When was the last time your NFL team made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons?
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For the first time in franchise history the Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs in three straight seasons (2011, 2012, 2013). Going into the 2013 season, there were five franchises — including the Bengals — that had never made the playoffs in three straight seasons
This season’s 12 playoff teams consist of seven teams that played in the playoffs in 2012 and five that did not.
Here’s a look at this year’s 12 playoff teams, their recent playoff appearance history and the last time they made the NFL playoffs in three straight years.
2013 playoff repeaters
Green Bay: Their fifth straight playoff appearance.
New England: Fifth straight playoff appearance.
Cincinnati: Third consecutive playoff appearance. This is their first time making the playoffs in three straight seasons.
Denver: Third consecutive playoff appearance. The last time they made the playoffs in three straight years was 2003-05.
San Francisco: Third straight year in the playoffs. Last time they made the playoffs in three straight seasons was 1996-98.
Indianapolis: Their second straight playoff appearance.. The last time they made the playoffs in three straight years was 2008-10.
Seattle: Second straight playoff appearance. Last time they made the playoffs in three straight seasons was 2005-07.
2013 playoff teams that did not make playoffs in 2012
Carolina: This is their first playoff appearance since 2008. They have never made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.
Kansas City: This is their first playoff appearance since 2010. The last time they made the playoffs in three straight seasons was 1993-95.
San Diego: First playoff appearance since 2009. The last time they made the playoffs in three straight years was 2007-09.
Philadelphia: This is their first playoff game since 2010. The last time they made the playoffs in three straight seasons was 2008-10.
New Orleans: First playoff contest since 2011. Last time they made the playoffs ion three consecutive years was 2009-11.
As mentioned above, there are now four franchises which have never made the NFL playoffs in three consecutive years. Those franchises are: Arizona, Carolina, Houston and the New York Jets.
Here’s a look at the remaining 17 franchises and the last time each of them made the NFL playoffs in three consecutive seasons (starting with the team that has had the longest wait):
Team, last time they made playoffs in three straight years
Chicago: 1986-88
Cleveland: 1987-89
Washington: 1990-92
Buffalo: 1991-93
Tennessee: 1991-93
Detroit: 1993-95
Dallas: 1994-96
Pittsburgh: 1995-97
Jacksonville: 1997-99
Minnesota: 1998-2000
Miami: 1999-2001
St. Louis: 1999-2001
Oakland: 2000-02
Tampa Bay: 2000-02
N.Y. Giants: 2009-11
Baltimore: 2010-2012
Atlanta: 2010-12
“One and out” in the NFL playoffs
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Five teams that made the playoffs in 2012 had a quick exit from last season’s postseason. Cincinnati, Denver, Indianapolis, Minnesota and Washington each played only one game in the playoffs last season because they lost their first playoff game… a “one and out” experience. For the Bengals, it was the second consecutive season they lost their first playoff game.
Here’s a look at the teams/franchises that have had the most “one and out” in the NFL playoffs during the Super Bowl era (since 1966).
Playoff seasons with ‘One & Out”
13 Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts, Minnesota
12 Dallas
11 Kansas City
10 Miami, Tennessee/Houston Oilers
9 Denver, Detroit, St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams
8 Cincinnati, Cleveland, New England, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh
7 Buffalo, Chicago
6 Atlanta, Green Bay, New York Giants, New York Jets, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Washington
5 New Orleans, San Diego, Seattle
3 Arizona/St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
2 Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville
1 Carolina
0 Houston Texans
Did you know? Three NFL franchises experienced three straight “One & Out” postseasons. Detroit went one and out in the playoffs in 1993, 1994 and 1995; the Baltimore Colts went one and out in 1975, 1976 and 1977; and Philadelphia went one and out in 1988, 1989 and 1990.
The Indianapolis Colts have the most “one and out” appearances in the NFL playoffs since 2000. The Colts have been one and out seven times since 2000. The Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Bucs have each been one and out four times since 2000.
Inside the Numbers: NFL Wild Card Weekend
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This coming weekend four games highlight the first round of the 2013 NFL playoffs. Here’s a snapshot of the four games and some numbers from the previous head-to-head matchups between the teams.
SATURDAY
Kansas City @ Indianapolis
All-time series: Indianapolis leads the series 15-8.
Last meeting: The Colts defeated the Chiefs 23-7 on December 22, 2013.
All-time playoff series: Indianapolis has won all three playoff meetings.
Last playoff meeting: The Colts won 23-8 in a 2006 AFC First Round game.
Noteworthy: Indianapolis is 12-2 against the Chiefs since 1990… Indy had won five of the last six against the Chiefs at home… The Chiefs have scored under 14 points in five of the last six games against the Colts.
New Orleans @ Philadelphia
All-time series: Philadelphia leads the series 16-12.
Last meeting: The Saints defeated the Eagles 28-13 on November 5, 2012.
All-time playoff series: The teams have each won one playoff games in the series.
Last playoff meeting: The Saints won 27-24 in a 2006 NFC Divisional game.
Noteworthy: New Orleans has won the last two and four of the last five against the Eagles… The Eagles have won three of the last four home games against the Saints… The Saints have scored 23 or more points in five straight games against Philadelphia.
