Top NFL teams since 2003
This is a list I compiled at my previous stop, but I thought it'd be of interest to the readers here.
I took a look at how teams have performed in the past five years, since 2003. The list is based on regular-season records, but I included playoff results because, obviously, that's what ends up mattering in the end.
Some teams like the Patriots and Colts are easy to name off the top of your head as the league's elite franchises over that time period, but others might surprise you. For instance, would you have guessed that besides New England and Indy, the Seahawks are the only other team to have made the playoffs in each of the past five seasons? And no other team has made the postseason more than three times.
Would you have guessed that the Bengals have a better regular-season record than the Giants since '03? But New York has made the playoffs three times (including last year's Super Bowl win), while Cincinnati has reached the postseason just once.
A quarter of the league (eight teams) hasn't made the playoffs since '03 -- the Raiders, Browns, Texans, 49ers, Lions, Cardinals, Dolphins and Bills. Oakland takes the title of worst franchise over the last five years, with just 19 total wins. Pretty incredible when you consider New England won 16 games in '07 alone. The Raiders' best season since '03 came in 2004 when they went 5-11.
Keep in mind that these are not my personal rankings; these are just the numbers. If two teams had the same regular-season record over the past five years, I listed the one with more postseason success first.
66-14
5
2003, 2004 -- Super Bowl champions
63-17
5
2006 -- Super Bowl champions
51-29
5
2005 -- Super Bowl loss
50-30
3
2005 -- Super Bowl champions
50-30
3
2007 -- Conference championship loss
49-31
3
2004 -- Super Bowl loss
49-31
3
2005 -- Conference championship loss
47-33
3
2007 -- Division round loss
45-35
2
2007 -- Division round loss
45-35
3
2007 -- Conference championship loss
44-36
2
2003 -- Super Bowl loss
43-37
2
2006 -- Super Bowl loss
43-37
2
2006 -- Division round loss
43-37
2
2003 -- Division round loss
42-38
1
2005 -- Wild-card round loss
40-40
1
2004 -- Division round loss
39-41
3
2007 -- Super Bowl champions
39-41
2
2003 -- Divisional round loss
37-43
2
2003, 2004 -- Division round loss
36-44
1
2006 -- Conference championship loss
36-44
2
2005, 2007 -- Wild-card round loss
35-45
1
2004 -- Conference championship loss
35-45
2
2005 -- Divisional round loss
34-46
Playoff appearances: 2
2004 -- Divisional round loss
34-46
0
2004 -- 9-7
30-50
0
2003 -- 10-6
29-51
0
2007 -- 10-6
28-52
0
2007 -- 8-8
28-52
0
2007 -- 8-8
26-54
0
2007 -- 7-9
25-55
0
2006 -- 7-9
19-61
0
2004 -- 5-11