With the NFC East sinking into NFL ignominy, the winner of this sad collection of stars and scrubs may not even qualify for the Alamo Bowl, much less the Super Bowl.
So despite their gruesome home losses to the Cardinals and Browns, the Giants still have a heartbeat. Though they are one game behind the Washington Football Team in the standings, they hold the key tiebreaker, having defeated Washington twice this season. But even if they win out and bag the division crown, the Giants would be in the playoffs with a 7-9 record.
There are a slew of teams that made the NFL playoffs with a .500 record or worse, but since the league moved to a 16-game schedule in 1978, only five teams have won their division with a record that was break-even or worse. Strangely, four of these five sad clubs won a playoff game, which peels open a sliver of hope for this year’s divisional dumpster fire.
1985 Cleveland Browns: 8-8, Won AFC Central
The Browns were about to put a chokehold on their division, but second-year coach Marty Schottenheimer got that grip by backing into first place in '85, with current CBS college analyst Gary Danielson splitting time under center with a rookie named Bernie Kosar. The year before they started back-to-back runs to the AFC Title Game (and back-to-back losses to Denver, featuring infamous fumbles from Kevin Mack and Earnest Byner), this squad finished .500 and needed until Week 17 to clinch the division – and even then needed both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati to lose thanks to a finale loss to the Jets. The ’85 Brownies gave up more points than they scored, and that trend continued on Wild Card Weekend when they were bounced by Dan Marino and the Dolphins.
2008 San Diego Chargers: 8-8, Won AFC West
Despite going 14-2 in 2006, the Chargers booted their head coach - that's right, Marty Schottenheimer - in favor of unproven Norv Turner. Though he was better known as an offensive coordinator, Turner took several head coaching jobs, and in ’07, this one started with an 11-5 record and run to the AFC Title Game. The following year, the Bolts won another AFC West title, but did so by winning three less games; that said, they were 4-8 after 12 games, but won four in a row – the last against a Denver team that started 8-5 and lost three straight – to top the Broncos for the crown, and then upset Peyton Manning's Colts on Wild Card Weekend. They would fall to the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers, but these Chargers had a promising defensive coordinator named Ron Rivera, who brought Turner to Carolina to run their offense in 2018 and 2019.
2010 Seattle Seahawks: 7-9, Won NFC West
Before he discovered Russell Wilson like a lost treasure chest miles deep in the sea, Pete Carroll was still a struggling NFL head coach who had been fired by the Jets and was looking to leave his footprint in Seattle. Carroll had revived his career in college, building a behemoth at USC, but the pros were a different game. With Matt Hasselbeck under center, the 2010 ‘Hawks still found themselves with a chance in Week 17, needing a win over the also 7-8 Rams to earn a home playoff game; they did so, and in the Wild Card Round, we got Beast Mode – perhaps the greatest run ever in an NFL playoff game, when Marshawn Lynch bowled over, stiff-armed, and stampeded past the New Orleans Saints for a 67-yard touchdown (YouTube surely has a replay if you've never seen it and can ignore the groin-grab as he crossed the goal line). The Seahawks shocked the Saints 41-36, but lost to the Chicago Bears the next round.
2011 Denver Broncos: 8-8, Won AFC West
It may feel like 29 years ago, but it was only nine years ago when Tim Tebow was the talk of the team, the town, and the sport. Indeed, Tebowmania was sweeping the nation as the former Florida Gator and Heisman winner was taking his awkward throwing motion and limited skills into the NFL playoffs, by what seemed like the sheer force of his will and his blinding aura. Unlike the ‘08 Broncos, this team did back into the playoffs, losing three straight to finish 8-8 but getting the nod over the also 8-8 Raiders and Chargers based on a common opponents tiebreaker – but Timmy T stunned the 12-4 Steelers in the playoffs by shooting a strike at Demaryius Thomas, who was galloping across the middle, snared the ball in stride, and ran most of the 80-yard touchdown. The Broncos would get crushed the next week by the Patriots, but for one scalding week in January, Tim Tebow was the biggest name in the NFL.
2014 Carolina Panthers: 7-8-1, Won NFC South
Shortly before Cam Newton would take over the NFL with 45 total touchdowns, win the NFL MVP, and lead the 15-1 Panthers to the Super Bowl, we had this oddity of a team. These Panthers were 3-8-1 heading into Week 14, but Cam came back from an injured back and helped Carolina streak to four straight wins to end the season, and that tie gave them the edge over the 7-0 Saints. And, just like the previous three teams mentioned, these Panthers actually won a playoff game, beating an 11-5 Arizona Cardinals team that lost starting QB Carson Palmer and backup Drew Stanton, leaving the Cards with Ryan Lindley under center. The run ended a week later though, against the Seahawks – the team that topped the Cardinals in the NFC West and were in the throes of back-to-back Super Bowl runs.
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