A series of embarrassing occurrences must occur at the same time for a losing team to enter the playoffs. During the regular season, the club must be near to.500, and the division in which they play must be historically awful. For example, if you are playing in the Central Division, where all but one team has been to the postseason over the past five years, then you must be within two games of first place by April 1st. If any other team in the division gets into the playoffs, your season is over.
In addition, due to tie-breakers used to determine the final playoff spot in the division, it is possible for a losing team to make the post-season even though they aren't technically eligible. For example, if the Chicago Cubs were to lose 100 games this year and the Pittsburgh Pirates were to win 95 games, the Pirates would qualify for the playoffs because they have the better record than the Cubs during seasons when teams play equal number of games. The Cubs could still make the playoffs if they finish ahead of the Pirates based on head-to-head competition or other factors such as division records or percentage of games played at home.
Finally, a losing team needs help from another club being close to.500 to make the playoffs. In other words, two terrible teams need to meet in the first round of the playoffs.
In the 16-game period (which began in 1978), no losing club has ever entered the playoffs, and just two.500 teams have won their divisions. The 1999 Rams and 2006 Titans are the only teams that have never made the postseason. Both of these teams were 9-7 after 14 games before being eliminated.
The 2017 season was the first time since 2008 that all 14 remaining teams had a winning record. The previous year, all but one of the teams made the playoffs as 10-6 Atlanta became the first sixth seed to beat out a first-place Houston for a spot in the NFC Championship Game. That game ended in a 24-22 overtime victory for Seattle at home field. The Seahawks then went on to defeat New England in the Super Bowl 4-2.
There have been eight seasons where there were only six playoff spots, which means that four teams missed out on the post-season entirely. This has never happened before either; from 1970 to 1979, there were also only six teams in the league every year. The last time this happened was 2013 when only six teams made the playoffs because of ties between Baltimore and Houston at 8-4. Two teams tied for first place in their divisions will face off in a tiebreaker series called a "wild card" system.
Despite early postseason success, winning five of their first six postseason games, the club failed to find success in the playoffs for many years, losing 10 of 11 playoff games from 1993 to 2017, including an 8-game losing streak. The only exception was 1969, when they defeated Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game.
They have not won a championship since 1964.
The Chiefs are the only team in NFL history to lose every game in each of its first three postseasons. They did so in 1973, 1974 and 1975 after winning their first two games. The last time this happened was in 1951 when the Browns also lost every game in their initial three attempts at the playoffs.
Currently, they are on track to lose again this year. The latest loss came last week against the Tennessee Titans by a score of 24-10. That brings their season record to 3-3.
There is still time left in the season and the Chiefs can make some changes before it's too late. But right now, they're just one of several good teams that don't seem to be able to put together a complete game.
It's worth mentioning that this club, who had the fewest victories of any World Series champion, was looking good in mid-September, 11 games over.500, not amazing, but certainly good enough for a postseason place. They subsequently lost seven games in a row and were on the verge of losing their division.
Aside from the 1982 strike-shortened season, when two 4-5 teams made the playoffs, the league has seen 14 teams with 8-8 records or worse make the playoffs. Some of them even went on to win the playoffs!
If your club is around.500, you have a good chance of making the playoffs this year, and unlike in previous years, there won't be a huge outcry if an under-.500 team makes it. The year is 2020. It's been a hectic year. The problem with the postseason is that once you're in it, you're in it for good.
There have been many amazing teams in NFL history. These five clubs are not among them, having finished the regular season with a record less than.500. Despite their poor success, each club made it into the NFL playoffs. Here's a look at the teams who made the NFL playoffs despite having subpar regular seasons.
It's worth mentioning that this club, who had the fewest victories of any World Series champion, was looking good in mid-September, 11 games over.500, not amazing, but certainly good enough for a postseason place. They subsequently lost seven games in a row and were on the verge of losing their division.
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