In sports , a division is a group of teams who compete against each other for a championship.
41-866: The National Football Conference – Western Division or NFC West is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Cardinals , the Los Angeles Rams , the San Francisco 49ers , and the Seattle Seahawks . The division was formed in 1967 as the National Football League Coastal Division, keeping with
82-611: A Super Bowl when entering that year's playoffs as a wild-card entry (the same historical fact holds true for both the AFC East and AFC South). In 2010, the NFC West became the first division in NFL history to have a champion with a losing record, after the Seattle Seahawks won the division title with a record of 7–9. They were joined in this distinction in 2014 by the Carolina Panthers , who won
123-511: A playoff record of 17–18; they are currently 14–13 in the playoffs as a member of the NFC West, having gone 3–5 while in the AFC West . Since re-alignment, the Seahawks have led the division in wins, division titles, and playoff appearances. Place cursor over year for division champ or Super Bowl team. *A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used
164-427: A pyramid structure), a division consists of a group of teams who play a sport at a similar competitive level. Teams can move up to a higher division of play or drop down to a lower one via the process of promotion and relegation , based on their performance in the standings at the end of the season. The existence of divisions based on level of competition ensures that teams at one competitive level can play other teams at
205-552: A record of 586–575–21 (130–173–1 since re-alignment) with five Super Bowl appearances and two wins to go with a 25–26 overall playoff record. The Cardinals hold a 135–167–2 record since joining the NFC West (566–770–41 overall) and a loss in Super Bowl XLIII , currently with a 7–9 playoff record, 5–4 as a member of the NFC West. The Seahawks hold a record of 179–124–1 since joining the NFC West (367–340–1 overall), with three Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl XLVIII to go with
246-634: A season was the 1952 Dallas Texans , whose franchise was returned to the league after drawing several poor crowds at the Cotton Bowl . They played their final "home" game in Akron, Ohio . The October 23 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins at Dolphins Stadium was rescheduled to Friday, October 21 at 7:00 pm EDT to beat Hurricane Wilma 's arrival to the Miami, Florida area. The Chiefs won
287-403: A similar competitive level, thus creating parity and more exciting matches. In North America , where sports usually operate on a franchise system rather than a league system, a division is a group of teams within a league which is organized along geographical lines rather than competitive success. Teams based in cities that are in a particular region of the continent are grouped together in
328-420: A special sixteen-team playoff tournament for that year only. Division standings were ignored, and Atlanta had the best record of the division teams. *A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special sixteen-team playoff tournament for that year only. Division standings were ignored. Division (sport) In sports using a league system (also known as
369-715: A third straight Super Bowl title was ended in the Divisional Playoff Round by the Denver Broncos , and eventually the NFL title was won by the Pittsburgh Steelers , who defeated the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in Detroit , Michigan on February 5 for their fifth Super Bowl win. This also marked the first time that a sixth-seeded team, who by the nature of their seeding would play every game on
410-605: Is located in the south-central United States, the Cowboys are a member of the NFC East division due to their long-standing rivalries with the New York Giants , Philadelphia Eagles , and Washington Commanders , all of whom are located on the Eastern seaboard . In U.S. college sports , a "division" has a meaning different from either sense listed above, although somewhat closer to that of
451-697: The AFC East and were replaced by the Saints, who came from the Eastern Conference (the Saints played in the Capitol Division in 1967 and '69, and the Century Division in 1968). In 1976, the newly formed Seattle Seahawks spent one season in this division (Seattle did not play the other four members of the division home-and-home in 1976, playing each of the other 13 NFC teams and the other expansion team of 1976,
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#1732848200796492-513: The New Orleans Saints ' entire 2005 home schedule was played at different venues while the Saints set up temporary operations in San Antonio, Texas . The Saints' first home game scheduled for September 18 against New York Giants was moved to September 19 at Giants Stadium . The impromptu "Monday Night doubleheader" with the game already scheduled ( Washington at Dallas ) was a success, and
533-616: The San Francisco 49ers selected quarterback Alex Smith from the University of Utah . The 2005 season also featured the first ever regular season game played outside the United States when the San Francisco 49ers – Arizona Cardinals game was played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on October 2 ( the Cardinals won 31–14 ). The game drew an NFL regular season record of 103,467 paid fans. It
574-462: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ) before moving to the AFC West . Except for that one year, the division remained the same until 1995 with the addition of the new Carolina Panthers team. The Rams moved to St. Louis before that same season, making the division geographically inaccurate. Ten of the fifteen NFC teams were based west of Atlanta, and twelve of them were based west of Charlotte (all except
