Which NFL Teams Are Left in the Playoffs?

As the NFL regular season comes to a close, we take a look at which teams are still in the running for the playoffs.

AFC

The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Kansas City Chiefs are the four teams remaining in the AFC. These teams have all earned their spot in the playoffs and are ready to give it their all in hopes of making it to the Super Bowl.

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 team plays its home games at M&T Bank Stadium and is headquartered in Owings Mills.

The Ravens were established in 1996, when Art Modell, who was then the owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced plans to relocate the franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore in 1995. As part of a settlement between Modell, the city of Cleveland, and the other NFL owners, Modell was allowed to retain the team’s name, colors, and history; he then sold the franchise to a group led by New England businessman James Orthwein. The team played its first game in Memorial Stadium in 1996. Officially known as the Baltimore Ravens since their inception, they maintain close ties with their former home city; although official documents no longer list them as such. Since “Baltimore” is part of their official name and sits on their official logo (alongside logos for their current home city), they are sometimes also referred to by local sports media as simply “the Ravens”.

The Ravens have qualified for the NFL playoffs 11 times since 2000, with two Super Bowl victories (Super BowlXXXV and XLVII), two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), 15 playoff victories (9th all-time), four AFC North division championships (2003, 2006, 2011, 2012), and are currently one of only three NFL teams (along with the Indianapolis Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers) to hold a perfect record in multiple Super Bowl appearances (2–0). The Ravens organization was led by general manager Ozzie Newsome from 1996 until his retirement after the 2018 season. He was succeeded by Eric DeCosta; however John Harbaugh has remained as head coach since 2008.

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league’s American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Bills franchise was founded in 1959 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), and joined the NFL as part of the AFL–NFL merger in 1970. 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.

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. Hunt’s son, Clark, serves as chairman and CEO.

The Chiefs have won three AFL championships, in 1962, 1966, and 1969. They have also won seven conference championships, more than any other AFC team except for the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots; winning five AFC West titles between 1970 and 2016 inclusive, one AFC championship in 2018, and one AFC South title in 2020. The Chiefs have represented the AFC in 25 NFL playoff games since 1970; they played in two Super Bowls, Super Bowl I and IV winning Super Bowl IV with a score of 23–7 over the Minnesota Vikings.

New England Patriots

As of January 11th, 2020, the New England Patriots are one of 4 teams remaining in the NFL playoffs. The other 3 teams are the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, and San Francisco 49ers. The Patriots have won the AFC East divisional title for the 11th consecutive year and are seeded 2nd in the AFC playoffs. They will play their first playoff game at home against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, January 4th at 8:15pm EST.

NFC

The NFC playoffs are down to the final four teams: the Los Angeles Rams, the New Orleans Saints, the Chicago Bears, and the Dallas Cowboys. Let’s take a look at each team’s chances of winning the conference and advancing to the Super Bowl.

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 based in the United States. Home games have been played at Lambeau Field since 1957.

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.

The name “Saints” is an allusion to November 1 being All Saints Day in the Catholic faith, as well as to the team’s primary owners having been born on that date: John W. Mecom Jr. (All Saints’ Day, 1918) and David Dixon (All Saints’ Day, 1915).

The franchise was founded on November 1, 1966.[6][7] The team’s primary owners were John W. Mecom Jr., Dave Dixon, and the city of New Orleans.[1][8] Wellington Mara, owner of the New York Giants at the time, helped bring forth the NFL expansion and assisted Tom Fears in finding investors.[9] With George Halas advising told expansion committee members that it would be foolish to try to enter into football’s most established market place without some important additional ingredients that might be found elsewhere in newer markets.[10] Influenced by Mara, Fears led live entertainment entrepreneur Guy McFarlane Jr. – who originally wanted to purchase a minor league baseball franchise – and five other individuals to front $10 million dollars for a NFL expansion franchise; McFarlane would later purchase a 10 percent stake in the club after intense convincing from Fears,[11][12] with each owning 16 percent.[13]

On March 14, 1967, the NFL awarded then-ABC affiliate WWL-TV an American Football League (AFL) expansion franchise for New Orleans,[14][15] which took effect with their first regular season game against fellow expansion club Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 17 of that year.[16][17] Tom Dempsey set an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal for the Saints on November 8, 1970;[18][19] this stood as both the longest field goal ever made in professional football[20][21], as well as the record for over 40 years until Matt Prater broke it with a 64-yarder on December 8, 2013 while playing for Denver against Tennessee.[22][23], making him also only 2nd player ever so far behind Dempsey to score a 63 plus yard field goal

San Francisco 49ers

As conference champs, the 49ers have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They’ll host the lowest-seeded divisional round winner on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC (live stream).

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.

The Seahawks are coached by Pete Carroll. Since 2002, they have played their home games at CenturyLink Field (formerly Qwest Field), located south of downtown Seattle. They previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium (1994, 2000–2001). Seahawks fans have been referred to as the “12th Man”, “12th Fan”, or “12s”. Largent, Kennedy, Jones, and Warner are among the team’s former stars that have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and Brown, Easley, Green, Jacoby, Kenny Easley), Stephens, Steve Largent), and Curt Warner) have had their jerseys retired by the Seahawks.