NFL Streaks Snapped and Extended Ahead of First Playoff Weekend
Some streaks were snapped, some were extended and some will be watched in the postseason. The NFL regular season came to a close with an exhilarating finish as Pittsburgh held off Baltimore, 26-24, for the final playoff spot as winners of the AFC North.
The Steelers, who haven’t had a losing record since 2003, made the postseason for the third straight time, while the Ravens saw a four-year playoff string end.
NFC South and AFC East Shifts
When Atlanta beat New Orleans, Sunday, it ended two streaks. Tampa Bay failed to make the playoffs for the first time after five straight appearances, while NFC South champion Carolina is in the postseason for the first time since 2017.
In Buffalo, the Bills saw their streak of five straight AFC East titles snapped as New England moved back onto of the division. The Bills did extend their streak of seven straight playoff appearances, the longest current streak in the league.
Longest Active Consecutive Playoff Appearances
Buffalo 7
Philadelphia 5
Green Bay 3
Los Angeles Rams 3
Pittsburgh 3
Houston 3
That list shows you just how tough it is to make the playoffs. Exactly half of this year’s playoff field (7 of the 14 teams) did not make the playoffs last season. And chances are half of this year’s team won’t make it next year.
Teams Still Waiting
Then there is the flip side. Teams that never make the playoffs.
Longest Active Consecutive Years Missing Playoffs
New York Jets 15
Indianapolis 5
New Orleans 4
Tennessee 4
Even that list, with the exception of the Jets, shows how you can jump from bad to good in a short time.
Which leads to the next point.
From Worst to First
Almost every year a team goes from last place to first place in a division. This year two teams — Chicago in the NFC North and New England in the AFC East managed to do so.
Does that mean there is hope for the Giants (NFC East), Lions (NFC North), Saints (NFC South), Cardinals (NFC West), Jets (AFC East), Browns (AFC North), Titans (AFC South) and Raiders (AFC West)?
Maybe.
The Giants, Saints, Titans, Browns and Raiders all finished last in their divisions in 2024 and were back there again in 2025.
Five and More?
Sunday night the Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Raheem Morris and Monday morning, Cleveland fired head coach Kevin Stefanski and Las Vegas fired Pete Carroll. That made five openings for head coaches across the league — Giants, Titans, Falcons, Raiders, and Browns. There are likely some more to come.
As far as Stefanski, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t fill one of those other three jobs with the Giants likely No. 1 on the list.
Rest is Best
Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni showed no regrets about resting his starters in Sunday’s 24-17 loss to Washington that cost the Eagles the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
When Detroit beat Chicago it opened the door for the Eagles to jump the Bears for that second seed. Instead, the Eagles will sit in the No. 3 spot and are as healthy as any team in the league going into the postseason.
The Eagles will host the 49ers, Sunday afternoon. Chicago will host Green Bay, Saturday night.
J-E-T-S
If failing to make the playoffs for the 15th consecutive season wasn’t bad enough, there is even more embarrassment for the league’s worst franchise.
The Jets did what no other team in the league has done. They went the entire year without an interception. Going back to 1933 when stats were first kept, that had never happened. The Jets four total take-aways were also the least amount for a team since 1940.
And there’s one more. The Jets became the first team to lose five straight games by 23 points, or more.
No. 1 is the Charm
Seattle earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC when the Seahawks beat the 49ers, Saturday night. It’s the fourth time in their history the ‘Hawks have been No. 1. The first three times ended with them in the Super Bowl (2005, 2013, 2014).
MVP
Last week was award week and Drake Maye was the choice for MVP.
Maye finished his second season tied for the most wins in the league (14), first in completion percentage (72 percent), first in wards per attempt (8.9), third in touchdown passes (31) and first in QB rating (113.5).
Giants Draft
All the New York Giants had to do was lose, as they did 13 times this year, to Dallas and they would have had the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft. Instead they won and dropped to the No. 5 pick.
Here’s how the non-playoff teams will select in April:
Raiders, Jets, Cardinals, Titans, Giants, Browns, Commanders, Saints, Chiefs, Bengals, Dolphins, Cowboys, Rams (from Falcons), Ravens, Jets (from Colts), Lions, Vikings.
Home Dogs
This doesn’t happen very often.
Of the six playoff games this weekend and Monday night, there are four home underdogs.
Green Bay (1 1/2), Buffalo (1 1/2), Los Angeles Rams (10) and Houston (3) are all favored on the road. Only Philadelphia (3) and New England (3 1/2) are home favorites.
