The NFL’s 12-team playoff field typically undergoes significant turnover. The final eight teams feature an almost complete overhaul from last year’s quarterfinalists.
Seven of the eight teams that played in last year’s divisional round won’t be back: the Colts, Chargers, Patriots, Cowboys, Rams, Saints, and Eagles.
The new seven are the Titans, Texans, Ravens, Vikings, Seahawks, Packers, and 49ers. The only holdover? The Chiefs.
It’s the kind of extreme turnover that makes the NFL more interesting, and that gets fans to embrace the notion that, in any given year, they’re only one year away from turning things around.