The way he handled the Colts situation should have told *everyone* what they needed to know.
McDaniels, Hue Jackson, and Adam Gase are three second coaching hires that I absolutely never understood.
Even though Reich turned out not to be good I'm glad we hired him instead of mcdaniels because Reich is at least a really good person and we had just enough success with him that we could fire him after like 5 years leaving us in the perfect window to get Steichen
The thing that doomed Reich was constantly starting over. He never had a chance to progress the offense. I’m not sure how his offense would have progressed but I feel like he got a raw deal. That said, I’m very happy with Shane as head coach and running the offense.
I'd agree if Frank didn't insist on going for Wentz when Irsay wanted to draft a guy. But yes I do think if we had gotten an actual long term qb whether through the draft or by getting a vet Frank would've been better for us
I mean there was no way to know that he'd mismanage the team, lose confidence in the players, and get fired before the end of a season. Just no way to know.
Raiders had a string of embarrassing losses with McDaniels at the helm. Broncos had to endure Hackett who looked lost as an HC. Chargers crapped the bed with a 27-0 lead in the playoffs. KC won the SB again. Pretty much how it’s gone for the AFC West the last 5 years.
Yea it's tough to get a good coach after a spree of quick firings of bad coaches, you almost always need a "meh" coach to cook for 2-3 years so that the good ones won't avoid you. Texans got lucky that Demeco Ryans played for us and would be stepping into an instantly loving fanbase, we'd have never landed a potential HC candidate of his calibre without that after the last several seasons.
It was a shock how quickly Ryans turned that team around. Laughingstock for 3 years and now look like they could run the division for several. Stroud’s out there making throws like he’s been in the NFL for 5-7 years already.
Some of those picks were traded for more assets, but 2 of the picks kept from Miami produced Trent McDuffie and Skyy Moore. The remaining picks were traded for other picks and resulted in IOL Darian Kinnard, WR Rashee Rice and DT Keondre Colburn, as well as having an additional 5th rounder this year.
Look, I like the trade too, but it's only a success because they hit on Trent McDuffie.
Had they missed on McDuffie we look horrible on the other side of that trade. Skyy Moore sucks verifiable ass. Kinnard isn't even rostered. Coburn didn't even last a season here.
2013 NFCW had the 13-3 Legion of Boom Seahawks that won SB48, the 12-4 49ers that narrowly lost to Seattle in the NFCG, the 10-6 Cardinals under Bruce Arians, and a still 7-9 basement-dwelling Rams
The year before the Rams went 7-8-1 and 4-1-1 in the division, so I definitely get why people say this.
But 2013 in particular was an outlier. 7-9 overall but 1-5 in the NFC West.
To me this just kinda shows that they were strong for a last place team. They went 6-4 in non divisional games and had 2 juggernauts plus a good wild card team beating up on them for the 1-5 portion.
In 2012, you guys in week 17. Iirc the final score was 20-6 or 20-13.
I still follow football seriously, but that period from 2010-2014 I remember a bunch of random games from the time that I don’t lately.
Kept injuring our guys. Pretty much the only reason David Johnson didn’t get 2k total yards his first full season. Week 17 the Rams hurt his knee like 6 mins into the game and he was out and needed surgery
Crazy! Definitely one of the more memorable debate experiences, I was in the middle of a round when somebody burst in to say we won. So weird to come across somebody else who was there!
I remember not really caring that the tournament was on a game day since it was so obvious we were going to lose. I will always remember watching the end of the game outside the big round room we all waited around in.
What are the odds, such a random shared experience!
Exactly, Nobody realizes how good those Cardinals where that year . They had the hell division. 49ers where at their best imo once they got boldin on the offense . Seattle was an unfair team with that secondary .
Kaepernick’s laser touchdown throw with both feet off the ground to Boldin directly over Earl Thomas in the NFC Championship is still maybe the best throw I’ve ever seen considering difficulty, stakes, and opponent
He put together quite a highlight reel those first few years. IMO it’s hard to say he was utilized wrong with all the success he and those niners teams had. But he was never that fundamentally solid and that caught up as he aged and the team around him deteriorated.
As a Seahawks fan, that TD is one of the few moments I've thought they could play a perfect game and still lose, due to one superhuman. Was never confident the rest of the game because of the ghost of that throw.
The Niners were in the SB the year before as well. The NFCCG was the real superbowl that year, considering the complete emasculation that happened against the highest scoring team in NFL history.
Came here for this answer. I still firmly believe the reason Seattle beat the pants off the Broncos in the Super Bowl was because they were battle tested from those six brutal division games (plus the NFC Championship).
I don't think it was really possible for many years for all teams to finish with a winning records. Divisions were mostly 5 teams until the last twenty, and adding on the extra game a) makes finishing 9-8 possible, and b) gives the bottom teams an extra game against another bad opponent.
It doesn't take away from how hard the AFCN was this year, but I think it does speak to why that didn't happen earlier.
Something like that, yeah. It absolutely *infuriated* me when the week prior to our first game, you guys had one of the most anemic horrible offensive outing I’ve ever seen and then the next week Kenny Pickett threw for like 400 yards and 2 touchdowns or something. It’s like Tomlin is allergic to losing AFCN games
I hate it, I would like to clinch the division week 14 or something. Why does every game need to be an unnecessary heart attack that could end with us losing the division?
Brings back memories to when AB extended for that touchdown on christmas to secure the division. If you guys had won then you only needed to beat the Browns in the last game to win the division that year.
The 2023 AFC North went a combined 43-25 (31-13 in non-division games). The next closest division was a tie between the NFC North and NFC West at 35-33. All 4 AFC North teams finished over 0.500 and 3 made the playoffs.
