Who Are In The Nfl Playoffs?
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The NFL playoffs are underway, and there are some great matchups on tap. Who are the teams that are in the playoffs?
AFC
The AFC playoff picture is starting to come into focus heading into the final week of the regular season. The New England Patriots have clinched the top spot and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars have also clinched playoff berths. The Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens are currently in the mix for the final spot.
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 the franchise to Baltimore. As part of a settlement between Modell and the city of Cleveland, the Browns’ intellectual property – including team name, logos, training facility, and history – was kept in trust and maintained by the NFL until a new team could be established 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 11 times since 2000, with two Super Bowl victories (Super Bowl XXXV in 2000 and Super Bowl XLVII in 2013), two AFC Championship titles (2000 and 2012), 15 playoff victories (10th all-time), four AFC North division titles (2003, 2006, 2011, 2018), and are currently the only team in NFL history to hold a perfect record in multiple Super Bowl appearances. The Ravens organization was led by general manager Ozzie Newsome from 1996 until his retirement following the 2018 season; he was succeeded by Eric DeCosta. Head coach John Harbaugh has held the same position since 2008; he is one of only four head coaches (including Pete Carroll, Bill Belichick, Jason Garrett) still with their respective teams from among 32 teams that competed at least 10 years ago.
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 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. The Bills conduct summer training camp at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York, an eastern suburb of Rochester.
The Bills began play as an original franchise of the American Football League (AFC) in 1960. The club joined the NFL as a result of the AFL–NFL merger for the 1970 season. The 1964 and 1965 Bills were the only teams representing Buffalo that won major league professional sports championships (“back-to-back” American Football League Championships). The Bills have70 appearances players appearances in Pro bowl and have retired eleven players number earlier played with Franchise..
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 league’s American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team plays its home games at NRG Stadium, a stadium it shares with the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s Houston Rockets. The Texans joined the NFL in 2002 as an expansion team after Houston’s previous franchise, the Houston Oilers, relocated to Nashville, Tennessee where they eventually became the Tennessee Titans. The team nearly relocated to Toronto in 2006. The Texans have gone to the playoffs seven times since joining the league in 2002, and have won their division four times.
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, Missouri, and assumed its 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 area. 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 21 miles (34 km) southwest of downtown Boston.
The Patriots are also headquartered at Gillette Stadium. An original member of the American Football League (AFL), the Patriots joined the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL–NFL merger. The team changed its name from the original Boston Patriots after relocating to Foxborough in 1971. The Patriots played their home games at Foxboro Stadium from 1971 to 2001, then moved to Gillette Stadium at the start of the 2002 season. They have appeared in ten Super Bowls in franchise history, winning six of them – all since 2001 – with Brady and Bill Belichick as quarterback and head coach respectively; more appearances and more wins than any other quarterback-head coach tandem in NFL history.
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.
The team played their home games at Three Rivers Stadium from 1970 to 2000. In 2001, the team moved to Heinz Field on Pittsburgh’s North Side, where they have since hosted seven AFC Championship Games. The Steelers have won more Super Bowl titles (6), hosted more conference championship games (11) – both NFL records – and compiled more playoff wins (32) than any other NFL team. As of 2019, they also have the most appearances in the AFC Championship Game (16), and are tied with the New England Patriots for second place with 15 appearances in the Super Bowl behind only the Denver Broncos’ eight Super Bowl appearances overall. They currently have an intense rivalry with their cross-state rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, as well as with their former division rivals from Baltimore: first with their long-time rivalry with former Baltimore Colts who they played when they were both members of what was then called the AFC East prior to Colts relocation to Indianapolis; and now their “new” rivalry that has developed after moving to AFC North against Baltimore Ravens who were formed as an expansion franchise in 1996 to replace Colts.
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, as a charter 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.
The team relocated from Houston to Tennessee in 1997, and played at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis for one season. The team then moved to Nashville in 1998 and played in Vanderbilt Stadium. For those two years, they were known as the “Tennessee Oilers”, but changed their name to “Tennessee Titans” for the 1999 season. The Titans have appeared in seven NFL playoffs since 1999 including four times within the AFC South. They also qualified for the Super Bowl in 2000 after winning the AFC Championship Game againstarchrivalthe Jacksonville Jaguars courtesy of a game-winning field goal by placekickerAl Del Greco with just seconds remaining. However, they lost Super Bowl XXXIV to Kurt Warner’s St. Louis Rams 23–16.[8]
NFC
The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the world. This conference consists of 16 teams, 8 from each division.
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, which opened for the 2009 season. The stadium took the place of the disbanded Texas Stadium, which served as the Cowboys’ home from 1971 through the 2008 season. The Cowboys are members of the NFC East division in the NFL. They joined this division when it was created in 1970 as part of NFL realignment.
Green Bay Packers
Since the team’s founding in 1919, the Packers have won 13 league championships, the most in NFL history, with nine pre-Super Bowl NFL titles and four Super Bowl victories. The Packers currently hold the longest-tenured NFL membership, has the largest number of season ticket holders in the NFL, and is the sixth-most valuable sports franchise in the world as of 2019. The Packers are also the last of the “small town teams” which were common in the NFL during the league’s early days of 1922 and prior to 1932. Green Bay is also currently ranked as one of eleven television markets that make up ” NFL Cities”, a regionally distributed game telecast on Fox that features at least one live NFL game every Sunday afternoon during the NFL season.
Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team that compete in the National Football League (NFL). 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, Missouri. The Rams franchise returned to Los Angeles in 2016.
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 currently 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.
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. They previously played home games in the Kingdome (1976–1999) and Husky Stadium (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 (NFL) as a member of the league’s National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The team plays its home games at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located 38 miles (61 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco in the heart of Silicon Valley. Since 1988, the 49ers have been headquartered in Santa Clara.