615-599: The NFC South with a record of 7–8–1, 2020 by the Washington Football Team , who won the NFC East also with a record of 7–9, and 2022 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers , who won the NFC South with a record of 8−9. Since the end of the 2020 NFL regular season , the 49ers lead the division with a record of 589–499–16 (137–166–1 since re-alignment) with five Super Bowl titles and an overall playoff record of 33–22. The Rams hold
656-584: The Pro Player label was discontinued, but that stadium name was kept for several more years. This was the eighth and final year under the league's broadcast contracts with ABC , CBS , Fox , and ESPN to televise Monday Night Football , the AFC package, the NFC package, and Sunday Night Football , respectively. While CBS and Fox renewed their television contracts to the AFC and the NFC packages, respectively, 2005 marked
697-616: The Redskins, Eagles and Giants). The 2002 re-alignment changed the entire look of the NFC West. The Falcons, Panthers, and Saints moved into the NFC South ; while the Cardinals moved in from the NFC East and the Seahawks returned from the AFC West. The Rams remained in the West, preserving the historical rivalry with the 49ers that has existed since 1950 , and thus had been the only team in the division that
738-551: The Saints dispensation to keep LSU's goalposts in place for their games. In addition, with the RCA and Edward Jones domes both removing their AstroTurf surfaces in favor of the newer next-generation FieldTurf surface, the old first-generation AstroTurf surface ceased to be used in the NFL. Pro Player Stadium was renamed Dolphins Stadium . Pro Player's parent Fruit of the Loom had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in 1999, and
779-514: The West Coast, while Baltimore maintained its dominance over the lesser teams that remained in the division. Atlanta was placed in the division instead of the expansion New Orleans Saints despite being further east than three Eastern Conference teams (Cowboys, Cardinals, and the aforementioned Saints). After the AFL–NFL merger in 1970, the division was renamed the NFC West. The Baltimore Colts moved to
820-775: The clocks are the same as Pacific Daylight Time from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday of November, through at least 2027). The 2016 season marked the first time neither the 49ers nor Seahawks played a division game east of the Rocky Mountains. The NFC West became the second division since the 2002 realignment (the NFC South was the first) to have each of its teams make a conference championship game appearance: Los Angeles (2018 and 2021), Arizona (2008 and 2015), San Francisco (2011, 2012, 2013, 2019 and 2021), and Seattle (2005, 2013, and 2014). Also since 2002, each team has won at least three division titles, one of only two divisions in
861-401: The division. Moreover, the top teams in a division qualify for the postseason playoff tournament that crowns the league champion, which heightens the rivalries between the teams in a division. Geographically-based divisions can become skewed if an expansion team joins the league or if one of the franchises within a division moves to another city, necessitating a shuffling or realignment of
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#1732848200796902-405: The divisions of the league) are at the same competitive level and remain so year after year. North American professional sports leagues often construct their season schedules in a way such that teams in a division play matches against each other more often than other teams in the league. This not only has the effect of reducing travel costs, but also creates exciting rivalries between the teams in
943-504: The exception of schools in the highest level of NCAA (American) football , which have never had an NCAA-recognized national championship ). As an example, the NCAA is split into three divisions: The term division is also used in US college sports to indicate the groupings of members of a given conference . However, this usage is more recent. The first conference to divide its teams into divisions
984-428: The final season that ABC held the exclusive rights to televise Monday Night Football . When the television contracts were renewed, the rights to broadcast MNF were awarded to Disney -owned corporate sibling ESPN. NBC then won the rights to televise Sunday Night Football , marking the first time that NBC broadcast NFL games since Super Bowl XXXII in 1998. While the NFL had indicated that it wanted SNF to become
1025-473: The game, 30–20, and became the first visiting team to travel and play on the same day. Since the game was planned for Sunday afternoon, it is one of the few times in history that the Dolphins wore their white jerseys in a home game played at night. Within each conference, the four division winners and the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for
1066-598: The league system. The major governing bodies for college sports, the NCAA and NAIA , divide their member schools into large competitive groups. These groups are much larger than divisions in either the league or franchise system—for example, the NCAA's highest competitive level, Division I , has more than 300 member schools. The vast majority of teams are members of conferences , smaller groupings that usually have between 6 and 14 members. Conference champions, plus selected other teams, compete in national championship tournaments (with
1107-464: The league to do so. All of its teams have appeared in a Super Bowl at least once since the 2002 realignment (the only other division accomplishing this being the NFC South): Arizona ( 2008 ), Los Angeles Rams ( 2018 , 2021 ), San Francisco ( 2012 , 2019 ), and Seattle ( 2005 , 2013 , 2014 ). As of 2021, the NFC West is the only division in the NFC that has not seen at least one of its teams win
