5 Point Stance: Longest Current NFL Playoff Droughts
The Buffalo Bills ended a 17 year postseason dry spell with their wild card berth this past January. In a league that has prided itself upon achieving parity, it can be somewhat embarrassing when certain franchises stubbornly remain in the shadows of their more successful brethren. The good news is that every NFL team has played at least one postseason game in the 21st century. The bad news? Well... Each team has their own story as to their struggles.
1. Cleveland Browns (2002 last playoff berth) This shouldn't be surprising for a franchise who has been the picture of instability and poor leadership since their revival in 1999. And this particular high water mark for the new Browns can be mitigated by external forces. In 2002, the NFL played under a new alignment of divisions, the first such change since the 1970 merger. This would cause seismic upheaval across the league, as the complexion of the postseason and its qualifiers would make significant changes, a trend that would continue in later years. With a 1-31 record in the last two years, it seems highly unlikely that Cleveland will snap this drought in the immediate future. But this is the NFL. If the right set of circumstances hit...
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2007) The Bucs have been one of those teams that many have believed that on certain occasions in the last few years that they were playoff contenders. But every time, the Pewter Pirates have fallen short. The reasons are several; injuries, ineffective play, poor timing on the schedule, coaches left baffled,... you name it. These shortcomings were the primary reason that Tampa drafted Jameis Winston #1 overall in the 2015 draft. But entering his fourth year as a pro, Winston finds himself suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season, leaving serious questions about his future and that of the Buccaneers. Those two actuaries must decide on their relationship going forward for the good of both the team and the player. But expecting a sudden playoff berth to end this streak seems overly ambitious at this moment.
3. Chicago Bears (2010) When the Bears fell to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship for the right to play in Super Bowl XLV, they were settled in at quarterback with Jay Cutler, had a leader on defense in future Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, and had a Super Bowl pedigreed head coach in Lovie Smith. This was a team not that far away from a third Super Bowl appearance, but plans, as they do, go awry. In the meantime, the Bears have whiffed on numerous occasions on players, costing both head coaches and general managers alike their jobs many times over. And things have looked grim for current GM Ryan Pace with draft picks flopping and the team regularly remaining in the NFC North cellar. But change Pace can control is on the way. With Mitchell Trubisky in his second year as the anointed franchise quarterback, new head coach Matt Nagy learning the ropes while mentoring Trubisky, and the trade acquisition of LB Khalil Mack, a special talent unto himself, the pieces are in place to not only break this bad streak, but to become an NFC power in the future. All they need is time.
4. New York Jets (2010) When the Jets suffered their second straight AFC Championship loss, this one to the Pittsburgh Steelers, this would be the zenith of the Jets franchise since their triumph in Super Bowl III. As it would turn out, Gotham Green would plummet down to earth in the time of one season, relegated to salary cap strangulation, inconsistent executive decisions, constant changes in the coaching ranks, and subsequent roster overhauls at every turn in the successive seasons. Entering 2018, the Jets have a head coach in Todd Bowles who has got more out of his talent thin rosters than expected and a new quarterback in top draft choice Sam Darnold, a work in progress that has shown leadership and maturity that belies his youth. Give this squad at least until 2019 to snap the streak.
5a. Los Angeles Chargers (2013) Amid the tumult of a franchise relocation, it's been easy to forget that the Chargers have not made the playoffs in four seasons. Due to the ballclub's focus on all other matters, it's not out of the question that the on field product has suffered as a result. However, the last couple of years, the Bolts have been hard to gauge as injuries at key positions have wreaked havoc on the roster as a whole. Of the teams on this list as of the time of this post, the Chargers seemed to be the closest to ending this cold snap in 2018. Quarterback Philip Rivers is enjoying a great second act to his career, the offensive skill positions meld well with Rivers, and the pass rush is the envy of the league, with Joey Boss & Melvin Ingram as quarterback terrorizing bookends. Add this talent to their membership in an AFC West in a transitional year, and that gives the Chargers a good chance to make inroads into the LA market.
5b. San Francisco 49ers (2013) After the Niners fell to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII, they looked ready to forge a new Niner Empire with head coach Jim Harbaugh leading this old school, smashmouth club in the coming years. Instead, Harbaugh left after losing a power struggle with then-general manager Trent Baalke,... and it all fell apart after that. After a series of high profile failures, it seems that the turbulence once surrounding this franchise has subsided. GM John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have developed a good working relationship, and have hitched their collective wagon to Jimmy Garappolo, a former New England Patriot signal caller that Bill Belichick was grooming to be Tom Brady's eventual successor. If Garappolo proves to be as good as Belichick believed him to be, than the 49ers should not be waiting too long for a playoff berth.
