Postseason Oddities
- From 2003 to 2009, the team that placed last in the division the previous year would improve enough to reach the playoffs, usually by winning the division. Tampa Bay almost continued this trend in 2010, stopped only by losing a tiebreaker to Green Bay.
- Carolina finished last in 2002 (7–9) and finished first in 2003 (11–5).
- Atlanta finished last in 2003 (5–11) and finished first in 2004 (11–5).
- Tampa Bay finished last in 2004 (5–11) and finished first in 2005 (11–5).
- New Orleans finished last in 2005 (3–13) and finished first in 2006 (10–6).
- Tampa Bay finished last in 2006 (4–12) and finished first in 2007 (9–7).
- Atlanta finished last in 2007 (4–12) and finished second with a wild-card berth in 2008 (11–5).
- New Orleans finished last in 2008 (8–8) and finished first in 2009 (13–3).
- Tampa Bay finished last in 2009 (3-13) but despite finishing third in 2010 with a 10-6 record, did not make the playoffs, due to Green Bay holding the wild-card tiebreakers.
- Carolina finished last in 2010 (2-14) and was eliminated from playoff contention in week 14 of the 2011 season after going 4-9, becoming the first NFC South team to have a losing season after placing last in the division.
- Tampa Bay finished last in 2011
- From 2003-2007 and again in 2009, the team which finished last the previous season won the division.
- From 2002 to 2009, no team in the NFC South earned back-to-back playoff appearances. In Week 16 of the 2010 season, New Orleans clinched a wild-card berth, becoming the first NFC South team to earn consecutive playoff appearances. Atlanta has also earned consecutive playoff appearances, in 2010 and 2011.
- No team in the NFC South has earned division championships or finished last in the division in consecutive seasons.
- Each team has won the division at least twice and made a playoff appearance at least three times since the division's formation. Tampa Bay is the only team which has not made the playoffs as a wild-card.
- Each team has finished last in the division at least twice since the division's formation. Tampa Bay has never finished second place in the division.
Read more about this topic: NFC South
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