1148-499: The new night for its marquee game, ABC declined to renew, citing that it had lost millions of dollars on the MNF despite generating high ratings, and ABC wanted to continue airing the television series Desperate Housewives on Sunday nights. ABC would not air an NFL game again until they began simulcasting ESPN's Wild Card playoff game in January 2016. Cris Collinsworth left Fox to sit out
1189-404: The playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend , the third-seeded division winner hosts
1230-850: The respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl , the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference. The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season: The New Orleans Saints played in Baton Rouge 's Tiger Stadium for four games and in San Antonio's Alamodome for three games due to Louisiana Superdome damaged by Hurricane Katrina . Tiger Stadium's goalposts did not conform to NFL standards due to (a) two supports instead of one and (b) white paint instead of gold. The NFL granted
1271-556: The road, would advance to and win the Super Bowl. The season formally concluded with the Pro Bowl , the league's all-star game , at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 12. This was also the final full season for Paul Tagliabue as commissioner. The 2005 NFL draft was held from April 23 to 24, 2005 at New York City 's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center . With the first pick,
NFC West - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-550: The same city where they practiced) and practice in substandard facilities and conditions in San Antonio, the Saints finished 3–13, their worst season since 1999 . The Last time an NFL franchise had to play at an alternate site was in 2002 , when the Chicago Bears played home games in Champaign, Illinois , 120 miles (200 km) away, due to the reconstruction of Soldier Field . The last NFL team to abandon their home city during
1353-531: The same division. For instance, in Major League Baseball , both the American and National Leagues have East, Central, and West divisions; the teams in each division are mostly (but not always) located in the eastern, central, and western sections of North America respectively. In a franchise system, teams are not promoted or relegated as are teams in a league system. All teams in the league (and by extension,
1394-415: The sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received a first-round bye . In the second round, the divisional playoffs , the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in
1435-586: The teams in a division. Furthermore, the results of the realignment may not always reflect geographical realities. For instance, in 1995, the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) moved to St. Louis, Missouri and became the St. Louis Rams . The team retained its place in the NFC West division despite the fact that St. Louis is further east than Dallas, Texas , home of the Dallas Cowboys . Although Dallas
1476-431: The theme of having all of the league's divisions starting with the letter "C." The division was so named because its teams were fairly close to the coasts of the United States, although they were on opposite coasts, making for long travel between division rivals. The NFL Coastal Division had four members: Atlanta Falcons , Baltimore Colts , Los Angeles Rams , and San Francisco 49ers . Los Angeles and San Francisco occupied
1517-513: Was a home game for the Cardinals, mostly because the team rarely sold out at their then-home field, Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona . This season was the last year that the Cardinals played at Sun Devil Stadium; the team then moved to their new Cardinals Stadium in nearby Glendale . Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the Louisiana Superdome and the greater New Orleans area,
1558-709: Was located east of the Rocky Mountains until 2015. Despite this, the re-alignment made the NFC West have all of its teams based west of the Mississippi River . With the Rams' return to Los Angeles in 2016, the entire NFC West is now located west of the Rockies for the first time in its history; all teams except for the Cardinals are based in the Pacific Time Zone (since most of Arizona does not observe daylight saving time ,
1599-530: Was made an annual part of the schedule from 2006 through 2020 . The NFL designated its second weekend, September 18 and 19, as "Hurricane Relief Weekend', with fund raising collections at all of the league's games. The Saints' remaining home games were split between the Alamodome in San Antonio and Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana . Being forced to travel to 13 of their 16 games (only three of their games were actually played in
1640-628: Was the 86th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Regular season play was held from September 8, 2005 to January 1, 2006. The regular season also saw the first ever regular season game played outside the United States, as well as the New Orleans Saints being forced to play elsewhere due to damage to the Superdome and the entire New Orleans area by Hurricane Katrina . The playoffs began on January 7. The New England Patriots ' streak of 10 consecutive playoff wins and chance at
1681-646: Was the Southeastern Conference which, upon expanding to 12 members in 1992, divided into Eastern and Western divisions. Other conferences have undergone similar expansion and division. The usage in the section above is still maintained. For example, the Georgia Bulldogs are in Division I, but are also in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. 2005 NFL season The 2005 NFL season