Can NFL team get into the playoffs with a losing record? i.e. 6-10 win all division games lose rest.?

Answer 1

LOL... previous poster said 7-9 happens once every four years. NOT TRUE. In fact, other than a strike shortened year (which dont really count), no sub .500 team has ever made the playoffs. This past year, the Giants had a chance to be the first (if a bunch of other improbables would have happened), but they won their last game to make it 8-8 and grab the last wildcard in the NFC. A tean could win their division with a 6-10 record if the rest in that division all had worse record. Other than that, 6-10 is virtually impossible since each team plays 12 games inside their own conference. That conference (with this team with the posed 6-10 record) would have to almost go undefeated against the other conference, and then have one division lose almost all of there games outside of its own division. Then one of those teams in that sorry division could some how pull off the improbable

Answer 2

Remember, your division record only counts in the event of a tiebreaker. Theoretically, 6-10 could get you in if you win your division and the other 3 teams in your division finish worse than 6-10. On the flipside, you could win all your divsion games, finish 6-10 but another team in your division has a better overall record. They would win the division and go to the playoffs. These scenarios have happened over the years causing the NFL to add more wild card teams and games. A team who wins their division with an 8-8 record because it's the best record in their division, will not only make the playoffs, but host a game because they won their division. Whereas another team who finishes 10-6 might not make the playoffs because the other two wildcard teams have a better record.

Answer 3

Yes.

A team can win its division and by virtue of being not as bad as the horrible teams in it's division. Say, the Rams, 49ers, and Arizona go 5-11 each, Seattle can make the playoffs by sweeping the division for 6-10.
The guy with the link does not consider division winners, just Wild cards.

Answer 4

Four team division certainly make that a possibility. But I think 6-10 is a bit low. I could see some year that two teams could finish tied atop a division at 7-9. Didn't Seattle and the Rams finish tied at 8-8 a couple of seasons ago?

Answer 5

Possible but highly, highly unlikely. You could be 6-10 with the 6 wins all in your division and someone else could be 8-8 with all loses in their division and they'd go to the playoffs before you by having a better record.

Answer 6

That would be very difficult. Just because they win all of their division games does not make them the divisional champ if they have a worse record than another team in that same division.

The worst record a team has had and won the division is the 1985 Browns with 8-8. There are others that have made the playoffs as wild cards, but not divisional champs.

Answer 7

Playoff contention is first based on a teams overall record. Therefore, if a team does go 6-10 they are highly unlikely to have one of the 6 best records in their conference. Going undefeated in the division is irrelevant because the first deciding determiner for a division winner is overall record.

Answer 8

It's only possible if the rest of the division has that record or less, which would be very difficult to happen in the NFL today.

Answer 9

Teams make the playoffs with a 7-9 record about once every three or four years. You will never see a 6 and 10 team in the playoffs.

Answer 10

It's almost impossible unless the other teams in the division have a worse record then they do.