The 2021-22 NFL Playoffs are a ways off but it’s never too early to look ahead as we identify six teams that won’t return to the postseason
Every year, there’s roughly a 50 percent drop off in NFL playoff teams. Last season, the number was slightly lower as just five of the 12 teams that made it into the 2019 postseason missed this past year.
The Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and San Francisco 49ers missed in the NFC. In the AFC, it was the New England Patriots and Houston Texans who missed out after making it the prior campaign.
Now, looking ahead to the 2021 NFL Playoffs we look at which teams may not make it back this year — following the first season with 14 in the tournament. We start off with one club that was a bit of a shock to be in the playoffs last year.
6. Washington Football Team
Last year, the NFC East was a huge laughingstock. Not one team in there seemed capable of putting together a decent game and that led to a division without a single winning record.
In fact, they almost had a double-digit losing team make the playoffs. Week 17 featured the Washington Football Team against the Philadelphia Eagles and if Washington lost, the 6-10 Giants would have been in the playoffs.
As fate would have it, WFT pulled off the win — in large part due to the Eagles punting on the season. At 7-9, they even hosted a playoff game but lost to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Washington now enters 2021 with a new quarterback in Ryan Fitzpatrick. He will surely have his typical early-season success but by the end of the season, they’ll be one of the teams on the outside looking in.