What NFL Teams Made the Playoffs?

The NFL playoffs are upon us. Here’s a look at the teams that made the cut this year.

AFC

The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of two conferences within the National Football League (NFL), the other being the National Football Conference (NFC). The AFC consists of 16 teams, organized into four divisions. The four division winners and two wild card teams (the two teams with the best record that did not win their division) advance to the playoffs. The AFC playoffs are structured so that the four division winners are seeded 1-4 based on their record, and the two wild card teams are seeded 5-6.

Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. They are members 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 the franchise to Baltimore.

The Ravens have won two Super Bowl championships (XXXV and XLVII), two American Football Conference (AFC) championships (2000 and 2012), and three divisional titles (2003, 2006, and 2011). The team has advanced to the playoffs 11 times since their 2000 inception, with seven appearances in the AFC Championship Game (2000, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016). Since 2008, the Ravens have had seven former players inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: linebacker Ray Lewis (member of both the 2000 and 2012 teams), linebacker Rod Woodson (member of the 2000 team), safety Ed Reed (member of the 2012 team), offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden (member of both the 2000 and 2012 teams), wide receiver Jerry Rice (member of the 2000 team), running back Shannon Sharpe ((member of both the 2000 and 2012 teams), and head coach Brian Billick (( member of the 2000 team).

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo– Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays their home games at New Era Field in Orchard Park, New York. The Bills are the only NFL team that plays its home games in the state of New York.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games 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.

The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium. An ownership group led by Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994 for $172 million, a then-record price for an NFL franchise. The franchise was founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, and played in Boston until 1970. Following their 1971 season, they moved to Foxborough, and changed their name to the New England Patriots. The franchise has appeared in five Super Bowls since 2002, winning three of them – all under the leadership of quarterback Tom Brady, head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels – and losing two: Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants and Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers qualifying for the playoffs was nothing short of miraculous. At 4-5, the team looked dead in the water. But then they won six straight games, clinching the AFC North in the process.

NFC

The National Football Conference (NFC) playoff teams are the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, and the New Orleans Saints. The Bears and Cowboys will face each other in the wild-card round next weekend, while the Rams and Saints will have a bye week.

Dallas Cowboys

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

Green Bay Packers

The Packers finished the regular season with a 13–3 record, securing the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye. They defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–23 in the NFC Divisional playoff game, and then defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34–31 in the NFC Championship Game. quarterback Aaron Rodgers was named MVP of the game after completing 31 of 33 passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns.

Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team that compete in the National Football League (NFL). They are a member of the NFC 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 again in 2016 when they returned to Los Angeles.

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League (NFL) as an expansion team in 1960, and first took the field for the 1961 season. The team competes in the National Football Conference (NFC) North division.

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member 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.

The name “Saints” is an allusion to November 1 being All Saints Day in the Catholic faith, as it was founded on that date. They are also one of only two NFL teams to be based in a state with a legal holiday commemorating a specific religious occasion on their founding date (Texas being the other with Texas Independence Day). When the team debuted as an expansion team in 1967, local media famously nicknamed them the Aint’s. This was done because sports writer John Trupin made a bet with Mecom Jr. that if they did not win their first game he would never say their name again. Since then, fan support for the team has brought them back from this low and they are now known simply as “the Saints.”

Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team 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. Wikipedia

Head Coach: Pete Carroll

Conference championships (3): NFC: 2005, 2013, 2014
Division championships (9): NFC West: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018
Playoff appearances (11): NFL: 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 ,2007 ,2010 ,2012 ,2013 ,2014 ,2015 ,2016