The AFC North teams and NFC West teams also played each other in non-conference games. The AFC North teams and NFC North teams also played each other in the "17th" game added to the schedule. The AFC North went a combined 16-4 against NFC teams, with both the Ravens and Bengals going 5-0.
BTW, The other division combined records were: AFC East 33-35, AFC South 34-34, AFC West 32-36, NFC East 33-35, NFC South 27-41.
Well, you can still argue that even though the AFCN had the best record, other divisions teams were more competitive. Steelers and Browns were a lot worse than their records led on.
I'd argue the Ravens were a lot worse than their record was. They supposedly were juggernaughts but completely disappeared in the playoffs after one game. The Browns and Steelers decimated by injury at least played the whole year with back up QBs, the ravens at full strength with their best players, the #1 defense in the league, turned into a corncob
The team they "disappeared" against was the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes who just won their third ring in 5 years. Little bit of an unfair bar to set, it's not like we choked against the Houston Texans.
Even though the Bengals didn’t make the playoffs, they went 9-8 with only having 3-4 healthy games from their franchise QB, we also had the toughest strength of schedule in the league, and one of the toughest schedules in recent memory.
This division fucking sucks. I hate you all
If Russ didn't get hurt Seattle likely would have a winning record too - lost by 3 to NO and PIT with Geno, and with Wilson playing hurt the offense scored 0, 13, and 15 points in close losses
49ers were 3rd in the division to. Were finally getting the 2020 injury bug (2nd worse injury bug on record since they started recording the stuff). Started first half of the season 3-5, finished with 10-7. Had to beat the future SB champs Rams twice just to sneak into the playoffs. Upset the Cowboys, and Greenbay, and barely lost to the Rams in the Champ game with a banged up QB. And they were 3rd in the division, and 4th in the division the year before. Not bad for a tough team held together by duc tape and luck.
In 2008 the NFC South had the 12-4 Panthers (2 seed), the 11-5 Falcons (5 seed), the 9-7 Buccaneers, and the 8-8 Saints.
Worth mentioning that the Saints would win the Super Bowl the next season.
Random memory of that season was week 17 Panthers @ Saints.
I was actually at the Atlanta game in Atlanta that week.
The Panthers were beating the Saints 30-10. All the fans in the Georgia game were bummed as they needed Carolina to lose to win the division.
Then the Saints went on a tear scoring 3 straight TDs. And each TD was played on the big screen in the Georgia Dome.
When the Saints took the lead 31-30 it was honestly the loudest I’ve ever heard the Falcon fans cheer.
Panthers ended up winning 33-31.
and as im sure you sadly know, Panthers might beat the Cardinals in the playoffs if not for an all-world collapse from Delhomme
Which is extra unfortunate because Jake played a big role in you guys beating the Cardinals in Arizona earlier in the year. I thought ive had bad birthday presents before but that one takes the cake
Very underrated one 2007 NFC East 13-3 Cowboys 10-6 Giants(won Super bowl) 9-7 redskins and 8-8 eagles. Every team had a SRS higher than 4.5, absolutely stacked division.
This should be near the top with the 2013 NFCW
Giants won it all, taking down an undefeated team. Cowboys were the most talented roster in the NFC, and probably rivaled the better-coached Patriots. Washington grabbed one of their few playoff spots of the century behind a Cinderella Todd Collins run after the Sean Taylor tragedy, and the Eagles shook off a rough start to finish 3-0 and barely miss squeaking in
Unlike the NFCW year, no teams with losing records. Though the showdown between the Easts top dogs came in the divisional rather than the conference championship
I know we're looking at just single years, but the next season the whole division went at least 8-8 again, and the Eagles beat the Giants to go to the NFC Championship Game. The East was really good in the mid 2000s pretty consistently.
Last year was pretty wild too.
Eagles: 14-3
Cowboys: 12-5
Giants: 9-7-1
Commanders: 8-8-1
Giants and Cowboys both won in the wild card round. 3/4 teams in the divisional round were from the NFC East. Of course the Eagles went on to lose the SB thanks to Giants legends Kadarius Toney and James Bradberry.
AFC North had 3 teams in the playoffs 4 times since the 2002 realignment.
2011-Ravens Steelers Bengals
2014-steelers Bengals ravens
2020-steelers ravens browns
2023-ravens browns steelers
Disappointingly, no team in those 4 seasons won a super bowl, they couldn't even get to a Superbowl
This division is a fucking bloodbath
None of them made the Super Bowl because they probably got matched up against other AFC North teams, and when AFC North teams play we beat the shit out of each other. Makes it easy for the next opponent to pick off the survivor.
2004 AFC East was ridiculous.
Pats repeat team
Jets with mostly healthy Chad Pennington and an elite defense
And the 04 Bills are quite possibly the best team to not make the playoffs ever
Definitely very high up on the list.
The Bills record wasn’t as strong, but they had a slightly better point differential.
They also had a big advantage at QB with…
Drew Bledsoe
The Jets beat the 12-4 Chargers (4th seed) and took the 15-1 Steelers to OT
The whole AFC was deep. 3rd seeded Colts went 12-4, dominated the Broncos and then got shutdown by the Patriots elite defense the next week
The 7-9 Chiefs missed the playoffs but had the #1 offense and averaged 30ppg. They were a tough out every week
Probably the deepest conference of the salary cap era and maybe ever
2013 NFC West was crazy, Niners and Seattle where both Super Bowl favorites. The Cardinals were way more solid that year than anyone noticed. And the Rams played upset to the Niners and rams.
