National Football League

NFL quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts attempts a pass at the 2007 Pro Bowl.

The National Football League (NFL), is composed of 32 professional football teams from the United States. Teams play sixteen regular season games. Twelve teams qualify to the playoffs, which culminates in the NFL's championship game, the Super Bowl.

History

The origins of the NFL go back to a single game of soccer played between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1869. The game used modified London Football Association rules that began the distinction between (American) soccer and rugby. The NFL was originally formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association but in 1922 it officially adopted the name of the National Football League as it is today. In 1960, Kansas City businessman Lamar Hunt founded the American Football League (AFL) to be a competitor to the NFL. By 1970, the two leagues merged with the original NFL teams becoming the National Football Conference and the AFL teams becoming the American Football Conference.

List of Teams

American Football Conference

East Division	North Division	South Division	West Devision
Buffalo Bills	Baltimore Ravens	Houston Texans	Denver Broncos
Miami Dolphins	Cincinnati Bengals	Indianapolis Colts	Kansas City Chiefs
New England Patriots	Cleveland Browns	Jacksonville Jaguars	Oakland Raiders
New York Jets	Pittsburgh Steelers	Tennessee Titans	San Diego Chargers

National Football Conference

East Division	North Division	South Division	West Division
Dallas Cowboys	Chicago Bears	Atlanta Falcons	Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants	Detroit Lions	Carolina Panthers	St. Louis Rams
Philadelphia Eagles	Green Bay Packers	New Orleans Saints	San Francisco 49ers
Washington Redskins	Minnesota Vikings	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Seattle Seahawks

External links

• Official Site of the National Football League
• NFL History
• RootZoo