EDIT: I worded this poorly i didn't literally mean back to back but more consecutive titles. could be a run of 2 or 5 or 6 or whatever. Just saying the year the runs ended the teams did not make the playoffs, which isn't crazy i'm finding out.

so people are pointing out it's not that crazy so i looked it up and it really isn't but figured i'd share what i found. NFC North only the packers have won consecutive division titles and made the playoffs the following year. They have won consecutive titles 5 times and made it to the post season the following year twice.

There are 3 teams in the NFC West who have made the post season after consecutive titles, I'll let you guess which one didn't. Of note the 49ers did this 6 times and made the playoffs the following year 3 times.

NFC south no team has done it and every team but the falcons has had consecutive titles.

AFC west both the bills and pats of accomplished this with the bills being 2 for 2. Oddly the Pats missed on year despite going 11-5 but made the playoffs finishing 4 out of 5 with a 9-7 record

AFC north has two teams who have accomplished it, steelers and ravens

AFC south has two teams as well, Cotls and Texans

AFC West also has 3 teams wh ohave done it, chargers, raiders, and broncos

So I'll say it was a dumb thought i had on lunch break and not as crazy as i thought, carry on.

With how bad the Eagles season is going this year I decided to look at what their season looked like the last time they won back to back (to back to back) division titles which was 2001-2004. They finished the 2005 seasons with a 6-10 record, good for last place in the division and obviously missed the playoffs.

That season also saw WR1 drama which was TO wanting a new contract and being very vocal about it. That lead to the team suspending him after the 7th game. They also had a lot of key injuries but most notably McNabb and Westbrook and 2 starting offensive lineman.

I then decided to look at the last time every NFC East team won back to back division titles and realized that the last time every one of them won back to back titles they failed to make the playoffs the following year. In fact, in my very quick PFR research, the Cowboys are the only East team to win back to back titles and then make the playoffs the following year without winning the division.

*after getting done with the post I looked up how many times each team won back to back titles in the super bowl era and it's really just the cowboys so that last stat not a big deal I guess. Giants have done it once, Eagles twice, Commanders once, Cowboys three times. Cowboys made the playoffs the following year 2 out of 3 times.

The Giants last won back to back titles 1989-1990 and in 1991 they had an 8-8 record. That season they lost "The Bills" coaching and also lost Hostetler to a broken back after 11 games.

The Commanders last won back to back titles 1982-1984 and in the 1985 season they went 10-6 but missed the playoffs. They were the only team to post a winning record. They also lost Joe Theismann to a career ending leg injury

The Cowboys last won back to back titles 1992-1996 and in the 1997 season they went 6-10 and missed the playoffs. The team didn't fall to injury's but just an implosion inside the team. Aikman and Switzer fighting and a bunch of off the field issues.

I have a feeling this streak will continue this way unless the East somehow sends two teams to the playoffs.

The Athletic LIVE

Are these Chargers struggles all on the quarterback? Noah Furtado joins Daniel Popper and Max Browne in studio to examine if Justin Herbert is the problem or if it runs deeper.

The Los Angeles Chargers are mired in a difficult season, and the conversation surrounding their Chargers 0-5 start has turned increasingly critical. Noah Furtado, a staff writer for The Athletic, joins the show to provide an insider perspective on why the team is failing to meet expectations and whether the coaching staff or the roster construction deserves more scrutiny.

We break down the film and the stats to determine how much of the team's ongoing Chargers struggles can be attributed to the quarterback position. This episode serves as essential NFL analysis for fans trying to make sense of a lost season and what the path forward looks like for a franchise currently searching for answers.

0:00 Analyzing the Chargers' Early Season Struggles
2:08 The Pulse Inside the Locker Room
4:01 Decoding Harbaugh's Comments on Herbert
7:45 Is McDaniels' Scheme Too Complex? <<< HINT: Harbaugh undersold install time >>>
10:16 Identifying the Team's Most Glaring Issue

B Marsh so polished

Bonus Five: Most glaring coaching decisions

5. Liam Coen passes up points … twice: The Jacksonville Jaguars head coach passed up two opportunities for 3 points to instead go for touchdowns on fourth-and-goal. The first time was on the final play of the first half, with the Jaguars trailing 14-7. The second time was midway through the fourth quarter with Jacksonville down 14-10.

Although you can talk me into both, especially considering the long snapper issues, I have more grace for the first one than the second. Down one touchdown and 1 yard away, many would say there’s too much game left to skip the points, but many coaches make that call, especially when offense is the identity of your team. It just didn’t work out. The second one, though, came from the 5-yard line and came after the Jaguars had three pre-snap penalties in their goal-to-go sequence. At that point, the unit was so discombobulated that it made sense to take the 3 points and set up a field goal for the win, or, at worst, if the Philadelphia Eagles scored a touchdown, tie it with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. The Jaguars defense earned enough trust in that game as the Eagles went three-and-out on their next two possessions.

