G'day fam! Yesterday I wrote about the second-to-fifth best teams to miss out on the NFL playoffs which you can check out here. All those teams went 10-6 to miss out on the playoffs. None of those teams went 11-5 in a season and still missed out like the number one team on the list!
So let's take a look at the best team to ever miss out on the NFL playoffs.
5. 2005 Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
4. 2007 Cleveland Browns (10-6)
3. 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)
2. 2010 New York Giants (10-6)
You can read more about the above teams and their season here.
1. 2008 New England Patriots (11-5)
Imagine going 11-5 and missing out on the playoffs. That’s exactly what happened to the 2008 New England Patriots. The Pats were defending AFC champions after the perfect regular season the year before, losing to the 2007 New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII to miss out on a perfect season.
For the first time since 2002 New England missed out on the playoffs. They also became the first 11-win team since both expansion of the NFL to a 12-team playoff and during a 16-game regular season to miss out on the playoffs.
Miami Dolphins had finished with an 11-5 record and topped the AFC West as champions on the fourth divisional tiebreaker over the Patriots. Against teams in the AFC conference, the Dolphins had a better record of 8-4 verses New England's 7-5. In the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens had finished as runners up with an 11-5 record and entered into a tiebreaker scenario with New England for the final Wild Card spot. The Ravens would pinch the final playoff spot also on a divisional tiebreaker with a better record against conference matchups in common.
In Week 11 despite the Patriots totaling 511 net yards and Matt Cassel throwing for 400+ passing yards, the Patriots would lose to the New York Jets 34-31 in overtime following a load of fumbles and dropped balls at Gillette Stadium. A win would have been enough for the Patriots to top the AFC West.
All the way from the Land Down Under, I created Wolfgang Sport as I enjoy writing and watching British and American sports. Started in 2017, I started the blog as a way to connect my passion for sports in the US & UK.