SUNDAY
San Diego @ Cincinnati
All-time series: San Diego leads the series 19-14.
Last meeting: The Bengals defeated the Chargers 17-10 on December 1, 2013.
All-time playoff series: The Bengals won the only playoff game played between the teams.
Last playoff meeting: The Bengals won 27-7 in the 1981 AFC Championship Game.
Noteworthy: Cincinnati has won the last three games in the series… The Chargers have won three of the last four games played in Cincinnati… Five of the last six games in the series were decided by eight points or less.
San Francisco @ Green Bay
All-time series: Green Bay leads the series 34-29-1.
Last meeting: The 49ers defeated the Packers 34-28 on September 18, 2013.
All-time playoff series: The Packers have won four of the six playoff games between the two franchises.
Last playoff meeting: The 49ers won 45-31 in a 2012 NFC Division game.
Noteworthy: The 49ers have won the last three games against the Packers… The Packers have won eight of the last nine at home against San Francisco… Green Bay has scored 20-plus points in 19 games versus the 49ers.
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Is this year’s NFC West the best division since 2002?
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With the Seattle Seahawks looking to wrap up home field advantage in the NFC playoffs this weekend, the San Francisco 49ers trying to hold on to a Wild Card spot, the Arizona Cardinals one win from a 10-win season, and the St. Louis Rams just two games under .500 with two games to play, it’s not out of the question to look at the NFC West as the best division in the NFL this season.
In 2002, the NFL went to a four-division format in each conference with four teams in each division. In the 11 years since, only three times have the four teams in a division won a combined 4o or more games in a season. In 2007, the four NFC East teams combined for 40 wins; in 2008, the four NFC South teams won 40 games. Also in 2007, the four AFC South teams won 42 games (Indianapolis, 13; Jacksonville, 11; Tennessee, 10; and Houston, eight) most since the new format was instituted back in 2002.
There’s a good chance that the NFC West this year will not only join the other three 40-win divisions, but they might match the 42 wins of the 2007 AFC South. These four teams currently have a combined 37 wins going into Week #16 games (Seattle, 12; San Francisco, 10; Arizona, nine; and St. Louis, six).
Here’s a quick look at the combined wins of each of the eight NFL divisions.
NFC West, 37
AFC West, 33
AFC East, 29
NFC South, 28
AFC North, 27
NFC North, 26
NFC East, 23
AFC South, 20
Interesting stat: Since 2002, the eventual Super Bowl champion has come from the division with the most combined wins three times… in 2002 (Tampa Bay), 2003 (New England) and 2004 (New England). Of the three divisions that had a combined 40 or more wins since 2002, only once, the NFC East in 2007, had a team win the Super Bowl, the New York Giants.
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Which NFL team has the greatest home field advantage?
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With four weeks left in the 2013 NFL regular season, there is more and more conversation about the playoffs and which teams will not only make the playoffs, but which teams might have home field advantage throughout the duration of the post-season.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that having the home field is a benefit during the season and also in the playoffs. For the record, from the 2010 season through Week #13 of this year, home teams have won .572 of the games with road teams at .428, a difference of .144. (In the last three NFL playoffs, home teams have an 18-12 record, a .600 winning percentage.)
For some teams, however, the difference between their regular season home and road winning percentage is much greater than the league average of .144 since 2010. The Arizona Cardinals since 2010 are 19-11 (.633) at home and 6-24 (.200) on the road. That .433 difference is the largest of all NFL teams in that time period.
After looking at the records below, you will notice that:
* Only nine of the 32 NFL teams have a .500 or better record at home and on the road… Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, New York Giants, Pittsburgh, San Francisco.
* Two teams, Philadelphia and Washington, have actually played better on the road than at home since 2010. Only two teams, New England (.700) and Philadelphia (.600) have won 60 percent or more of their regular season road games since 2010.
Here’s a look at each NFL teams winning percentage at home and on the road since 2010.
Difference, Team (Home win pct/Road win pct)
+.433 Arizona (.633/.200)
+.400 Baltimore (.867/.467)
+.334 Seattle (.767/.433)
+.317 Green Bay (.850/.533)
+.250 Minnesota (.500/.250)
+.247 Cleveland (.419/.172)
+.245 Buffalo (.452/.207)
+.233 Indianapolis (.633/.400)
+.217 San Francisco (.750/.533)
+.200 New England (.900/.700)
+.200 New Orleans (.767/.567)
+.200 New York Jets (.600/.400)
+.166 Atlanta (.733/.567)
+.150 St. Louis (.433/.283)
+.142 Pittsburgh (.690/.548)
+.134 Oakland (.467/.333)
+.133 San Diego (.552/.419)
+ .102 Kansas City (.516/.414)
+.100 Chicago (.633/.533)
+.100 Dallas (.533/.433)
+.100 Denver (.633/.533)
+.100 Detroit (.500/.400)
+.100 New York Giants (.600/.500)
+.087 Jacksonville (.345/.258)
+.068 Cincinnati (.552/.484)
+.067 Tennessee (.467/.400)
+.066 Carolina (.433/.367)
+.033 Houston (.516/.483)
+.000 Miami (.433/.433)
+.000 Tampa Bay (.400/.400)
-.066 Washington (.367/.433)
-.233 Philadelphia (.367/.600)
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