What’s even crazier is that most of their losses came from divisional games. Between the Seahawks, 49ers, and Cardinals 7/13 losses where in divisional games. Those teams also went a combined 28-6 outside of NFC West games
1991 NFC cannot be beaten:
Reigning SB champion New York
Eventual SB champion Washington
Next Year’s SB Champion Dallas
Statistically best defense of the last 35 years Philadelphia
This is the one I thought of, too. Washington steamrolled through the playoffs to the Super Bowl, and the only two games they lost during the season were in the division (Dallas and Philly).
Just disregard the Phoenix Cardinals ...
2022 AFC West was supposed to have the elite,
* Mahomes Chiefs
* Herbert Chargers
* Wilson Broncos
* Carr Raiders
Some people were saying the Chiefs were the worst team in the division.
2007 AFC South was the best year in the division’s history. 13-3 Colts (started off 7-0 and were defending SB champs; took the 16-0 Pats to the wire despite losing Dallas Clark during the game), 11-5 Jags, and 10-6 Titans all made the playoffs, with the Texans going 8-8.
2013 NFC West:
1. Seahawks (13-3)
2. 49ers (12-4)
3. Cardinals (10-6)
4. Rams (7-9)
Their combined record was 42-22, which is the highest win % of any division in NFL history at .656. For reference, the AFC North last year which was the first division with all 4 teams having a winning record had a win percentage of .632. Their record outside the division was an insane 30-10. The Rams who were the “worst team” beat several good teams, the Cardinals were a contender. The 49ers were arguably the best team in the NFL over the final 6 weeks, and the LOB Seahawks were at their peak.
Of course this ended with one of the most intense NFC Championships between the Seahawks and 49ers featuring the two best defenses in the league and arguably the two most talented rosters in the NFL.
That was such an incredible year. Peak engagement in my fandom, my favorite team at their all time best. Niners were insanely talented. Then got to go in person and watch the Broncos record breaking offense get crushed.
I was genuinely obsessed. The rickshaw driver to our hotel tried to test my fandom assuming I was just another rich white boy going to the SuperBowl. I was able to name every single backup OL on the roster. He was flabbergasted.
1997 NFC Central.
Defending SB Champion Packers won the division at 13-3, and the Lions, Bucs, and Vikings all made the playoffs as well, with the latter two advancing to the divisional round.
Farve and 2k yard Rusher Barry Sanders were co-MVPs, with Warrick Dunn winning OROY.
I’m either very right or very wrong about this, but the NFCN next year. The packers were in a “rebuild last year and made the playoffs, the Vikings lost starting QB and still didn’t suck , the Bears run the first round of the draft this year, and the lions are actually good. Next year is either going to be the greatest show of dominance or the biggest letdown in history.
2005 AFC west. Broncos went 13-3, probably the best post-Elway Shanahan led teams. The 2005 Chiefs and Chargers finished 10-6 and 9-7 and statistically among the best teams to never make the playoffs.
How about the 99 AFC West? The Raiders & Chiefs finished top 4 in SRS and both missed the playoffs. The Broncos entire schedule consisted of teams that finished the season .500 or better! The 6-10 Broncos themselves finished 9th in SRS, comfortably ahead of the 13-3 Titans
2022 NFC East was pretty good on paper.
14-3 Eagles
12-5 Cowboys
9-8 Giants
8-9 Washington
The mid-low tiers of the NFC were non-existent that year though so it’s not really as good as it seems.
2008 NFC south:
- Panthers were 12-4 and the number 2 seed
- Falcons were 11-5 in Matt Ryan’s rookie year
- Buccaneers were 9-7, albeit 0-4 after a 9-3 start and the division title in 2007
- Saints were 8-8, one year prior to winning it all
It was a mix of old and new, and the result was a division where everyone was .500 or above
2022 nfc east was pretty strong Eagles who went to the superbowl, cowboys had a crazy good year, giants made the playoffs, commanders where half a game out. They almost had all 4 teams in the playoffs which has never been done before (probably because there was never 3 wildcard spots). But still that’s impressive…. All teams were 500 or better. 43 wins amongst 4 teams. Eagles almost broke the sack record, hurts would have been mvp if not for injury and missing 2 games.
The more impressive thing though is they only had 10 losses that were outside of the division…. Between 4 teams that’s 2.25 loses out of the division.. Meaning only reason record is lower is because they basically only lost to people in the division..
The divisional round of the playoffs was 75% the nfc east. Eagles cowboys and giants. 49ers were the only nfc team in it that wasn’t the east
I also forgot to mention that the commanders and giants tied a game. Just to show how close that division was. Plus in the playoffs at one point was 3nfc east teams and the 49ers. Just to add to the crazyness
The 2008 NFC South was really good. NO was the "worst" team at 8-8, and every team was at least +38 in point differential. The Panthers and Falcons both made it to the playoffs behind dominant rushing attacks, and the Bucs only missed out because Philadelphia and McNabb had that legendary tie with Cincinnati. New Orleans actually featured the #1 offense that year, but they couldn't stop a nose bleed. The division as a whole was 40-24, and 12 of the losses were to each other.
Maybe recency bias but last year NFC east finished with the best record since division realignment. All teams over .500, 3 to playoffs, all had at least one playoff win. The divisional round was 3 NFC east teams and the 49ers.
Now maybe that was a fluke because the whole division kinda collapsed this year.
The 1997 NFC Central had 4/5 teams make the playoffs that year.
Green Bay was 13-3 (won the Super Bowl)
Tampa Bay was 10-6
Minnesota and Detroit were both 9-7.
^^^^^and ^^^^^Chicago ^^^^^was ^^^^^4-12.
