AFC South Division Champions Year-by-Year

There have been 22 division champions since the AFC South was formed in 2002, with the Houston Texans winning the most recent title in 2023. The Tennessee Titans have won four division titles, and the Indianapolis Colts lead the way with nine.

Author:
Tom Brew
Publish date:
Jan 21, 2024 9:01 AM EST

In this story:

Updated Jan. 21, 2024

NASHVILLE — There have been 22 division champions since the AFC South was formed in 2002, with the surprising Houston Texans winning the 2023 crown. The Indianapolis Colts have been the most successful franchise, winning nine division titles and winning the division's only Super Bowl during that time, beating the Chicago Bears 29-17 following the 2006 season.

The Colts also won one other AFC Championship Game following the 2009 season, but lost 31-17 to the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl.

Jacksonville and Houston have never played in a Super Bowl. The Jaguars, an expansion team in 1995, have played in three AFC Championship games, but lost all three. Houston, an expansion team in 2002, has made the playoffs six times but never made it past the divisional round.

Tennessee played in Super Bowl XXXIV following the 1999 season, losing to the St. Louis Rams. It's been their only Super Bowl appearance. They were in the AFC Central then before the 2002 expansion.

Here's a list of AFC South championships won by the four teams:

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (9): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014.
HOUSTON TEXANS (7): 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018. 2019, 2023
TENNESSEE TITANS (4): 2002, 2008, 2020, 2021.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (2): 2017, 2022.

Here's a year-by-year look on how the AFC South turned out, along with playoff victories at defeats each year:

2002 — Tennessee Titans

Record: 11-5
Playoffs: The Titans beat the Piitsburgh Steelers 34-31 in overtime, lost to the Oakland Raiders 41-24 in the AFC Championship Game. The Colts made the playoffs as a wild-card, but lost to the New York Jets 41-0.

2003 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 12-4
Playoffs: The Colts beat the Denver Broncos 41-10 in the wild-card round and then beat the Kansas City Chiefs 38-31 in the divisional round before losing to the New England Patriots 24-14 in AFC Championship Game. The Titans made the playoffs as a wild-card, and beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-14 before losing to the Patriots 17-14 in the divisional round.

2004 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 12-4
Playoffs: The Colts beat the Denver Broncos 49-24 in the wild-card round before losing to the New England Patriots 20-3 in the divisional round. They were the only AFC South team to make the playoffs.

2005 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 14-2
Playoffs: The Colts were the No. 1 seed but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18 in the divisional round. The Jaguars made the playoffs as a wild-card, but lost to the New England Patriots 28-3 in the first round.

2006 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 12-4
Playoffs: The Colts beat the Kansas City Chiefs 23-8 in the wild-card round, beat the Baltimore Ravens 15-7 in the divisional round and beat the New England Patriots 38-34 in AFC Championship Game to advance to their first Super Bowl in Indianapolis. They beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI in Miami. They are the only AFC South team to win a Super Bowl. They were the only AFC South team to make the playoffs that season.

2007 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 13-3
Playoffs: The Colts lost to the San Diego Chargers 28-24 in the divisional round. The Jaguars and Titans both made the playoffs as wild-cards, but the Titans lost to the Chargers 17-6 in the wild-card round. The Jaguars beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-29 in the wild-card round, then lost to the New England Patriots 31-20 in the divisional round.

2008 — Tennessee Titans

Record: 13-3
Playoffs: The Titans lost to the Baltimore Ravens 13-10 in the divisional round. The Colts made the playoffs as a wild-card, but lost to the San Diego Chargers 23-17 in overtime in the first round.

2009 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 14-2
Playoffs: The Colts were the No. 1 seed and beat the Baltimore Ravens 20-3 in the divisional round and beat the New York Jets 30-17 in the AFC Championship Game. They lost Super Bowl XLIV 31-17 to the New Orleans Saints. It's the last time an AFC South team has reached the Super Bowl. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2010 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 10-6
Playoffs: The Colts lost to the New York Jets 17-16 in the divisional round. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2011 — Houston Texans

Record: 10-6
Playoffs: The Texans won their first AFC South title and beat the Cincinnati Bengals 31-10 in the wild-card round, but lost to the Baltimore Ravens 20-13 in the divisional round. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2012 — Houston Texans

Record: 12-4
Playoffs: The Texans beat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-13 in the wild-card round but lost to the New England Patriots 41-28 in the divisional round. The Colts made the playoffs as a wild-card, but lost to the Baltimore Ravens 24-9.

2013 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 11-5
Playoffs: The Colts beat the Kansas City Chiefs 45-44 in the wild-card round but lost to the New England Patriots 43-22 in the divisional round. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2014 — Indianapolis Colts

Record: 11-5
Playoffs: The Colts beat the Cincinnati Bengals 26-10 in the wild-card round and beat the Denver Broncos 24-13 in the divisional round. They lost to the New England Patriots 45-7 in the AFC Championship Game. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2015 — Houston Texans

Record: 9-7
Playoffs: The Texans lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 30-0 in the wild-card round. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2016 — Houston Texans

Record: 9-7
Playoffs: The Texans beat the Oakland Raiders 27-14 in the wild-card round, but lost to the New England Patriots 34-16 in the divisional round. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2017 — Jacksonville Jaguars

Record: 10-6
Playoffs: The Jaguars beat the Buffalo Bills 10-3 in the wild-card round and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-42 in the divisional round. They lost the AFC Championship Game to the New England Patriots 24-20. The Titans made the playoffs as a wild-card, and beat the Kansas City Chiefs 22-21 in the first round. They lost to the Patriots 35-14 in the divisional round.

2018 — Houston Texans

Record: 11-5
Playoffs: The Texans lost to the Colts 21-7 in the wild-card round. The Colts lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 31-13 the following week in the divisional round.

2019 — Houston Texans

Record: 10-6
Playoffs: The Texans beat the Buffalo Bills 22-19 in overtime in the wild-card round, but then lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 51-31 in the divisional round. The Titans made the playoffs as a wild-card and beat the New England Patriots 20-13 in the first round in what turned out to be Tom Brady's last game in New England. They beat the Baltimore Ravens 28-12 in the divisional round, but lost in the AFC Championship Game 35-24 on the road to the Kansas City Chiefs.

2020 — Tennessee Titans

Record: 11-5
Playoffs: The Titans lost to the Baltimore Ravens 20-13 in the wild-card round. The Colts made the playoffs as a wild-card, but lost to the Buffalo Bills 27-24 in the first round.

2021 — Tennessee Titans

Record: 12-5
Playoffs: The No. 1-seeded Titans lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 19-16 in the divisional round. They were the only AFC South team to make the playoffs.

2022 — Jacksonville Jaguars

Record: 9-8
Playoffs: The Jaguars beat the Los Angeles Chargers 31-30 in the wild-card round, but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20 in the divisional round. They were the only division team to make the playoffs.

2023 — Houston Texans

Record: 10-7
Playoffs: The Texans beat the Cleveland Browns 45-14 at home in the wild-card round, but lost to the No. 1 seed Baltimore Ravens 34-10 on the road in the divisional round.