Who Are The NFL Playoff Teams?

The NFL playoffs are upon us and that means it’s time to find out who the top teams are. Here’s a look at the NFL playoff teams and what they bring to the table.

AFC

The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the world. The AFC was created after the NFL merged with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. The AFC consists of 16 teams organized into four divisions: North, East, South, and West.

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The Ravens were established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans to relocate his franchise to Baltimore. As part of a settlement between Modell, the city of Cleveland, and the other NFL teams, Modell was required to leave the Browns’ history and records in Cleveland for a replacement team and replacement personnel that would take control in 1999. In return, he was allowed to take his own personnel and team to Baltimore, where such personnel would then form an expansion team. The Ravens have qualified for the NFL playoffs eleven times since 2000, with two Super Bowl victories (Super Bowl XXXV and Super Bowl XLVII), two AFC Championship appearances (2000 and 2012), 15 playoff victories, four AFC North division championships (2003, 2006, 2011, 2018), and are currently the only team in the NFL with a perfect record in multiple Super Bowl appearances. The Ravens organization was led by general manager Ozzie Newsome from 1996 until his retirement after the 2018 season.

Houston Texans

As the AFC’s top seed, the Texans have a first-round bye and will host a divisional-round game on Saturday, Jan. 11 or Sunday, Jan. 12 at NRG Stadium.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team was founded in 1960 as the Dallas Texans by businessman Lamar Hunt and was a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). In 1963, the team relocated to Kansas City and assumed their current name. The Chiefs joined the NFL as a result of the merger in 1970. The team is valued at over $2 billion.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Gillette Stadium in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is located 28 miles (45 km) southwest of downtown Boston.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC. In contrast with their status as perennial championship contenders, they had only two playoff appearances during the 1990s and 2000s. The Steelers made the playoffs in 2002 and 2004 but lost each time in the Wild Card round. Since winning their fifth Super Bowl title in 2008, they have qualified for the playoffs six times and won AFC North three times (in 2008, 2010, and 2016). The Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins to capture their seventh title in 2017.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 in Houston, Texas, an original member of the American Football League (AFL). The Oilers won the first two AFL Championships, and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970.

NFC

This year’s NFL playoff teams have been decided and the NFC is full of talented squads. The top seed in the NFC is the Los Angeles Rams who have had an incredible season. They are followed by the New Orleans Saints who are also a very strong team. The Chicago Bears are the third seed and they are followed by the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team that competes in the National Football League (NFL). The Cowboys compete in the NFC East division. They are headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and play their home games at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the third-oldest franchise in the NFL, dating back to 1919, and is the only non-profit, community-owned major league professional sports team in the United States. Home games have been played at Lambeau Field since 1957.

Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles Area. The Rams compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference West division. The Rams franchise was founded in 1936 as the Cleveland Rams in the short-lived second American Football League before joining the NFL the next year. In 1946, the franchise moved to Los Angeles. The Rams franchise remained in the metro area until 1994, when they moved to St. Louis, and were known as the St. Louis Rams from 1995 until their relocation back to Los Angeles in 2016.

The Rams franchise began in 1936 with their origins coming from a broken-up group of professional players from three previous teams: The Dayton Triangles (NFL), The Cleveland Indians (NFL) and the Canton Bulldogs (AFL). All three teams were looking for a new home after their stadium deals had fallen through and they all agreed to merge under George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, who became the head coach and general manager of this new team. Marshall brought in Lester Belding as an assistant coach and hired Melvin Owsley as business manager; both would be with the team for its entire history in Cleveland.

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints currently compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team was founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city of New Orleans on November 1, 1966. The Saints began play in Tulane Stadium in 1967.

Despite struggling mightily during their early years, the Saints made the playoffs for the first time in 1987 behind head coach Jim Mora and led by star quarterback Bobby Hebert and a defense that featured future Hall of Famer Rickey Jackson. They returned to the playoffs six times over Mora’s next nine seasons, reaching the NFC Championship Game three times during that span (1990, 1991, and 1992). However, they failed to make it to the Super Bowl during that time frame; their lone conference championship appearance during that period came in 1991 when they defeated the Los Angeles Rams for the NFC title but ultimately lost to the then-defending champion Washington Redskins by a score of 37–24 in Super Bowl XXVI.

The 1992 season was their last playoff appearance until 2006; their lone playoff win between 1992 and 2005 came in 2000 when they defeated the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams 31–28 in overtime on Wild Card Weekend en route to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game where they narrowly lost 10–6 to eventual Super Bowl XXXIV champion St. Louis. In 2004 under head coach Jim Haslett, they finished with an 8–8 record and failed to make the playoffs for three consecutive seasons; this was despite posting 7–9 and 9–7 finishes during those years behind Hebert’s replacement as starting quarterback Aaron Brooks and later Brooks’ replacement Drew Brees respectively.

Change finally came in 2006 when Sean Payton was hired as head coach and Brees signed as free agent quarterback; together with both new offensive coordinator Gary Gibbs and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, they led New Orleans to its first ever NFC South division title with an 11-5 record that season before defeating Philadelphia 27-24 on Wild Card Weekend en route to their first ever NFC Championship Game Appearance since 1991 which they won 39-14 against Chicago en route to a berth into Superbowl XLIV where Payton’s squad would ultimately defeat Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts 31-17 giving New Orleans their very first Lombardi trophy along with new found glory becoming only 2nd team ever after Patriots from 2001 season done it previously winning Superbowl XXXVI also being coached by Sean Payton as offensive coordinator..

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football franchise based in Seattle, Washington. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) West division. They joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Seahawks are owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and are currently coached by Pete Carroll. Since 2002, the Seahawks have played their home games at CenturyLink Field, located south of downtown Seattle. The Seahawks previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium (1994, 2000–2001).

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team located in the San Francisco Bay Area. They compete in the National Football League as a member of the league’s National Football Conference West division. The 49ers placed second in the NFC West division with a 13-3 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. They defeated the Minnesota Vikings 27-10 in the divisional round and defeated the Green Bay Packers 37-20 in the NFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl LIV, their first Super Bowl appearance since 2013, where they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 31-20.