NFL RATCHETS UP THE EXCITEMENT…HOPE IS ALIVE!
The 2011 season was full of excitement, but that should be no surprise. Unpredictability is the norm in today’s NFL.
Scoring at a 46-year high…comebacks galore…new teams making the playoffs and winning divisions…consistent teams excelling once again…passing records falling…rookies making their mark…and so much more!
“One year to the next, anything is possible,” says San Francisco 49ers quarterback ALEX SMITH (left). “That is the great thing about the NFL.”
The NFL is never short on surprises, and the 2011 season was no different:
A record 11,356 points were scored, with games averaging 44.4 points, the highest average in 46 seasons (46.1 in 1965).
2011 marked the first season in NFL history in which three different teams scored at least 500 points – Green Bay (560), New Orleans (547) and New England (513). Those three clubs finished with a combined record of 41-7 (.854).
A record-tying six teams won 12+ games – Green Bay (15), New England (13), New Orleans (13), San Francisco (13), Baltimore (12) and Pittsburgh (12). Six teams also won at least 12 games in 2003.
Last season, six teams – Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Houston, the New York Giants and San Francisco – made the playoffs that were not in the postseason the year before. It marked the 16th consecutive season in which at least five teams (out of 12) accomplished the feat.
|
SEASON |
PLAYOFF TEAMS NOT IN PREVIOUS SEASON’S PLAYOFFS |
|
1996 |
5 (Carolina, Denver, Jacksonville, Minnesota, New England) |
|
1997 |
5 (Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, New York Giants, Tampa Bay) |
|
1998 |
5 (Arizona, Atlanta, Buffalo, Dallas, New York Jets) |
|
1999 |
7 (Detroit, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington) |
|
2000 |
6 (Baltimore, Denver, New Orleans, New York Giants, Oakland, Philadelphia) |
|
2001 |
6 (Chicago, Green Bay, New England, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Francisco) |
|
2002 |
5 (Atlanta, Cleveland, Indianapolis, New York Giants, Tennessee) |
|
2003 |
8 (Baltimore, Carolina, Dallas, Denver, Kansas City, New England, St. Louis, Seattle) |
|
2004 |
5 (Atlanta, Minnesota, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, San Diego) |
|
2005 |
7 (Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Tampa Bay, Washington) |
|
2006 |
7 (Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York Jets, Philadelphia, San Diego) |
|
2007 |
6 (Green Bay, Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington) |
|
2008 |
7 (Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, Philadelphia) |
|
2009 |
6 (Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, New England, New Orleans, New York Jets) |
|
2010 |
5 (Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Seattle) |
|
2011 |
6 (Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Houston, New York Giants, San Francisco) |
The 2012 season promises more of the same. Every team enters the new year with hope!
Houston (AFC South) and Denver (AFC West) both rebounded to win their respective divisions after finishing in last place or tied for last in 2010. This marked the NFL-record ninth consecutive season that at least one team went from “worst-to-first” in its division.
