What NFL Standings Mean for the Playoffs
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The NFL standings are important for determining who makes the playoffs and ultimately who wins the Super Bowl. Here’s a breakdown of what the standings mean and how they impact the postseason.
NFL Basics
Before we get into the NFL standings and what they mean for the playoffs, let’s first learn a little bit about the NFL. The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the world. It was founded in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association and renamed the National Football League in 1922. The NFL is a 32-team league divided into two conferences, the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference.
How the NFL playoffs work
The NFL playoff system is a single-elimination tournament held after the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Each team has a chance to win the Super Bowl, the league’s annual championship game.
In the playoffs, the team that wins each game advances to the next round, until only two teams are left. The final two teams then compete in the Super Bowl.
The NFL playoffs are made up of six teams from each conference: four division winners and two wild card teams. The four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, with the top seed receiving a bye in the first round of playoff games. The wild card teams are seeded 5-6 and play each other in the first round.
The first round of playoffs is known as the Wild Card round. In this round, the 5th and 6th seeds from each conference play each other, while the top four seeds receive a bye. The winner of each Wild Card game then advances to play one of the four divisional seeds in the next round.
The second round of playoffs is known as the Divisional Round. In this round, seed 1 from each conference plays seed 4 from the other conference, while seed 2 plays seed 3. The winners of these two games then advance to compete in Conference Championships
The Conference Championships are held to determine which team will represent each conference in the Super Bowl. In this round, simply put, seed 1 from each conference plays seed 2 from that same conference. The winners of these games go on to play in… you guessed it…the Super Bowl!
What the NFL standings mean
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The NFL is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, the highest professional level of American football in the world.
The NFL playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the champion of the National Football League. The tournament seeds are determined by the standings at the end of the regular season. Six teams from each conference (four division winners and two wild card teams) advance to postseason play.
In determining the playoff standings, ties are broken as follows:
1. Head-to-head result between tied teams
2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within their own divisions
3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games
4. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within their conference
5. Strength of victory (the combined won-lost-tied records of all teams they defeated)
6. Strength of schedule (the combined won-lost-tied records of all opponents)
7. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed
The NFC
The NFC East
The National Football Conference (NFC) East is one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. The NFC East is made up of the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Washington Redskins. These four teams have a long history of competitiveness, and the divisional title often comes down to the wire.
The NFC East is currently led by the Dallas Cowboys, who have a record of 9-6. The Cowboys are followed closely by the Giants (8-7), Eagles (8-7), and Redskins (7-8). All four teams have a shot at winning the divisional title, and it will likely come down to the final week of the season.
The NFC East is a important division in the NFL playoffs, as it has produced some of the most competitive games in recent history. The winner of the NFC East will likely have to face a tough opponent in the NFC playoffs, but they will also have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. This makes the NFC East one of the most important divisions in football.
The NFC North
The NFC North is a division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It originally consisted of the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings. When the NFL realigned their divisions after the 2001 season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were moved from the NFC Central to the NFC South, and the St. Louis Rams were moved from the NFC West to the NFC West.
The NFC South
The NFC South is one of the most competitive divisions in football. The New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons have been dominant over the past few years, but the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are always close behind. With four strong teams, it’s hard to know who will come out on top in this division.
The NFC South is full of talent, but it’s also full of questions. Can the Saints keep up their winning ways? Can the Falcons finally get over the hump and make it to the Super Bowl? And can either of the Panthers or Buccaneers take advantage of a weak division and make a surprise run to the playoffs?
Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: the NFC South is going to be one of the most exciting divisions in football this year.
The NFC West
The NFC West is one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL, with all four teams battling for a spot in the playoffs. The Seattle Seahawks are the reigning division champions, but the other three teams are not far behind. The San Francisco 49ers have a strong defense and a talented quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo, while the Los Angeles Rams have a high-powered offense led by quarterback Jared Goff. The Arizona Cardinals are also a team to watch, as they have a new head coach in former Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin.
The AFC
In the NFL, 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 East
The American Football Conference – East Division, or AFC East, is a division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that compete in this division: the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, and the New York Jets.
The AFC East is one of the most competitive divisions in football. All four teams have won at least one Super Bowl championship, and three of the four – the Bills, Dolphins, and Patriots – have won five or more conference championships.
The divisional race is often close, as every team except for the Jets has won the division title within the past ten years. In fact, since 2001, all four teams have either won or been a Wild Card playoff team at least once. The Jets are currently on a streak of nine consecutive seasons without making the playoffs.
The AFC North
The AFC North is a division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created when the NFL realigned its divisions after the expansion of the league in 2002. The AFC North currently consists of four teams: the Baltimore Ravens, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. All four teams are based in the Midwestern United States.
from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFC_North
The AFC South
The AFC South is a division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 season as part of the NFL’s realignment plan. The AFC South consists of four teams: the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans. All of these teams have played in Houston.
The AFC South has had a total of 5 different champions since it was formed in 2002. The Indianapolis Colts have won the most division championships with 3. The Colts won back-to-back division championships in 2003 and 2004, and again in 2009. The Houston Texans are the only team in the AFC South to have never won a division championship.
In 2017, the AFC South was one of two divisions (along with the NFC East) to send all of its teams to the playoffs. This was only the second time in NFL history that this had happened, and both occurrences were in divisions with 4 teams (8 divisions total).
The AFC West
The race in the AFC West will be one to watch as we come down the stretch, with all four teams still in contention and separated by just two games. The Kansas City Chiefs currently sit atop the division at 9-3, but they have a tough remaining schedule that includes games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, and Baltimore Ravens.
The Chargers are right behind the Chiefs at 8-4, and they have a much easier remaining schedule that features games against the Cincinnati Bengals, Arizona Cardinals, and Oakland Raiders. Los Angeles also has the head-to-head tiebreaker over Kansas City after beating them earlier this season.
The Seahawks are third in the division at 7-5, but they have a chance to make a push for the top spot with remaining games against the 49ers, Cardinals, and Chiefs. Seattle also has a head-to-head tiebreaker over Los Angeles after beating them earlier this season.
The Raiders are last in the division at 6-6, but they are still very much alive in the playoff race. They have remaining games against the Bengals, Broncos, and Chargers. Oakland will need to win out and get some help from other teams in order to make the playoffs.
