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7) Panthers (8-9): A quick history of teams that won their division with a losing record, and what they did in the playoffs:
• 2010 Seahawks (7-9): The Saints had to go to Seattle to face the Seahawks in the Wild Card Round, where Marshawn Lynch had this famous run:
The Seahawks won that game, but got bounced in the Divisional Round by the Bears.
• 2014 Panthers (7-8-1): This Panthers team actually won a playoff game, too, beating the 11-5 Cardinals while holding Arizona to 78 yards. They then got bounced in the Divisional Round by the Seahawks.
• 2020 Commanders, then the Washington Football Team (7-9): The Commanders entered Week 18 needing a win over the Eagles, and the Eagles were happy to oblige, as they held out a bunch of starters, clearly trying to tank for better draft positioning. When Washington was keeping the Eagles in the game, the Eagles decided that Jalen Hurts was giving them too good a chance to win, so they benched him in favor of QB3 Nate Sudfeld.
Washington would eventually win, and the Giants — who did not win the division with a 6-10 record as a result — would cry about it for a while.
Washington actually gave the eventual Super Bowl champion Buccaneers a competitive game in the Wild Card Round, but they were one-and-done.
• 2022 Buccaneers (8-9): The Bucs were actually locked into the 4 seed prior to Week 18 with an 8-8 record (lol), and they rested starters. They got blown out in the Wild Card Round by the Cowboys.
In summary, teams that won divisions with losing records have never made any real noise in the playoffs, but they can be frisky in the Wild Card Round.
Last week: 8
6) Packers (9-7-1): At the start of the season, after they had traded for Micah Parsons, the Packers were the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. I was curious what the Super Bowl odds look like now, and I’m surprised they’re not sixth in the NFC. Via FanDuel:
- Seahawks: +185
- Rams: +250
- Eagles: +430
- Bears: +900
- Packers: +950
- 49ers: +1200
- Panthers: +7500
The Packers rested starters on Sunday since they were locked into the 7 seed, so we can forgive that loss, but they still closed the season on a four-game losing streak. Teams can forget how to win after a while.
Last week: 6
5) 49ers (12-5): Kyle Shanahan complained about having to play on Saturday in the week leading up to their matchup against the Seahawks, despite being the home team, and having the added advantage of an extra day of rest before their first playoff game.
After losing to the Seahawks, Shanahan commented that Trent Williams and Ricky Pearsall — who both missed the game with injuries — might have played if they had one more day to get ready.
You know who didn’t complain? The Seahawks, who simply showed up on Saturday and beat the Niners’ asses. And they would have done the same on Sunday.
Of course, Shanahan and 49ers players infamously bitched all offseason about not having a third quarterback available after the Eagles knocked Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson out of the NFC Championship Game following the 2022 season, prompting the NFL to pass the “emergency quarterback” rule.
And you know what? After all their bitching, the Niners don’t even carry a third quarterback on their roster, lol.
Anyway, my big takeaway here is that Shanahan is a crybaby who just looks for reasons to blame other things whenever he loses.
Last week: 2
4) Eagles (11-6): 2024 and 2025 division winners:
Division 2024 2025 AFC EastBills Patriots AFC North Ravens Steelers AFC South Texans Jaguars AFC West Chiefs Broncos NFC East Eagles Eagles NFC North Lions Bears NFC South Buccaneers Panthers NFC West Rams Seahawks
As you can see, the only repeat champs were the Eagles, who most locals would agree had a disappointing season. Parity!
It’s also kind of funny that the Eagles are the only repeat champion, when there hadn’t previously been a repeat champion in the NFC East in over 20 years.
Last week: 5
3) Bears (11-6): No matter how the playoffs shake out for the Bears, the 2025 season is a major success, as Chicago has a legitimate head coach and quarterback, after decades of instability at those spots.
Last week: 3
2) Rams (12-5): The Rams played their starters and handled their business against the Cardinals, ensuring that they get to play in Carolina in the Wild Card Round instead of in Philly. (Yes, I do realize that they lost in Carolina a few weeks ago, but, I mean, come on.)
They also got their act together a bit after losing two straight to the Seahawks and Falcons.
They’re going to have a tough road to the Super Bowl, though. It could look something like this:
• Wild Card Round: At Panthers
• Divisional Round: At Seahawks?
• NFC Championship Game: At Bears? Eagles?
Winning three straight road games against playoff teams isn’t easy. #Analysis.
Last week: 4
1) Seahawks (14-3): It’s pretty simple what happened on Saturday night in the Seahawks’ and 49ers’ battle for the 1 seed. On both sides of the ball the Seahawks physically beat the s*** out of the 49ers for four quarters in a game that wasn’t remotely as close as the 13-3 final score would indicate.
