We all know professional sports come with plenty of variance, but the cream usually rises to the top — and sticks around. In fact, each of the past four Super Bowl champions put together a winning streak of at least five games during the regular season. We tend to get a glimpse of greatness well before they’re hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
But let’s not put the cart before the horse. It’s only May. For now, let’s just focus on getting your favorite team an invite to the postseason dance and go from there.
NFL Schedule Release: Playoff Trend
Since the move to a 17-game schedule, 98.2% of playoff teams (55 of 56) have had at least one 3+ game win streak during the regular season. Even more impressive: 85.7% of those teams put together a streak of 4+ wins in a row.
It doesn’t need to be a perfect regular season, but we usually see some proof of concept when it comes to a team’s upside. Of course, not every team with a winning streak is a lock to make the playoffs — and trying to project favorable matchups four months in advance is risky.
That said, there’s no harm in looking for windows where every team has its best shot at winning at least three straight. Below is a quick note for each team when it comes to recent win streaks. If you’re looking for an early breakdown of favorable stretches, check out the great work from Brandon Austin in his Breaking Down Every NFL Team’s Schedule: Toughest Stretches, Most Travel Miles, Strength of Schedule, and More.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cards won four straight in 2024 (Weeks 7–10), tying their longest streak in the past 20 years. They won just four of their other 13 games, though, raising fair questions about this team’s direction.
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta hasn’t won four straight since 2019. That said, they did win three in a row last year — despite a 2–6 collapse after a 6–3 start.
Baltimore Ravens
Since Todd Monken took over, this offense has taken off. Baltimore has had a win streak of five or more games in five of the past six seasons. It feels inevitable again.
Buffalo Bills
Like the Ravens, the Bills have no trouble stacking wins. They’ve had at least one five-game streak in four of the past five seasons — and multiple 4+ game runs in three of those.
Carolina Panthers
Carolina’s last three-game streak came in 2021, led by Sam Darnold, Christian McCaffrey, and DJ Moore. There’s some quiet optimism now after a solid finish to 2024.
Chicago Bears
Chicago had multiple 4+ game win streaks in 2018 but hasn’t hit that mark since. A tough NFC North won’t make it easy to change that this year.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals were up and down last season but finished strong with a five-game win streak — their third straight year with a 4+ game run.
Cleveland Browns
Believe it or not, Cleveland has never had a five-game win streak this century. If they go with a rookie QB, it’s worth noting they’ve only had two back-to-back wins with a first-year starter since 2000 (2012 and 2018).
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas didn’t win three straight last year — the first time that’s happened since 2015, when Matt Cassel was the leading passer.
Denver Broncos
Denver had a five-game streak in 2023 and followed it up last season with a pair of three-gamers in Year 1 of the Sean Payton–Bo Nix pairing.
Detroit Lions
Dan Campbell’s Lions ripped off 11 straight last season — the longest regular-season streak since the 2019 Ravens won 12 in a row.
Green Bay Packers
Green Bay has been a strong regular-season team for most of the past decade. They’ve had multiple three-game win streaks in five of the past six years (exception: 2022).
Houston Texans
The Texans won eight straight in 2018 with Deshaun Watson at the helm. Since then, they haven’t had a streak longer than three games.
Indianapolis Colts
From Weeks 9–13 in 2023, Indy had its only three-game streak over the past two seasons. With Anthony Richardson healthy again, they hope to build on that.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence entered the league with big expectations. So far, he’s only had two win streaks of more than two games.
Kansas City Chiefs
No surprise here — the Chiefs have had a four-game win streak in every season of the Patrick Mahomes era. In five of those seven years, they won at least six in a row.
Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders haven’t had a win streak longer than four games since 2016. They haven’t even won three straight in the past two seasons.
MORE: 2025 NFL Power Rankings — Record Predictions After Schedule Release
Still, there’s cautious optimism. A veteran QB now leads an offense that includes Ashton Jeanty and Brock Bowers — two potential stars.
Los Angeles Chargers
Expectations are high in Los Angeles (present company included). They haven’t had a five-game streak since 2018 but have posted four-game streaks in five of the past eight seasons — and that usually fits this trend.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have won 10+ games in four of the past five seasons and posted a four-game win streak in three of the last four.
Miami Dolphins
Miami posted 4+ game win streaks in 2020, 2021, and 2022, but not in the three years before or the two since.
In 2024, the Dolphins won three straight midseason (Weeks 10–12 vs. Rams, Raiders, and Patriots) — a good sign that they can beat teams they should.
Minnesota Vikings
Kevin O’Connell has already led the Vikings to four separate win streaks of five or more games — including nine straight in 2023 and seven in 2022. The QB situation makes this year a different kind of challenge.
New England Patriots
The Pats won seven straight during Mac Jones’ rookie year (2021) but have only one three-gamer since — back in 2022. With Drake Maye showing promise, hopes are rising in Foxboro.
New Orleans Saints
With Derek Carr gone, it’s a new era in New Orleans. The Saints had three 6+ game win streaks from 2018–20 but only two three-gamers since — none in the past two seasons.
New York Giants
The Giants have only three win streaks of 3+ games since 2017 and enter 2025 surrounded by questions.
New York Jets
New York hasn’t had a five-game win streak since 2015 and just one four-gamer since (2022). They’ve had three-game streaks in 2017, 2019, and 2023 — the bare minimum for this study. That’s the floor for Year 1 with Justin Fields.
Philadelphia Eagles
Philly has stacked wins often in recent years. In seven of the past eight seasons, they’ve won three straight — and in six of those, the streak extended at least one more game.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin’s teams win in bunches. The Steelers have posted a four-game streak in eight of the past nine seasons (exception: 2023).
San Francisco 49ers
Last year was a disappointment, but in 2023, they had multiple 5+ game win streaks — and they strung together 10 in 2022. A bounce-back year is in play.
Seattle Seahawks
Sam Darnold won five straight to open last season with Minnesota — and then added nine more before losing in Week 18. Now in Seattle, expectations are much higher.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs have managed to win four straight in recent years, but if they want a top seed, they’ll need to post their first five-game streak since 2016.
Tennessee Titans
In each of the past seven years, a rookie QB has posted at least a three-game win streak — and four of those included 4+ game runs. Can Cam Ward keep that trend going?
Washington Commanders
Jayden Daniels led Washington to five straight wins last year — tying the second-longest streak by a rookie QB since 2017.