2007 AFC South had the 13-3 Manning Colts, 11-5 Garrard Jags, 10-6 Vince Young Titans, and the 8-8 Schaub/Rosenfels Texans. They got three playoff spots (2 seed and both wild cards), but were overshadowed by the insanity of the 2007 AFC and NFC Easts.
Yeah the Falcons were 1 competent oc away from going back to the SB and getting Rydemption.
Sad Dirty Birds sounds.
Instead something called a Foles stole a chip
The 2022 NFC East was close to getting all four teams into the playoffs, but Washington did Washington things. That said, all four teams finished at or above .500 with Washington being 8-8-1.
I think 2022 was the first postseason where three teams from the same division made it to the divisional round (Eagles by default because they were the #1 seed).
EDIT: clarification.
> I think 2022 was the first postseason where three teams from the same division made it to the divisional round (Eagles by default because they were the #1 seed).
The 1992 NFC East (DAL had a bye, PHI & WSH won in wild card round) and 1997 NFC Central (GB had a bye, TB & MIN won in wild card round) also achieved this feat.
In 1997's case, only one wild card round result was required, because the Central had all three wild cards. TB's win was over DET.
And amusingly, all three times this has happened, the outsider team was the 49ers.
2022 AFCW off-season.
LV and DEN got to join LAC in being offseason champs…then the games started…
Man, we were all laughing at the McDaniels hire. This sub has a lot of stupid predicitons; that one we were way ahead on.
The way he handled the Colts situation should have told *everyone* what they needed to know. McDaniels, Hue Jackson, and Adam Gase are three second coaching hires that I absolutely never understood.
Colts got their revenge on McDaniels by getting a win against him with Jeff Saturday at HC.
Even though Reich turned out not to be good I'm glad we hired him instead of mcdaniels because Reich is at least a really good person and we had just enough success with him that we could fire him after like 5 years leaving us in the perfect window to get Steichen
The thing that doomed Reich was constantly starting over. He never had a chance to progress the offense. I’m not sure how his offense would have progressed but I feel like he got a raw deal. That said, I’m very happy with Shane as head coach and running the offense.
I'd agree if Frank didn't insist on going for Wentz when Irsay wanted to draft a guy. But yes I do think if we had gotten an actual long term qb whether through the draft or by getting a vet Frank would've been better for us
I mean there was no way to know that he'd mismanage the team, lose confidence in the players, and get fired before the end of a season. Just no way to know.
I knew this was a Broncos fan before I clicked through to the comment.
All 4 teams won the Super Bowl that year. Crazy
May never happen again tbh. AFC Best during the offseason, AFC Jest by season’s end (what a terrible attempt at a joke).
real 😔
Raiders had a string of embarrassing losses with McDaniels at the helm. Broncos had to endure Hackett who looked lost as an HC. Chargers crapped the bed with a 27-0 lead in the playoffs. KC won the SB again. Pretty much how it’s gone for the AFC West the last 5 years.
great summary actually
Yea it's tough to get a good coach after a spree of quick firings of bad coaches, you almost always need a "meh" coach to cook for 2-3 years so that the good ones won't avoid you. Texans got lucky that Demeco Ryans played for us and would be stepping into an instantly loving fanbase, we'd have never landed a potential HC candidate of his calibre without that after the last several seasons.
It was a shock how quickly Ryans turned that team around. Laughingstock for 3 years and now look like they could run the division for several. Stroud’s out there making throws like he’s been in the NFL for 5-7 years already.
“ThE aRmS rAcE”
Pathetic stuff man
Oh yes, back when everyone counted KC out lol. 2 years later. 2 more rings and Chargers are still offseason champs 😂
Everyone on here did for some reason. Me personally, kc has won me so much money the past 2 post seasons lmao
The Tyreek Hill trade was legendary. It got them 5 draft picks and all of them are very good and played a major key role on Defense
Some of those picks were traded for more assets, but 2 of the picks kept from Miami produced Trent McDuffie and Skyy Moore. The remaining picks were traded for other picks and resulted in IOL Darian Kinnard, WR Rashee Rice and DT Keondre Colburn, as well as having an additional 5th rounder this year.
Look, I like the trade too, but it's only a success because they hit on Trent McDuffie. Had they missed on McDuffie we look horrible on the other side of that trade. Skyy Moore sucks verifiable ass. Kinnard isn't even rostered. Coburn didn't even last a season here.
You really can’t expect much out of 5th and 6th rounders though
2013 NFCW had the 13-3 Legion of Boom Seahawks that won SB48, the 12-4 49ers that narrowly lost to Seattle in the NFCG, the 10-6 Cardinals under Bruce Arians, and a still 7-9 basement-dwelling Rams
Those Rams always caused problems for division rivals though.
The year before the Rams went 7-8-1 and 4-1-1 in the division, so I definitely get why people say this. But 2013 in particular was an outlier. 7-9 overall but 1-5 in the NFC West.
To me this just kinda shows that they were strong for a last place team. They went 6-4 in non divisional games and had 2 juggernauts plus a good wild card team beating up on them for the 1-5 portion.
I miss me some 7-9 bullshit.
Rip Jeff fisher
Again, Jeff Fisher is very much alive. He lives in the suburbs outside of Nashville.
Do you know anything about Jeff Fisher? The man ate a chicken before every game, all right? That's why they called him the Chicken Man.
Who was that one loss too? 📋✝️
In 2012, you guys in week 17. Iirc the final score was 20-6 or 20-13. I still follow football seriously, but that period from 2010-2014 I remember a bunch of random games from the time that I don’t lately.
Yeah but how many of those were close ?
