NFL Preview: Ranking each division by strength
As the NFL preseason starts up, fans begin to get a general sense for the landscape of the league, in particular the strength of each division.
When it comes to the importance of divisions, it really depends on the sport.
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In the NBA, over half of the league’s teams reach the playoffs, and a team can reach as high as the second seed in its conference without winning the division. Often times, a team will play a regular conference foe the same amount of times they play a divisional foe. The conference is more key in basketball than the division.
The NFL is the only major American sports league where the teams don’t all play each other at least annually. Six of a team’s sixteen games will be within their own division, and eight will be dedicated to touring a division from each conference. This results in major differences in terms of strength of schedule, and with only four wildcard spots for eight divisions, winning the division becomes even more important.
Generally speaking, each NFL division should appear to be built close to the same. There is one major contender, two middling competitors either on the downturn or the upswing and some loser squad at the bottom. That isn’t the case in the NFL today; some divisions are harder to navigate than others. And some don’t even require you to win most of your games to win the division.
Next: NFC South