4. Nick Sirianni’s final minute management: The Eagles moved into field goal range at the 34-yard line with 25 seconds left, trailing 16-14, and Jacksonville having just one timeout remaining. The final play of the game should have been an Eagles field-goal attempt. Instead, the Eagles threw the ball twice to stop the clock: once on an incompletion and the other after a 7-yard gain that went out of bounds. Sirianni stood by his decision on that sequence but regretted kicking the ball in play to Ameer Abdullah on the ensuing kickoff, after Abdullah’s 53-yard return in seven seconds set up Jacksonville’s game-winning kick.

That accountability is flipped. Perhaps the Eagles should have kicked the ball out of the end zone; it’s a different situation than the Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 because the Jaguars had no timeouts left. But Abdullah’s return, especially in its efficiency of time and distance, was extraordinarily rare. Sirriani’s decision to allow the kickoff to be a play was the root problem. Whether the calls are straight runs or short passes acting as runs, the clock needed to keep running on the Eagles’ final possession. If that had happened, the kickoff wouldn’t even have happened.

Read the rest here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7689974/2026/10/15/nfl-week-5-worst-coaching-decisions-trends/?unlocked_article_code=1.I1E.lyBG.pfQyyaXGg_-a&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

Not a matter of if he can’t, but why he won’t let it loose this season.

GO TEAM BEAT OTHER TEAM

In 11 games vs. the Cardinals he is 255 of 358 for 2925 yards, 19 TDs and 4 INT

This is not even just due to always being on a better team. Who could forget the 2021 game when the NFC West leading Cardinals came to Detroit and got utterly dominated by a one win lions team?

Seahawks most sacks allowed in a game over the last 2 seasons:

Tonight vs DEN - 5
Last week vs SF - 5

Most QB pressures allowed in a game by the Seahawks since 2025:
1. Tonight vs Broncos - 24
2. Week 3 at Commanders - 17
3. Week 5 vs 49ers - 16

TNF on Prime Video

Seahawks-Broncos: Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung

NFL International Series on NFLN

Texans-Jaguars: Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Molly McGrath

FOX

Bears-Falcons: Kevin Burkhardt, Tom Brady, Erin Andrews, Tom Rinaldi

Cardinals-Rams: Kenny Albert, Greg Olsen, Pam Oliver

Saints-Giants: Adam Amin, Drew Brees, Kristina Pink

Titans-Colts: Chris Myers, Jonathan Vilma, Jen Hale

Ravens-Browns, 1:00, Fox. Kevin Kugler, Daryl Johnston, Allison Williams

CBS

Bills-Raiders:Jim Nantz, JJ Watt, Tracy Wolfson

Panthers-Eagles: Ian Eagle, Ross Tucker, Evan Washburn

Chargers-Chiefs: Kevin Harlan, Trent Green, Melanie Collins

Steelers-Buccaneers: Andrew Catalon, Logan Ryan, AJ Ross

Jets-Patriots: Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta, Aditi Kinkhabwala

SNF on NBC
Cowboys-Packers: Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark

MNF on ABC
Commanders-49ers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman 🥊, Lisa Salters, Laura Rutledge

Did this for Weeks 1-5, enjoy this trip down memory lane as this week is the first time each team travels to the city of their cross conference foe since these games!

Only 2 this week, but Both were fun games and what a memorable play from Vance McDonald in our second game.

SEA @ DEN:
Week 1, 2018: Broncos (1-0) defeat Seahawks (0-1) 27-24

The last time the Seahawks traveled to Mile High prior to tonight’s game was the 2018 season opener. This game saw scoring by each team in all 4 quarters and overall was a very fun and entertaining game to start the year. The scoring started with a Russell Wilson TD pass to Will Dissly set up by an Earl Thomas interception off Case Keenum. Keenum rebounded after the mistake and threw a TD pass to Phillip Lindsay on the ensuing Denver drive to tie the game 7-7. The Seahawks would go up 10-7 with a Sebastian Janikowski FG but Denver would score the last 10 points of the half, a 43 yard passing TD from Keenum to Emmanuel Sanders and a Brandon McManus FG, to go up 17-10 at the break. Seattle would score first in the 2nd half on a Russ TD pass to Brandon Marshall to tie the game back up. Denver would go back up 3 on another FG set up in great field position off a Justin Simmons interception. The Seahawks would answer with a 7 play, 75 yard drive capped off by a 51 TD pass to Tyler Lockett. The Broncos would then go on a 7 play, 75 yard drive of their own with the score being a Demaryius Thomas TD reception, which would be the final score of the game.