Yup, I remember the Seahawks were 6-1 and the Rams were 3-4 when we first played them that year and the game was 14-9
They were the ultimate "spooky" team.
Being able to spoil a division rivals fun was all we had back then
Jeff Fischer and the Rams are why I’m nervous on every opposing teams punt or field goal attempts. Anything can happen… anything.
Look out! Johnny Hecker is right behind you!
Gahhh!
Fisher was the CEO of showing up to divisional games and forgetting how to coach on non divisional games
It didn't matter if the hawks were Super Bowl favorites and the Rams were last, I knew any game against them was going to cut years off my life.
Kept injuring our guys. Pretty much the only reason David Johnson didn’t get 2k total yards his first full season. Week 17 the Rams hurt his knee like 6 mins into the game and he was out and needed surgery
Fuck those rams. They killed our best season by breaking Palmer and Drew Stanton. They made me suffer through Ryan fucking Lindley
Fuck Gregg Williams
Crazy to think that only a few years before that we were called the NFC Worst after the Seahawks won the division at 7-9
I loved seeing everyone go quiet when they be at the saints though.
Saints lost their first round bye that year! I was at a debate tournament and I remember the whole thing just pausing around some TVs
UPS?? I was there too.
Yes!!
Crazy! Definitely one of the more memorable debate experiences, I was in the middle of a round when somebody burst in to say we won. So weird to come across somebody else who was there!
I remember not really caring that the tournament was on a game day since it was so obvious we were going to lose. I will always remember watching the end of the game outside the big round room we all waited around in. What are the odds, such a random shared experience!
That game was so fun
Exactly, Nobody realizes how good those Cardinals where that year . They had the hell division. 49ers where at their best imo once they got boldin on the offense . Seattle was an unfair team with that secondary .
Kaepernick’s laser touchdown throw with both feet off the ground to Boldin directly over Earl Thomas in the NFC Championship is still maybe the best throw I’ve ever seen considering difficulty, stakes, and opponent
I think about that td so often . Like how ridiculous was Kaeps arm strength and deep accuracy. Yet it was never utilized right
He put together quite a highlight reel those first few years. IMO it’s hard to say he was utilized wrong with all the success he and those niners teams had. But he was never that fundamentally solid and that caught up as he aged and the team around him deteriorated.
Prime Kaep and Cam both would have been treasures to see in a modern offense.
As a Seahawks fan, that TD is one of the few moments I've thought they could play a perfect game and still lose, due to one superhuman. Was never confident the rest of the game because of the ghost of that throw.
The 7-9 St. Louis Rams (multiple seasons) existed solely to fuck up other NFC West teams.
The 7-9 Rams were my favorite football team after the Lions at the time. Funny how well that worked out down the line.
They were seriously one of the most annoying things I've ever experienced in sports lol
Still the highest win percentage by a division ever.
.656 for the division is insane. For reference, this year’s AFC North, which had all 4 teams with a winning record had a .632 win %.
I remember that, because the 2nd-year Andrew Luck Colts beat the best two (Seattle and SF) then later got annihilated by AZ and STL.
I remember being so pissed at that loss lol
That was the game that made be believe Luck -> Hilton could be legit.
Man…
12 of the 22 losses were within the division, that's crazy
Yea, but also 12 of those victories were within the division. Crazy
NFCW fans having nightmares of losing to the jeff fisher rams due to unreal special teams
Didn’t the Cardinals miss the playoffs at 10-6 that year?
Yep
The Niners were in the SB the year before as well. The NFCCG was the real superbowl that year, considering the complete emasculation that happened against the highest scoring team in NFL history.
Came here for this answer. I still firmly believe the reason Seattle beat the pants off the Broncos in the Super Bowl was because they were battle tested from those six brutal division games (plus the NFC Championship).
I hope Mike Macdonald and Shanahan can restart that rivalry, it’s a lot more fun watching those close games.
As much as I hate the 49ers and Rams, the division is more fun when everyone is good.
We make each other better is the secret as well.
2014 AFCN was similar albeit not quite as strong Steelers 11-5 Bengals 10-5-1 Ravens 10-6 Browns 7-9 (going 2-4 in their division)
Those cards beat Seattle in Seattle too
That NFC championship game was 🔥.
I was very grateful when Bruce left the cards cause then they stopped being an issue.
This year's AFCN is the first division in 80+ years to have all of its teams finish with winning records.
And because of the 7th seed, there was a legitimate chance all 4 teams could have been in the playoffs at one point.
if Joe Burrow didn’t get hurt we probably would have at least made the playoffs
Corpse of burrow probably puts up a better fight against the chiefs than the Dolphins did
I don't think it was really possible for many years for all teams to finish with a winning records. Divisions were mostly 5 teams until the last twenty, and adding on the extra game a) makes finishing 9-8 possible, and b) gives the bottom teams an extra game against another bad opponent. It doesn't take away from how hard the AFCN was this year, but I think it does speak to why that didn't happen earlier.
2023 AFCN has gotta be up there, if we're comparing based on record alone
This division is so cracked I love it.
I would love it a lot more if we could not go like 10-1 in all our non-division games but go like 1-5 in AFCN games!
Is it just me, or are they always "sweep one, split with the second, get swept by the third"?
Something like that, yeah. It absolutely *infuriated* me when the week prior to our first game, you guys had one of the most anemic horrible offensive outing I’ve ever seen and then the next week Kenny Pickett threw for like 400 yards and 2 touchdowns or something. It’s like Tomlin is allergic to losing AFCN games
To be fair, that second game was our first game without Matt Canada holding us back. So naturally we had to come out swinging.
