NFL Teams With the Worst Records to Ever Make the Playoffs

Being .500 or even worse has not prevented teams from playing deep into January.

Tim Tebow's 2011 Denver Broncos snuck into the playoffs but provided some memorable magic. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Buccaneers are now 7–7 on the year after blowing a 14-point lead against the Falcons on Thursday Night Football. As a result, the 7–6 Carolina Panthers now sit atop the NFC South with a game against the Saints coming up this Sunday. The division’s top two teams will play twice over the final three weeks of the season to decide which will get the honor of hosting a playoff game and which will have to watch from home.

Not all division crowns are created equally. This year it may take 14 wins to capture the NFC West. In the NFC North it could require 13. A 9–8 mark may be enough in the AFC North in addition to the aforementioned NFC South. Math technically exists for an 8–9 division champion to emerge.

While a .500 or slightly worse team making the playoff is unusual, it has happened a few times in NFL history.

Season	Team	Record
2008	San Diego Chargers	8–8
2010	Seattle Seahawks	7–9
2011	Denver Broncos	8–8
2014	Carolina Panthers	7-8-1
2020	Washington Football Team	7–9
2020	Chicago Bears	8–8

Somewhat surprisingly, limping into the postseason with a less-than-impressive record hasn't spelled automatic doom for those who have made the tournament.

In 2008 the Philip Rivers-led Chargers knocked of the Indianapolis Colts with a 23–17 overtime win before falling 35–24 in the divisional round against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Two years later Marshawn Lynch went Beast Mode against New Orleans to propel the Seahawks to victory. That team would lose the next week against the Bears.

A year after that, Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow pulled off a miracle in overtime to send the Steelers home when he hit Demaryius Thomas for a long touchdown. Tebow’s magic would run out against the Patriots in the divisional round.

Continuing the trend, the 2014 Panthers took down the Cardinals in the wild-card round before getting outclassed by Seattle in the next round.

Both teams to sneak into the 2020 field at .500 or worse—the Washington Football Team and Chicago Bears—failed to find any success in the playoffs.

---

More NFL on Sports Illustrated

feed

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark