One silver lining for every team that missed the playoffs

Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns fans in the stands against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns fans in the stands against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns fans in the stands against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Browns fans in the stands against the Baltimore Ravens at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Ravens won 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

In the spirit of optimism, let’s accentuate the positives for those twenty teams who didn’t make the playoffs.


For twenty NFL teams, the start of the playoffs marks the end of the season. This timed perfectly with the change in weather, which now accurately reflects on the outside what many fans are feeling on the inside.

If non-playoff fans were looking to feel bad, and didn’t want to read any Kierkegaard or watch animal adoption videos with Sarah MacLachlan music, it would be sufficient torture to reflect upon the brutal reality of their teams’ respective seasons. This would preferably be done under the supervision of a bottle of Jameson.

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For most, this would not be a daunting task: all they would have to reflect on is

Billy

Johnny Manziel or the Los Angeles stadium plan or Tony Romo’s shattered body.

But springtime will follow the winter. Hope springs eternal, and there will be the plenty of hope for next year. This may be a constant refrain for some, but there is no other choice than to live with the pain of the present and hope for next season.

Let’s all try to feel good. I think we owe it to ourselves. We can examine some of the positive aspects of every non-playoff team’s season, starting at the top of the draft order with the Tennessee Titans and ending at number 20 with the New York Jets.

Next: Tennessee Titans