When was the last time your team won a division title?
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Of the eight NFL teams that won divisional titles in 2012, six of them also won that division title in 2011. The two teams that went to the top of their division in 2012 (but not in 2011) were the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins.
The Falcons last won the NFC South in 2010. For the Redskins, this past season’s divisional title was a long time coming. The Redskins last won a division in 1999; that drought was tied for the fourth longest in the league.
There’s a good chance the Redskins and Falcons will not be repeating their division title in 2013 since the Redskins are five games out of first place with three games remaining, and the Falcons find themselves seven games back with three weeks left on the schedule.
Back in 2002, the NFL went to the current four division format in each of the two conferences. Of the 32 NFL teams, 28 have won at least one division title since ’02. The four that are still looking for their first division championship this century are: Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Jacksonville. Browns‘ fans have been waiting the longest as their team has not won a division championship since 1989.
The Lions are currently tied for first place in the NFC North with the Bears and may finally break that long drought without a division title.
Following is a look at when each NFL team last won a division title.
Year of last division title, team(s)
1989: Cleveland
1993: Detroit
1995: Buffalo
1999: Jacksonville
2002: N.Y. Jets, Oakland
2003: St. Louis
2007: Tampa Bay
2008: Carolina, Miami, Tennessee
2009: Arizona, Cincinnati, Dallas, Minnesota, San Diego,
2010: Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle
2011: New Orleans, N.Y Giants
2012: Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, New England, San Francisco, Washington
Winning an overtime game on the road in the NFL
(Photo credit: Scott Kinmartin)
Week 13 had two games go into overtime: The Vikings beat the Bears 23-20, and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Buffalo Bills 34-31. For the Falcons, it was their first overtime win on the road since September 26, 2010.
Through games of December 1, there have been 13 overtime games in the NFL this season. One ended in a tie, and the home team has won nine of the other 12 OT contests.
In 2012, there 21 regular-season overtime games in the NFL. Of those 21, the home team won 11 of them. There was also an overtime game in the playoffs; that was won by the away team (Baltimore) as they knocked the Denver Broncos out of the playoffs on their home field on a Justin Tucker 47-yard field goal in double overtime.
One of the more interesting overtime games last season was on December 2. The Seattle Seahawks were on the road facing the Chicago Bears. The Seahawks won the game 23-17 in Chicago in overtime. It was the first victory in a five-game winning streak that propelled the Seahawks to an 11-win season and a spot in the playoffs.
But another reason that game was noteworthy was that it was the first overtime win on the road for the Seahawks in almost 10 years. Prior to that win in Chicago, the last time Seattle won an overtime game on the road was December 29, 2002 when they beat the Chargers 31-28 in an overtime game in San Diego.
The current longest drought for a road overtime win belongs to the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has not won an overtime game on the road since December 2, 2001.
With that in mind, here is the last time each team won an overtime game on the road.
Last overtime game won on the road, team
12-2-2001: Arizona
10-23-2003: New England
1-10-2004: Carolina
10-10-2004: Minnesota
10-24-2004: Philadelphia
10-16-2005: Jacksonville
10-30-2005: Chicago
11-27-2005: St. Louis
12-10-2006: Tennessee
10-29-2007: Green Bay
11-18-2007: Cleveland
12-9-2007: San Diego
9-14-2008: San Francisco
10-17-2010: Miami
11-28-2010: Pittsburgh
12-26-2010: Washington
11-20-2011: Dallas
11-27-2011: Denver
12-24-2011: Oakland
1-22-2012: New York Giants
9-23-2012: Kansas City
9-23-2012: New York Jets
10-14-2012: Buffalo
10-14-2012: Detroit
10-28-2012: Indianapolis
11-18-2012: Tampa Bay
11-22-2012: Houston
12-23-2012: New Orleans
1-12-2013: Baltimore
9-29-2013: Seattle
10-13-2013: Cincinnati
12-1-2013: Atlanta
Of the three teams that have this season won OT games on the road, two of those road OT victories came at the expense of the Buffalo Bills (both Cincinnati and Atlanta beat Buffalo in OT on the Bills’ home field). The Bills became the 11th team since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to have lost two overtime games at home in a season. Following are those teams:
Lost two overtime games at home in a season
2013: Buffalo
2003: Tampa Bay
2002: Minnesota, Oakland
1996: Washington
1993: New England
1987: New England
1983: Green Bay, Houston Oilers, Tampa Bay
1979: New England
Packers look to avoid first three-game losing streak since 2008
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With a two-game losing streak, losing their star quarterback for four to six weeks, and a post-season appearance very much in question, the Green Bay Packers badly need a win this weekend against the New York Giants. A road win would not only put them back in the playoff picture, but it would also help them avoid something that hasn’t happened to the team since 2008… a three-game losing streak.
Prior to the start of the 2013 season, the Packers were one of three NFL teams that had not had a three-game losing streak in a season since 2008 and beyond. One of the teams, the Atlanta Falcons, who had not had a three-game losing season since 2007, quickly saw their streak end when they lost three straight after splitting the first two games to start the 2013 season. (They have since had another three-game losing streak this season.) The other team, the New England Patriots, keeps sailing along; they have a 7-2 record and still have not had a three-game losing streak since 2002. (More on that in a minute.)
