in decreasing order of number of regular season winsQuarterbackName of quarterback with most passing attempts for the team during the regular seasonLeading RusherName of player with most rushing yards for the team during the regular seasonLeading ReceiverName of player with most receiving yards for the team during the regular seasonAll-ProsList of All-Pros on that season's NFC championRunner UpName of team that lost the NFC Championship Game†Super Bowl Champion*Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
NFC championship teams
SeasonTeamRecordHead CoachQuarterbackLeading RusherLeading ReceiverAll-ProsRunner-upReference1970Dallas Cowboys**HowleySan Francisco 49ers1971Dallas Cowboys†***Lilly*, Niland, Wright*San Francisco 49ers1972Washington Redskins**Brown, Hanburger*Dallas Cowboys1973Minnesota Vikings**Eller*, Page*, Yary*Dallas Cowboys1974Minnesota Vikings**Page*, Yary*Los Angeles Rams1975Dallas Cowboys***noneLos Angeles Rams1976Minnesota Vikings**Yary*Los Angeles Rams1977Dallas Cowboys†****Harris, Herrera, Martin, Pearson*Minnesota Vikings1978Dallas Cowboys***Harris, White*Los Angeles Rams1979Los Angeles RamsBrooks, Youngblood*Tampa Bay Buccaneers1980Philadelphia EaglesJohnsonDallas Cowboys1981San Francisco 49ers†**Dean*, Lott*Dallas Cowboys1982Washington Redskins†**MoseleyDallas Cowboys1983Washington Redskins**Butz, Grimm*, Jacoby, Murphy, Nelms, Riggins*, TheismannSan Francisco 49ers1984San Francisco 49ers†**FahnhorstChicago Bears1985Chicago Bears†**Covert, Dent*, McMichael*, Payton*, Singletary*Los Angeles Rams1986New York Giants†*Bavaro, Landeta, Morris, Taylor*Washington Redskins1987Washington Redskins†*Clark, WilburnMinnesota Vikings1988San Francisco 49ers†***Craig, Rice*Chicago Bears1989San Francisco 49ers†**Cofer, Lott*, Montana*, Rice*,Los Angeles Rams1990New York Giants†*Johnson, LandetaSan Francisco 49ers1991Washington Redskins†*Green*, LacheyDetroit Lions1992Dallas Cowboys†****Novacek, Smith*San Francisco 49ers1993Dallas Cowboys†****Smith*, WilliamsSan Francisco 49ers1994San Francisco 49ers†**Rice*, Sanders*, Young*Dallas Cowboys1995Dallas Cowboys†***Newton, Smith*, WoodsonGreen Bay Packers1996Green Bay Packers†*Butler, Favre*Carolina Panthers1997Green Bay Packers*Butler, Favre*San Francisco 49ers1998Atlanta FalconsAndersonMinnesota Vikings1999St. Louis Rams†***Carter, Faulk*, Pace*, Warner*Tampa Bay Buccaneers2000New York GiantsnoneMinnesota Vikings2001St. Louis Rams**Conwell, Faulk*, Pace*, Timmerman, Warner*, Williams*,Philadelphia Eagles2002Tampa Bay Buccaneers†Barber*, Brooks*, Lynch*, Rice, Sapp*Philadelphia Eagles2003Carolina PanthersJenkinsPhiladelphia Eagles2004Philadelphia Eagles*Akers, Dawkins*, Owens*, SheppardAtlanta Falcons2005Seattle SeahawksAlexander, Hutchinson, Jones*, StrongCarolina Panthers2006Chicago BearsAyanbadejo,Briggs, Gould, Hester, Kreutz, Urlacher*New Orleans Saints2007New York Giants†noneGreen Bay Packers2008Arizona Cardinals**Fitzgerald, WilsonPhiladelphia Eagles2009New Orleans Saints†Brees, Evans, SharperMinnesota Vikings2010Green Bay Packers†Collins, Matthews, Woodson*Chicago Bears2011New York Giants†Cruz, Pierre-PaulSan Francisco 49ers2012San Francisco 49ersBowman, Brooks, Goldson, Iupati, Lee, Smith, Smith, Staley, Willis*Atlanta Falcons2013Seattle Seahawks†Chancellor,Sherman, ThomasSan Francisco 49ers2014Seattle SeahawksChancellor, Lynch,Sherman, Thomas, WagnerGreen Bay Packers2015Carolina PanthersDavis, Kalil, Kuechly, Newton, Norman, Olsen, Short,TolbertArizona Cardinals2016Atlanta FalconsBeasley, Jones, Mack, RyanGreen Bay Packers2017Philadelphia Eagles†Johnson, Kelce, Wentz, CoxMinnesota Vikings2018Los Angeles Rams Donald, Gurley, Hekker, LittletonNew Orleans Saints2019San Francisco 49ersKittle, Sherman, BucknerGreen Bay Packers2020Tampa Bay Buccaneers†David, WhiteGreen Bay Packers2021Los Angeles Rams†Sean McVayMatthew StaffordSony MichelCooper KuppKupp, Donald, RamseySan Francisco 49ers2022Philadelphia EaglesNick SirianniJalen HurtsMiles SandersA. J. BrownJohnson, Kelce, Hurts, Brown, Reddick, BradberrySan Francisco 49ers2023San Francisco 49ersKyle ShanahanBrock PurdyChristian McCaffreyBrandon AiyukJuszczyk, Kittle, McCaffrey, Warner, Williams, Aiyuk, WardDetroit Lions2024Philadelphia Eagles†Nick SirianniJalen HurtsSaquon BarkleyA. J. BrownBarkley, Baun, Brown, Mailata, Johnson, CarterWashington Commanders2025Seattle Seahawks†Mike MacdonaldSam DarnoldKenneth Walker IIIJaxon Smith-NjigbaSmith-Njigba, Dickson, Jones, Williams, WitherspoonLos Angeles Rams
Footnotes Pat Haden was the Los Angeles Rams' starting quarterback for most of the 1979 season. After he broke a finger late in the season Vince Ferragamo replaced him at quarterback for the last three regular season games, and was also the quarterback for the NFC Championship game and Super Bowl XIV. Jay Schroeder was the Washington Redskins starting quarterback for most of the 1987 season. But Doug Williams replaced him several times during the season and was the Redskins quarterback for the NFC Championship game and Super Bowl XXII. Phil Simms was the starting quarterback for the 1990 New York Giants until suffering a leg injury late in the season. As a result, Jeff Hostetler was the Giants starting quarterback for the last two regular season games and for the postseason, including the NFC Championship game and Super Bowl XXV. Colin Kaepernick and Alex Smith both finished the 2012 season with 218 attempts. Smith started the first nine games of the season before suffering a concussion. Kaepernick took over as starter the following week and remained the starter when Smith was cleared to play the week after that. Kaepernick was the 49ers starting quarterback for the final seven regular season games and the postseason, including the NFC Championship Game. He also started in Super Bowl XLVII.