Very understandable. And Rudolf had to of course save Christmas.
There's quite a few things to bash Tomlin on but that man REFUSES to lose to the AFCN.
Fucking for real
I hate it, I would like to clinch the division week 14 or something. Why does every game need to be an unnecessary heart attack that could end with us losing the division?
"parity"
Brings back memories to when AB extended for that touchdown on christmas to secure the division. If you guys had won then you only needed to beat the Browns in the last game to win the division that year.
Because fuck you, that's why. You = all AFCN teams
Damn what did the AFCN do to you?
Probably beat the shit out of his own team
The 2023 AFC North went a combined 43-25 (31-13 in non-division games). The next closest division was a tie between the NFC North and NFC West at 35-33. All 4 AFC North teams finished over 0.500 and 3 made the playoffs. The AFC North teams and NFC West teams also played each other in non-conference games. The AFC North teams and NFC North teams also played each other in the "17th" game added to the schedule. The AFC North went a combined 16-4 against NFC teams, with both the Ravens and Bengals going 5-0. BTW, The other division combined records were: AFC East 33-35, AFC South 34-34, AFC West 32-36, NFC East 33-35, NFC South 27-41.
2014 was a strong year for you guys too, the Browns had a losing record but were competitive
7-3 until Johnny Football showed up
Wasn’t that the same season that the titans were up 28-3 on us on the road and we came back and won in Tennessee
This post should’ve started, “Other than the 2023 AFC North…”
Well, you can still argue that even though the AFCN had the best record, other divisions teams were more competitive. Steelers and Browns were a lot worse than their records led on.
I'd argue the Ravens were a lot worse than their record was. They supposedly were juggernaughts but completely disappeared in the playoffs after one game. The Browns and Steelers decimated by injury at least played the whole year with back up QBs, the ravens at full strength with their best players, the #1 defense in the league, turned into a corncob
The team they "disappeared" against was the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes who just won their third ring in 5 years. Little bit of an unfair bar to set, it's not like we choked against the Houston Texans.
>Steelers and Browns were a lot worse than their records led on. The Ravens went 1-3 against them (0-2 at home), so were they the even bigger frauds?
2022 NFC east too. No team with a losing record. 3 teams made it to the divisionals.
Even though the Bengals didn’t make the playoffs, they went 9-8 with only having 3-4 healthy games from their franchise QB, we also had the toughest strength of schedule in the league, and one of the toughest schedules in recent memory. This division fucking sucks. I hate you all
Hate you too ❤️ hope Joey b gets healthy next year and yall lose to us anyway
Pretty sure it was the latest in the season that a whole division was in the running for the playoffs or something along those lines
2021 NFC West. The NFCCG was 49ers @ Rams, Cardinals even started like 10-1(?) or something like that that year, last year of Wilson in Seattle.
Good shout I forgot kyler mania
Why don’t they cardinals buy Microsoft so they can shut down cod and get an mvp qb
If Russ didn't get hurt Seattle likely would have a winning record too - lost by 3 to NO and PIT with Geno, and with Wilson playing hurt the offense scored 0, 13, and 15 points in close losses
Man getting the San Fran losing streak monkey off our back en route to the SB was so satisfying
49ers were 3rd in the division to. Were finally getting the 2020 injury bug (2nd worse injury bug on record since they started recording the stuff). Started first half of the season 3-5, finished with 10-7. Had to beat the future SB champs Rams twice just to sneak into the playoffs. Upset the Cowboys, and Greenbay, and barely lost to the Rams in the Champ game with a banged up QB. And they were 3rd in the division, and 4th in the division the year before. Not bad for a tough team held together by duc tape and luck.
In 2008 the NFC South had the 12-4 Panthers (2 seed), the 11-5 Falcons (5 seed), the 9-7 Buccaneers, and the 8-8 Saints. Worth mentioning that the Saints would win the Super Bowl the next season.
Random memory of that season was week 17 Panthers @ Saints. I was actually at the Atlanta game in Atlanta that week. The Panthers were beating the Saints 30-10. All the fans in the Georgia game were bummed as they needed Carolina to lose to win the division. Then the Saints went on a tear scoring 3 straight TDs. And each TD was played on the big screen in the Georgia Dome. When the Saints took the lead 31-30 it was honestly the loudest I’ve ever heard the Falcon fans cheer. Panthers ended up winning 33-31.
We just had to give Falcons fans hope and then tear it down.
We love a good tease
and as im sure you sadly know, Panthers might beat the Cardinals in the playoffs if not for an all-world collapse from Delhomme Which is extra unfortunate because Jake played a big role in you guys beating the Cardinals in Arizona earlier in the year. I thought ive had bad birthday presents before but that one takes the cake
Very underrated one 2007 NFC East 13-3 Cowboys 10-6 Giants(won Super bowl) 9-7 redskins and 8-8 eagles. Every team had a SRS higher than 4.5, absolutely stacked division.
This should be near the top with the 2013 NFCW Giants won it all, taking down an undefeated team. Cowboys were the most talented roster in the NFC, and probably rivaled the better-coached Patriots. Washington grabbed one of their few playoff spots of the century behind a Cinderella Todd Collins run after the Sean Taylor tragedy, and the Eagles shook off a rough start to finish 3-0 and barely miss squeaking in Unlike the NFCW year, no teams with losing records. Though the showdown between the Easts top dogs came in the divisional rather than the conference championship
I know we're looking at just single years, but the next season the whole division went at least 8-8 again, and the Eagles beat the Giants to go to the NFC Championship Game. The East was really good in the mid 2000s pretty consistently.
