NFL playoff teams one year, not the next

Atlanta Falcons

NFL playoff teams one year, not the next

Is there hope fore the Atlanta Falcons after starting the season 2-6?

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons started 8-0 last season and made it to the NFC Championship Game. This year is a different story. The Falcons are 2-6 at the season's halfway mark, and the playoffs are a distant dream. But the Falcons are not alone. At least three other playoff teams are staring at a long 4th-and-goal to make the postseason.

Houston quarterback Case Keenum (7) has had an impressive debut in place of Matt Schaub. The Texans, like the Atlanta Falcons, were a preseason Super Bowl hopeful whose dreams have turned to an ugly debacle. The AFC South division champ last year is 2-6 this season.

Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III returned this season after knee surgery and is showing signs of wear. He's had 49 rushing attempts for 257 yards on the ground and has 9 passing touchdown passes to go with 9 interceptions this season. The NFC East contenders started the season 0-3 and are now 3-5, trailing Dallas and Philadelphia in the division.

The defending Super Bowl champions' offense has been sputtering. Quarterback Joe Flacco signed one of the richest contracts in the game this offseason. The Ravens have been swept by rival Cleveland and are 3-5 overall.

The Vikings squeaked into the postseason last year, but this year Minnesota hasn't had much to celebrate. The 1-7 Vikings have lost four straight. Their struggles at the quarterback position are only surmounted by their rushing inefficiencies.

The last team to start the season in this deep a whole (3-5) and make the playoffs was the 2011 Denver Broncos. After a 1-2 start, the Broncos went with Tim Tebow at quarterback and he guided the Broncos to an 8-8 record and the AFC West division title. The Broncos stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning a wild-card playoff game.

1/6

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons started 8-0 last season and made it to the NFC Championship Game. This year is a different story. The Falcons are 2-6 at the season's halfway mark, and the playoffs are a distant dream. But the Falcons are not alone. At least three other playoff teams are staring at a long 4th-and-goal to make the postseason.

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