Keenum’s final stat line was 25/39 329 passing yards 3 TD 3 INT with Bradley McDougald getting 2 of the interceptions and Earl Thomas getting the third. Lindsay and Royce Freeman finished with an identical rushing stat line (15 carries for 71 yards). Receiving standouts for Denver were Emmanuel Sanders (10-135-1), Demaryius Thomas (6-63-1), and Courtland Sutton (2-45-0). Von Miller was sensational in this game having 3 out of Denver’s 6 total sacks and recovered a fumble that Chris Carson lost.

As for Seattle, Russ finished the day 19/33 298 passing yards 3 TD 2 INT with Adam “Pacman” Jones getting one in what would be the last interception of his career and Simmons getting the other. Chris Carson led the Seattle rushing attack with 7 carries for 51 yards and the receiving standouts were Will Dissly (3-105-1), Lockett (3-59-1), and Marshall (3-46-1).

PIT @ TB:
Week 3, 2018: Steelers (1-1-1) defeat Bucs (2-1) 30-27

This game was played on MNF and saw the Steelers in desperate need of a win after tying the Browns in Week 1 and then losing 42-37 to the Chiefs in Week 2 taking on the Bucs in the height of FitzMagic with surprise wins against the Saints and defending champion Eagles. The Bucs would strike first on a Fitzpatrick passing TD to Cameron Brate in a connection of both Harvard Crimson. The Steelers would score a TD soon after in the game’s most iconic play as Vance McDonald scored a 75-yard TD reception and stiff-armed Chris Conte into another dimension on route to scoring. Boswell would miss the XP but would hit a FG to put Pittsburgh up 9-7. The Bucs would then finish their next 4 drives with a turnover (Chris Godwin fumble, Fitzpatrick INT at the PIT 12, Fitzpatrick INT, Fitzpatrick INT (Pick-6 by Bud Dupree)). The Steelers would score after the Godwin fumble with a Big Ben to AB Passing TD and the Dupree Pick-6 would put Pittsburgh up 23-7. The Bucs would add a FG before half but would surrender another TD with Big Ben to Ryan Switzer putting the Steelers up 30-10 at half. The 3rd Quarter would only see 2 drives total, the first being a TB drive ending in a FG and the second being a PIT drive ending in a missed FG. The Bucs would score on their first 2 drives of the 4th Quarter to bring the score to 30-27, but Pittsburgh would hold on to take the MNF win and get to the rare 1-1-1 while evaporating all the magic the Bucs had in the first 2 weeks. I still can’t believe that McDonald stiff arm to this day, what a play.

Big Ben finished the night 30/38 353 passing yards 3 TD 1 INT with Justin Evans getting the interception. James Conner (15-61-0) led the rushing attack and the receiving standouts were JuJu (9-116-0), McDonald (4-112-1), and Antonio Brown (6-50-1).

Ryan Fitzpatrick had the Ryan Fitzpatrick Experience statline in this game, going 30/50 411 passing yards 3 TD 3 INT with Dupree, Terrell Edmunds, and Mike Hilton getting one each. The rushing game was led by Peyton Barber (8-33-0) and the receiving standouts were Mike Evans (6-137-1), Chris Godwin (5-74-1), and OJ Howard (6-72-0).

A map of every active crew chief by flags per game (across) and yards per flag (up, bigger calls = more DPI/personal fouls, smaller = more pre-snap fouls).

The dashed lines are the 2026 league averages (15.1 flags/game, 7.9 yards/flag), splitting four styles.

Biggest flips vs their 2020–25 careers (~95 games each):

Scott Novak: career "let them play" (11.7 flags/game, 8.0 yds/flag). In 2026: 22.0 flags/game and 9.8 yards per flag, the most flags and the biggest calls of any crew.

Shawn Hochuli and Alex Kemp: the league's biggest-call crews over 2020–25. Both are in "let them play" this year.

Brad Allen: career "let them play" (11.2/game), now at 17.0/game.

Alex Moore: already the most flag-heavy crew last year, now calling bigger penalties too.

Who's consistent: Smith, Eck, Cheffers, Blakeman and Vinovich are in the same quadrant as their career numbers.

Caveats: each crew has only 3–5 games this season, so some of this will settle. Also, flags are way up league-wide (15.1/game vs 11.9 in 2020–25), so the averages the quadrants are built on moved too. And crews change around the chief every year, so a "new" style can be new personnel, not just the chief.
Regular season, accepted penalties. Data: nflverse play-by-play. Interactive version with each crew's full fingerprint: nflobservatory.com

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After coming up one vote short of winning the MVP award last season, Drake Maye seemed be continuing the downward trend he showed during the Patriots' playoff run through the first three weeks of 2026. These last two games, he's been spectacular, posting +0.52 EPA/play - nearly twice as good as what he did in the '25 regular season. Let's break down the early issues and how he's corrected them!

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I could only upload the first 15 minutes of the video, but you can check out the full version here!

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https://reddit.com/link/1x6r38x/video/atxhla1crnvh1/player

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