Ranking the NFL's Biggest Midseason Turnarounds Since 2000

Midway through a typical NFL season, the playoff picture often is relatively clear. Division leaders are usually there to stay, and struggling teams rarely charge up the standings.

Every once in a while, though, a slow-starting franchise will suddenly surge into the postseason conversation.

Since 2000, several dozen teams have recovered from a 4-4 start or worse and ended up factoring into the playoffs. Our focus is on teams that started slow but finished the regular season 6-2 or better and reached the postseason.

We've ranked them based on a combination of regular-season record and playoff success, with a heavy emphasis on the latter.

8. 2008 Indianapolis Colts

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

There isn't a better example of late success not translating to the playoffs than the 2008 Indianapolis Colts.

Led by Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, the Colts entered the season as five-time defending AFC South champions. Indianapolis trudged to a 3-4 start—bumping to 4-4 at the midway point—but ended the regular season unbeaten from there.

During the Wild Card Round, however, the Colts lost 23-17 in overtime to the 8-8 San Diego Chargers.

As a result, the nine-game winning streak is remembered for both its excellence and why it didn't matter much. This is a rare accomplishment, yet it's merely a footnote in NFL history.

7. 2015 Kansas City Chiefs

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Following a 1-5 start to the 2015 season, the Kansas City Chiefs notched two victories and reached the eight-game mark at 3-5.

In the second half of the campaign, they kept on winning.

Kansas City extended its streak to 10 in a row, joining the 2008 Colts as the second team since 2000 to start 3-5 or worse and win its final eight games. In the Wild Card Round, the AFC West champions blanked the Houston Texans 30-0.

Overall, the Chiefs won 11 straight games before falling to the New England Patriots in the divisional round.

6. 2016 Green Bay Packers

Jeffrey Phelps/Associated Press

Two years following his famous "R-E-L-A-X" interview, Aaron Rodgers tried to calm nerves again in 2016.

After the Green Bay Packers started 4-4 and dipped to 4-6 with four straight losses, Rodgers said he believed the Packers could run the table. Given that their opponents had averaged 38.3 points in the previous four games, the statement turned heads.

Six games later—including a Week 17 triumph over the Detroit Lions to win the NFC North— the Packers did exactly that.

Rodgers propelled the Packers to postseason victories over the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys before they fell to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game.

T-4. 2007 San Diego Chargers

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Like the 2008 Colts and 2016 Packers, the 2007 San Diego Chargers opened the season 4-4. However, the Chargers are higher on this list because they headed to the AFC Championship Game.

Philip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson carried the offense, while pass-rusher Shawne Merriman and cornerback Antonio Cromartie headlined the defense. The Chargers ranked fifth in the league in both points scored and points allowed per game, bracing an impressive rise to 11-5 and an AFC West crown.

After the Chargers defeated the Tennessee Titans and Colts to begin the playoffs, the New England Patriots stopped them in a low-scoring AFC title game.

The combination of the roster's balance and Rivers, then a rising star, suggested the Chargers would be a perennial Super Bowl threat. But this marked the only time San Diego reached the AFC Championship Game in 14 years with Rivers at quarterback.

T-4. 2016 Pittsburgh Steelers

Fred Vuich/Associated Press

Nine seasons after San Diego's surge, the Pittsburgh Steelers walked an incredibly similar path.

Just like the Chargers, Pittsburgh started off 4-4 but posted a 7-1 record in the second half of the season.

The similarities don't stop there, but the Steelers wrapped up the AFC North in Week 16 when Antonio Brown extended the ball beyond a few Baltimore Ravens and across the plane as the final seconds ticked away.

Pittsburgh cruised past the Miami Dolphins and edged the Chiefs to appear in the AFC Championship Game. But just like the Chargers, the Steelers lost to the Patriots there.

And while the sample size is smaller, they have yet to return to that stage.

3. 2002 Tennessee Titans

WADE PAYNE/Associated Press

In one sense, the 2002 Tennessee Titans are no different than the 2007 Chargers or 2016 Steelers. All three started 4-4 and lost in the AFC Championship Game.

But the Titans' surge kicked off even earlier than their ninth game.

Tennessee began the year 1-4, won five straight, lost once and finished with five consecutive victories. The Titans won the AFC South with an 11-5 record and got a first-round bye, and then they clipped the Steelers to reach the AFC Championship Game.

Per Stathead, Tennessee joined the 1976 Steelers as the only post-merger teams to start 1-4 and still make it to the conference title game. And coincidentally, the Titans also lost to the Raiders with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.

2. 2002 Oakland Raiders

RICK HOSSMAN/Associated Press

Speaking of the 2002 Raiders...

The same Oakland team responsible for eliminating the hard-charging Titans were 4-4 at the midpoint of the regular season. The Raiders had dueling four-game winning and losing streaks before a 7-1 conclusion to the regular season helped them win the AFC West with an 11-5 record.

Following wins over the New York Jets and Titans, Oakland clashed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. Five turnovers and three pick-sixes later, the Raiders lost 48-21.

Oakland wouldn't return to the playoffs until 2016.

1. 2001 New England Patriots

DOUG MILLS/Associated Press

Perhaps you remember Tom Brady's introduction to the NFL. As an injury replacement for longtime starter Drew Bledsoe, Brady stepped in and guided the Patriots to a Super Bowl win.

What you might not recall is how he carried the Pats out of an early hole.

In the second game, Bledsoe suffered a chest injury—which we later learned was life-threatening—that pushed Brady into the lineup. The Patriots opened 1-3 and steadily climbed to 4-4 before a 7-1 close to the regular season and a championship run.

New England survived Oakland thanks to the infamous Tuck Rule and defeated the Steelers to win the AFC. In Super Bowl XXXVI, Adam Vinatieri's last-second field goal completed the Patriots' stunner over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams.

Since the merger, New England is the only franchise to start 4-4 or worse and bring home the Lombardi Trophy.