NFL Ratchets Up The Excitement Every Season
NFL Ratchets Up The Excitement Every Season

The 2014 season was full of excitement, but that should be no surprise. Unpredictability is the norm in today's NFL. Many close games and great comeback victories &ellips; new teams making the playoffs and winning divisions &ellips; records falling &ellips; and so much more.

"What people love about the NFL," says New Orleans Saints Pro Bowl quarterback DREW BREES, "is that every game, every week, no matter who is playing, anything can happen. So many games come down to that last possession."

The NFL is never short on surprises, and the 2014 season was no different.

Games continued to have a flare for the dramatic, as comebacks were a frequent theme. Last season featured five comeback victories of 21+ points, the most in a single season in NFL history.

There were also 43 comeback wins of 10+ points, tied for the most in a season in NFL history (43 in 2013).

Five teams that missed the postseason in 2013 -- Dallas (12-4), Arizona (11-5), Detroit (11-5), Pittsburgh (11-5) and Baltimore (10-6) -- advanced to the 2014 playoffs. Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the year before.

The 2015 season promises more of the same. Every team enters the new year with hope.

The NFL teams since 1990 to make the playoffs a season after failing to qualify:

Season Teams Playoff Teams Not In Previous Season's Playoffs
Source: NFL
19907(Cincinnati, Chicago, Kansas City, Los Angeles Raiders, Miami, New Orleans, Washington)
19915(Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, New York Jets)
19926(Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco)
19935(Denver, Detroit, Green Bay, Los Angeles Raiders, New York Giants)
19945(Chicago, Cleveland, Miami, New England, San Diego)
19954(Atlanta, Buffalo, Indianapolis, Philadelphia)
19965(Carolina, Denver, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New England)
19975(Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, New York Giants, Tampa Bay)
19985(Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas, New York Jets)
19997(Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington)
20006(Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, New York Giants, Oakland, Philadelphia)
20016(Chicago, Green Bay, New England, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Francisco)
20025(Atlanta, Cleveland, Indianapolis, New York Giants, Tennessee)
20038(Baltimore, Carolina, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, New England, St. Louis, Seattle)
20045(Atlanta, Minnesota, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Diego)
20057(Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Tampa Bay, Washington)
20067(Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York Jets, Philadelphia, San Diego)
20076(Green Bay, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington)
20087(Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia)
20096(Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, New York Jets)
20105(Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Seattle)
20116(Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Houston, New York Giants, San Francisco)
20124(Indianapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington)
20135(Carolina, Kansas City, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Diego)
20145(Arizona, Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh)

 

The NFL Is So Unpredictable that in 2014 &ellips;

Nothing exhibits the unpredictability of the NFL more than the tightness of NFL games:

Games continued to be thisclose, as 64.5 percent were within one score in the fourth quarter.

In 2014, 110 of 256 games (43.0 percent) were decided by eight points or fewer.

Games Decided By One Score:

8 or Fewer 110 of 256 43.0%

7 or Fewer 98 of 256 38.3%

3 or Fewer 53 of 256 20.7%

Games Within One Score At Any Point in 4th Quarter

8 or Fewer 165 of 256 64.5%

7 or Fewer 155 of 256 60.5%

3 or Fewer 103 of 256 40.2%

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NFL Football: "NFL Ratchets Up The Excitement Every Season"