Sunday's matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Buffalo Bills illustrated the NFC's dominance over the AFC during the 2017 NFL season.

At one point during New Orleans' 47-10 demolition of Buffalo, the Saints ran the ball on 24 consecutive plays. All six of their touchdowns came on the ground, and as a team New Orleans gained a ridiculous 298 rushing yards.

This is just one game, but overall, the NFC has pummeled the AFC this season.

In a piece published on Tuesday, Kevin Patra of the NFL Network listed a variety of interesting statistics that demonstrate the National Football Conference's prominence in '17.

Jared Goff
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Here are some of the most striking:

  • Only six NFC teams have losing records, while the AFC has 10.
  • Five teams in the NFC have seven or more wins (Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, and Carolina Panthers), while there are only two in the AFC (New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers).
  • Nine teams have a positive point-differential in the NFC, while there are five in the AFC.
  • Over the last three weeks, NFC teams are 10-1 against AFC teams, out-scoring them 371-206.
  • Overall, the NFC is 24-14 against the AFC on the year.

Will Brinson of CBS Sports added another interesting piece of data stacking up in the NFC's favor:

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So, what does it all mean?

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The road to the Super Bowl is much clearer for teams like New England and Pittsburgh. In the NFC, it's going to be a dog-fight from start to finish once the first game of Wild Card weekend kicks off.

Right now, all six teams with winning records in the AFC have playoff spots. In the NFC, there are four teams with winning records outside of the current playoff picture. There's a strong chance an 8-8 team, or even a 7-9 one, will sneak into the final Wild Card spot in the AFC, while a team sporting a 10-6 record in the NFC could end up watching the playoffs from home.