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2025 NFL Schedule: Competitive Balance
2024 marked the 35th straight season that at least four teams qualified for the playoffs after missing out the year before. This trend is a testament to the NFL’s commitment to maintaining competitive equity when creating the season’s schedule, ensuring that each team has a realistic pathway to the playoffs.
It’s a trend has held steady even through the introduction of the 14-team playoff format in 2020, with four teams making the playoffs in 2024 that didn’t the previous season, six teams in both 2023 and 2022, and seven teams in 2021 and 2020.
Here are the teams that reached the playoffs in 2024 after missing out in 2023:
|
Team |
2023 W-L |
2024 W-L |
|
Vikings |
7-10 |
14-3 |
|
Commanders |
4-13 |
12-5 |
|
Chargers |
5-12 |
11-6 |
|
Broncos |
8-9 |
10-7 |
In 2024, all eight division winners were also playoff teams the year before. That hadn’t happened since 1976. With the exception of 2024 and 1976, at least one team has won its division after missing the playoffs the previous year for the past 55 seasons.
The 2024 season also marked the first time since 2019 that no team went from "worst-to-first," winning its division the season after finishing in last place (or tied for last). This has happened only three times since NFL realigned its divisions in 2002. In this same period, every NFL team except the Cleveland Browns has won a division title at least once.
Will the trend of at least four teams making the playoffs after missing the postseason the previous year continue in 2025? Here are the teams to watch this year that missed the postseason in 2024.
Teams To Miss Playoffs (2024 season)
|
AFC |
W-L |
NFC |
W-L |
|
Bengals |
9-8 |
Seahawks |
10-7 |
|
Colts |
8-9 |
Falcons |
8-9 |
|
Dolphins |
8-9 |
Cardinals |
8-9 |
|
Jets |
5-12 |
Cowboys |
7-10 |
|
Jaguars |
4-13 |
49ers |
6-11 |
|
Patriots |
4-13 |
Bears |
5-12 |
|
Raiders |
4-13 |
Panthers |
5-12 |
|
Browns |
3-14 |
Saints |
5-12 |
|
Titans |
3-14 |
Giants |
3-14 |
See the full 2025 schedule.
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