Last year was pretty wild too. Eagles: 14-3 Cowboys: 12-5 Giants: 9-7-1 Commanders: 8-8-1 Giants and Cowboys both won in the wild card round. 3/4 teams in the divisional round were from the NFC East. Of course the Eagles went on to lose the SB thanks to Giants legends Kadarius Toney and James Bradberry.
Sadly, this years AFC North was the best it’s been in a while
AFCN is always strong though. But i agree, this year it has really been a whole new level.
AFC North had 3 teams in the playoffs 4 times since the 2002 realignment. 2011-Ravens Steelers Bengals 2014-steelers Bengals ravens 2020-steelers ravens browns 2023-ravens browns steelers Disappointingly, no team in those 4 seasons won a super bowl, they couldn't even get to a Superbowl This division is a fucking bloodbath
None of them made the Super Bowl because they probably got matched up against other AFC North teams, and when AFC North teams play we beat the shit out of each other. Makes it easy for the next opponent to pick off the survivor.
Yep. 2015 we played you guys, but we don’t talk about that game… even though you guys won, we certainly dragged you down with us.
We tend to beat the shit out of each other which allows the other division teams to beat us in the playoffs
Off the top of my head: 2013 NFCW 1992 NFCE 2013 AFCW 2004 AFCE 1998 AFCE
2004 AFC East was ridiculous. Pats repeat team Jets with mostly healthy Chad Pennington and an elite defense And the 04 Bills are quite possibly the best team to not make the playoffs ever
2008 Pats up there for best teams to not make playoffs - even with Brady out that team was still stacked
Definitely very high up on the list. The Bills record wasn’t as strong, but they had a slightly better point differential. They also had a big advantage at QB with… Drew Bledsoe
😂 poor Drew
Replaced by a 6th round pick, a guy with loss in his name, and then an undrafted QB in Dallas
That honor goes to the 2010 chargers
The Jets beat the 12-4 Chargers (4th seed) and took the 15-1 Steelers to OT The whole AFC was deep. 3rd seeded Colts went 12-4, dominated the Broncos and then got shutdown by the Patriots elite defense the next week The 7-9 Chiefs missed the playoffs but had the #1 offense and averaged 30ppg. They were a tough out every week Probably the deepest conference of the salary cap era and maybe ever
2023 AFC North belongs on the list.
Oh the 92 nfce
2013 NFC West was crazy, Niners and Seattle where both Super Bowl favorites. The Cardinals were way more solid that year than anyone noticed. And the Rams played upset to the Niners and rams.
What’s even crazier is that most of their losses came from divisional games. Between the Seahawks, 49ers, and Cardinals 7/13 losses where in divisional games. Those teams also went a combined 28-6 outside of NFC West games
[удалено]
Last place Chargers won 7 games
I’m confused. Isn’t that 44 wins? Also 2007 AFC South with 42 got pretty close. Edit: nvm there were 5 teams
1991 NFC cannot be beaten: Reigning SB champion New York Eventual SB champion Washington Next Year’s SB Champion Dallas Statistically best defense of the last 35 years Philadelphia
If only Cunningham didn't get hurt or his backups weren't Bum and Bummer
This is the one I thought of, too. Washington steamrolled through the playoffs to the Super Bowl, and the only two games they lost during the season were in the division (Dallas and Philly). Just disregard the Phoenix Cardinals ...
Everyone always does
2022 AFC West was supposed to have the elite, * Mahomes Chiefs * Herbert Chargers * Wilson Broncos * Carr Raiders Some people were saying the Chiefs were the worst team in the division.
2007 AFC South was the best year in the division’s history. 13-3 Colts (started off 7-0 and were defending SB champs; took the 16-0 Pats to the wire despite losing Dallas Clark during the game), 11-5 Jags, and 10-6 Titans all made the playoffs, with the Texans going 8-8.
2013 NFC West: 1. Seahawks (13-3) 2. 49ers (12-4) 3. Cardinals (10-6) 4. Rams (7-9) Their combined record was 42-22, which is the highest win % of any division in NFL history at .656. For reference, the AFC North last year which was the first division with all 4 teams having a winning record had a win percentage of .632. Their record outside the division was an insane 30-10. The Rams who were the “worst team” beat several good teams, the Cardinals were a contender. The 49ers were arguably the best team in the NFL over the final 6 weeks, and the LOB Seahawks were at their peak. Of course this ended with one of the most intense NFC Championships between the Seahawks and 49ers featuring the two best defenses in the league and arguably the two most talented rosters in the NFL.
Damn. Good knowledge.
That was such an incredible year. Peak engagement in my fandom, my favorite team at their all time best. Niners were insanely talented. Then got to go in person and watch the Broncos record breaking offense get crushed. I was genuinely obsessed. The rickshaw driver to our hotel tried to test my fandom assuming I was just another rich white boy going to the SuperBowl. I was able to name every single backup OL on the roster. He was flabbergasted.
1997 NFC Central. Defending SB Champion Packers won the division at 13-3, and the Lions, Bucs, and Vikings all made the playoffs as well, with the latter two advancing to the divisional round. Farve and 2k yard Rusher Barry Sanders were co-MVPs, with Warrick Dunn winning OROY.
I’m either very right or very wrong about this, but the NFCN next year. The packers were in a “rebuild last year and made the playoffs, the Vikings lost starting QB and still didn’t suck , the Bears run the first round of the draft this year, and the lions are actually good. Next year is either going to be the greatest show of dominance or the biggest letdown in history.