The Packers in 2008 had both a three-game and five-game losing streak that season. Since then, the longest losing streak has been two games. The last time they had a two-game losing streak was in 2010. They lost consecutive games in mid-December before defeating the New York Giants 45-17 to avert the third straight loss. Can they perform the same magic this year with the Giants next on the schedule?
Let’s get to the Patriots. After a loss to Arizona in Week 2 and a defeat at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 last season, the Patriots went into their game September 30 at Buffalo hoping to avoid a 1-3 start. But there was another reason the Pats needed a win over their division rivals: They were looking to avoid a three-game losing streak, something that had not happened to the franchise since 2002.
Fortunately for the Pats, they came out of Buffalo with a 52-28 win and avoided a three-game losing streak for yet another year.
The last time New England lost three consecutive games in a season was 2002 when they lost four straight games to San Diego, Miami, Green Bay and Denver. They then defeated Buffalo on November 3, 2002 to end the streak. Since then, they have lost two straight on five occasions, but have not lost a third straight since October, 2002.
Following is a look at the last season each of the 32 NFL teams lost three consecutive games.
2002: New England
2008: Green Bay
2010: Dallas, San Francisco
2011: Denver, Indianapolis, Seattle
2012: Arizona, Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York Jets, Oakland, San Diego
2013: Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Minnesota, New York Giants, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington
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99 Stats Until Kickoff (#92) When was the last time your team won a divisional title?
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
From May 30 and every day until September 5… the start of the 2013 NFL season… Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ will publish “99 Stats Until Kickoff” a daily dose of NFL stats that will get you ready for the 2013 NFL season.)
Of the eight NFL teams that won divisional titles this season, six of them also won that division title in 2011. The two teams that went to the top of their division this year (but not in 2011) were the Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins.
The Falcons last won the NFC South in 2010. For the Redskins, this past season’s divisional title was a long time coming. The Redskins last won a division in 1999; that drought was tied for the fourth longest in the league.
Back in 2002, the NFL went to the current four divisions in each of the two conferences format. Of the 32 NFL teams, 28 have now won at least one division title since ’02. The four that are still looking for their first division championship this century are: Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit and Jacksonville. Browns‘ fans have been waiting the longest as their team has not won a division championship since 1989.
Following is a look at when each NFL team last won a division title.
Year of last division title, team(s)
1989: Cleveland
1993: Detroit
1995: Buffalo
1999: Jacksonville
2002: N.Y. Jets, Oakland
2003: St. Louis
2007: Tampa Bay
2008: Carolina, Miami, Tennessee
2009: Arizona, Cincinnati, Dallas, Minnesota, San Diego,
2010: Chicago, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle
2011: New Orleans, N.Y Giants
2012: Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Green Bay, Houston, New England, San Francisco, Washington
“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99.
99 Stats Until Kickoff (#69) Six Stats you may not know about… the NFL Conference Championship Games
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From May 30 and every day until September 5… the start of the 2013 NFL season… Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ will publish “99 Stats Until Kickoff” a daily dose of NFL stats that will get you ready for the 2013 NFL season.)
Last year’s Conference Championship Games included the Baltimore Ravens going to New England in a rematch of the 2011 AFC title game, and the Atlanta Falcons hosting the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The Ravens, Patriots and 49ers were each in the conference title game the previous year.
Here are a few stats that you may find interesting about previous conference championship games.
(Note: The following stats reflect the NFC and AFC Conference Championship games that have been played since the 1970 merger of the NFL and AFL… 43 years, a total of 86 games.)
1. The home team has won 56 and lost 30 in conference championship games (a .651 winning percentage). In the last seven conference championship weekends, the home teams are 9-5. In the 43 seasons, there has been only three times where both the home teams lost: 1992, 1997 and last year. Both home teams (New England and Atlanta) were defeated in the conference title games this past season.
2. In 29 of the 86 games (33.7%) the game was decided by eight points or less. Twelve of the 86 games were decided by three points or less; 15 of the 84 were decided by 20 points or more. In the last seven seasons, nine of the 14 conference championship games were decided by one score (eight points or less).
3. Teams that scored less than 20 points in a conference championship game since 1970 has won only 13 and lost 66 (a .165 winning percentage). Teams that scored 30 or more points have won 30 and lost only 2 (a .938 winning percentage). The only teams to score 30 or more points in a conference championship game since 1970 and lose? Cleveland in 1987 when they scored 33 in their loss to Denver; and in 2006 when the Patriots scored 34 in their loss to the Colts.
4. Teams that had the better regular season record have won the conference championship game 53 times and lost 22 (a .707 winning percentage). In 11 games the teams playing for the conference championship had the same regular season record.
5. Scoring more points in the playoff game the weekend prior to the conference championship is not a big factor in determining who will win the conference title game. The team that scored more points of the two conference championship game foes the previous week won 45 and lost 37 (in four cases the teams scored the exact number of points the previous week).
6. Winning the playoff game the weekend prior to the conference championship by a bigger margin than your conference championship game foe was a little bit more of a determining factor to who wins the conference championship game. The team that won the divisional playoff game by a bigger margin the week before won 54 times and lost 26 (a .675 winning percentage). In six cases the conference championship game teams won by the same margin the previous week.
“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99.
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