Has a team ever gone 5-1 in the division and missed the playoffs? On top of that, has a team ever started 3-0, gone 5-1 in division and missed the playoffs? Im not saying we miss the playoffs btw pr finish 5-1, it just struck me as an odd statistic.
We have a decent shot of going 5-1 in the division and 7-1 at home....and still missing the playoffs. That's just how bad we've been on the road with Osweiller.
A little tidbit to think about- for decades, the Phins were always tough to beat at home. Ross comes in, builds a disco in the stadium, moves games to 4PM so fans don't have to be in the heat, and that home advantage disappeared. FINALLY after all these years he switches back to 1PM games, stops sending us halfway around the world for one of our home games, and we're 6-1 at home with the most starters we've had out in a very long time. I hope and pray that Mr. Ross recognizes that trend. It was blatantly obvious before to just about any football fan- it shouldn't have taken a decade for him to figure out.
I can tell you that the Fins have never gone 5-1 in the division period, since the current setup was introduced in 2002. Theyve made the playoffs two of the three previous times that they won four games. I'll have to research to see if I can easily figure out the whole league with regards to that. It's a good question.
It's more common than you might think. First of all, the question really only applies since 2002 when the NFL went to 6 divisions, but even then there are 7 teams that missed the playoffs since 2002 with a 5-1 division record, and 2 of them occurred last year. 2006: Green Bay 2006: Carolina 2009: San Fransisco 2011: Philadelphia 2013: Dallas 2017: Dallas 2017: Detroit Note: ALL are NFC teams. And none started 3-0.
Should the Fins lose at Minnesota this weekend, its entirely possible that they could miss the playoffs despite: 1) Going 5-1 within the division 2) Going 7-1 at home 3) Going 8-4 vs the AFC Basically checking ALL the boxes that traditionally say "Start here for a good season". Note: The last time that the Fins went 7-1 at home was 2002....when they missed the playoffs. They also went 7-1 in 2001 (WC), 1998 (WC), & 1990 (WC). And before that, they went a combined 22-2 at home between 1983-1985, going to the playoffs all three seasons, including two AFCCC and a SB. They went 7-1 in 1978 (WC). So, the only time that they've missed the playoffs going 7-1 was the last time they did it. But that also haven't won the division in a year that they went 7-1 in 33 years.
The Fins haven't gone 8-4 vs the AFC since 2008, when they made the playoffs. Before that, they hadn't since 2000 & 2001, when they went 9-3 each year and made the playoffs both times. The team has never gone 8-4 or better vs the AFC and missed the playoffs. So, this season would be the first, should that happen.