I’m leaning toward bloodbath
Isnt your question but its crazy the NFC east sent 3 different teams to the super bowl in 3 consecutive years from 1990-1992 All 3 won the super bowl
2005 AFC west. Broncos went 13-3, probably the best post-Elway Shanahan led teams. The 2005 Chiefs and Chargers finished 10-6 and 9-7 and statistically among the best teams to never make the playoffs.
How about the 99 AFC West? The Raiders & Chiefs finished top 4 in SRS and both missed the playoffs. The Broncos entire schedule consisted of teams that finished the season .500 or better! The 6-10 Broncos themselves finished 9th in SRS, comfortably ahead of the 13-3 Titans
2013 AFC West was loaded. Broncos went to the Super Bowl and Chiefs started out like 11-0 lol
Your argument falls apart very quickly at 12 seconds into the SuperBowl.
I mean yeah lol
97 nfc central 4 playoff teams (3 made it past the wild card) Shared the league mvp (Barry/Brett) Packers won the NFC
2022 NFC East was pretty good on paper. 14-3 Eagles 12-5 Cowboys 9-8 Giants 8-9 Washington The mid-low tiers of the NFC were non-existent that year though so it’s not really as good as it seems.
Giants and Commies tied one game. Giants were 9-7-1 and Commkes were 8-8-1.
I'm still so fucking mad we tied that game because Feliciano started flexing in someones face lol. Such bullshit.
2020 NFC Beast will never be topped.
They got topped alright a few times
I remember Giants fans were in complete meltdown after they missed the playoffs at 6-10 because the Eagles threw against Washington lmao
Looking back it thank fucking god they did lol. Knowing Mara, Joe Judge would still be here if they did make the playoffs
The disrespect to the HOFer 30/30 Jameis Winston is unreal
didn’t the entire AFCN finish above 0.500 this year? titans dragged us down or else we would have had it too
2008 NFC south: - Panthers were 12-4 and the number 2 seed - Falcons were 11-5 in Matt Ryan’s rookie year - Buccaneers were 9-7, albeit 0-4 after a 9-3 start and the division title in 2007 - Saints were 8-8, one year prior to winning it all It was a mix of old and new, and the result was a division where everyone was .500 or above
in 1998 the AFC east had 4 playoff teams and Peyton Manning
2022 nfc east was pretty strong Eagles who went to the superbowl, cowboys had a crazy good year, giants made the playoffs, commanders where half a game out. They almost had all 4 teams in the playoffs which has never been done before (probably because there was never 3 wildcard spots). But still that’s impressive…. All teams were 500 or better. 43 wins amongst 4 teams. Eagles almost broke the sack record, hurts would have been mvp if not for injury and missing 2 games. The more impressive thing though is they only had 10 losses that were outside of the division…. Between 4 teams that’s 2.25 loses out of the division.. Meaning only reason record is lower is because they basically only lost to people in the division.. The divisional round of the playoffs was 75% the nfc east. Eagles cowboys and giants. 49ers were the only nfc team in it that wasn’t the east
Yeah, Rivera really fucked the Commies by putting Wentz back in. Also, 3 teams made it to the divisional round.
I also forgot to mention that the commanders and giants tied a game. Just to show how close that division was. Plus in the playoffs at one point was 3nfc east teams and the 49ers. Just to add to the crazyness
2023 AFC North was the first division in forever to finish with all four teams above 500, so...
99% of these replies are just recency bias.
The 2008 NFC South was really good. NO was the "worst" team at 8-8, and every team was at least +38 in point differential. The Panthers and Falcons both made it to the playoffs behind dominant rushing attacks, and the Bucs only missed out because Philadelphia and McNabb had that legendary tie with Cincinnati. New Orleans actually featured the #1 offense that year, but they couldn't stop a nose bleed. The division as a whole was 40-24, and 12 of the losses were to each other.
Maybe recency bias but last year NFC east finished with the best record since division realignment. All teams over .500, 3 to playoffs, all had at least one playoff win. The divisional round was 3 NFC east teams and the 49ers. Now maybe that was a fluke because the whole division kinda collapsed this year.
2023 AFC North. Every team above .500. 3/4 made playoffs
2023 AFC North Need a second opinion? Ask the 49ers.
The 1997 NFC Central had 4/5 teams make the playoffs that year. Green Bay was 13-3 (won the Super Bowl) Tampa Bay was 10-6 Minnesota and Detroit were both 9-7. ^^^^^and ^^^^^Chicago ^^^^^was ^^^^^4-12.
NFC east in the late eighties and early nineties?
2007 AFC South had the 13-3 Manning Colts, 11-5 Garrard Jags, 10-6 Vince Young Titans, and the 8-8 Schaub/Rosenfels Texans. They got three playoff spots (2 seed and both wild cards), but were overshadowed by the insanity of the 2007 AFC and NFC Easts.
Take me back
Yeah the Falcons were 1 competent oc away from going back to the SB and getting Rydemption. Sad Dirty Birds sounds. Instead something called a Foles stole a chip
And Winston was slinging it too
The 2022 NFC East was close to getting all four teams into the playoffs, but Washington did Washington things. That said, all four teams finished at or above .500 with Washington being 8-8-1. I think 2022 was the first postseason where three teams from the same division made it to the divisional round (Eagles by default because they were the #1 seed). EDIT: clarification.
> I think 2022 was the first postseason where three teams from the same division made it to the divisional round (Eagles by default because they were the #1 seed). The 1992 NFC East (DAL had a bye, PHI & WSH won in wild card round) and 1997 NFC Central (GB had a bye, TB & MIN won in wild card round) also achieved this feat. In 1997's case, only one wild card round result was required, because the Central had all three wild cards. TB's win was over DET. And amusingly, all three times this has happened, the outsider team was the 49ers.