The NFL playoff field is set, and an exciting Wild Card slate lies ahead next week. Of the 14 teams that made the postseason this year, how many of them missed it last season?
6 Playoff Teams Missed the Postseason Last Year
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are heading to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. They have climbed back to the postseason after suffering through three straight seasons of double-digit losses.
Houston clinched an AFC playoff spot last Saturday night with a 23-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s first season in Houston has been wildly successful and helped transform the team into a playoff-caliber competitor. Stroud — the favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year — has led a cast of young talent with remarkable success, given the preseason expectations fans had for them.
The Texans are set to take on the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, Jan. 13.
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns took down the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football in Week 17 to clinch a postseason berth as Joe Flacco’s storybook comeback continued.
The last time the Browns made the playoffs was the 2020 NFL season, just three years ago.
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In that season, Cleveland finished 11-5 to claim an AFC Wild Card spot. The postseason berth snapped a 17-year drought, which was tied for the third longest in NFL history.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers missed the playoffs last season after two consecutive trips in 2020 and 2021. They return this year after posting a 10-7 record.
The Steelers did their part to keep their postseason hopes alive heading into Sunday after beating the short-handed Baltimore Ravens in the Week 18 clash. Pittsburgh then got the help it needed on Sunday when the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Tennessee Titans, wrapping up Pittsburgh’s third playoff berth in the last four years in the process.
The Steelers will take on the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Jan. 14.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions made history in Week 16 as the franchise clinched its first divisional title since 1993, locking up the NFC North crown and a playoff berth with their 30-24 win over the Minnesota Vikings. They would go on to beat Minnesota again in Week 18.
The last time Detroit made the playoffs was in 2016. However, the last time they won a playoff game was back in the 1991 season when they beat the Dallas Cowboys 38-6 in the NFC Divisional Round on Jan. 5, 1992.
The Lions’ Wild Card round matchup will be against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday evening.
Los Angeles Rams
After winning the Super Bowl in 2022, the Rams failed the make the postseason last year. Yet, they will return this year as they clinched a playoff spot following the Seattle Seahawks’ loss to Pittsburgh on New Year’s Eve.
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As the team takes on the Lions in the Wild Card round, the biggest narrative going into the matchup is that Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff will each be going against their former teams.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers did what they couldn’t do in 2022 in Week 18 this season — win to lock down a Wild Card berth in the NFC playoffs.
Green Bay finished 9-8, an improvement on the 8-9 record it had a year ago. The team made the playoffs in Jordan Love’s first full season as the top QB.
The Packers are set to take on the Cowboys on Sunday in their first-round matchup.
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