Four NFL Teams That Missed The Playoffs, That Will Make It This Year

Almost every year there are a couple of teams that are incredibly talented yet can’t find a way to sneak into the postseason. We decided to take a deeper look into a couple of those teams that were just unable to get over the hump in 2020. Here are four teams that missed the postseason last year that could flip the script and get themselves into it this time around, kicking it off with one of the most hyped up teams in the league right now.

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals saw their playoff spot slip away during their final game of the regular season in 2020. They decided they needed to turn up the heat in the offseason by grabbing J.J. Watt and Zaven Collins while also having Chandler Jones return from his injury that kept him out all last year. Arizona also picked up the veteran wideout A.J. Green to make opposing defenses worry about more than just DeAndre Hopkins. If Kyler Murray continues to develop at a strong pace, there is no telling how great this team can be.

Minnesota Vikings

It seems like everybody is paying more attention to the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears over the Minnesota Vikings this year. After all, Minnesota had the 29^th ranked defense last year and only the second losing record in their head coaches career. However, their offense is just stacked with talent. They have Kirk Cousins throwing the ball to both Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson while Dalvin Cook handles the rushing responsibilities. The Vikings also grabbed both Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis to bolster an offensive line that was awful in 2020. With an offense as dangerous as Minnesota has right now, they could explode out of the gates and snag a playoff spot.  

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers always seem to fall short of these expectations every year, but this season could finally be different. They were 7-9 to end last season but their rookie quarterback Justin Herbert exploded onto the scene. He won the Rookie of the Year award with 4,336 passing yards and 31 touchdowns and didn’t even start every game. Their offense is already lethal with Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler and their defense is full of stars like Joey Bosa and Derwin James. The offensive line looks like their biggest hole overall, but they drafted Rashawn Slater in the first round to give Herbert a great left tackle. This roster looks incredible right now, they just have to stay healthy.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins somehow missed the postseason with a 10-6 overall record last year and they don’t want that to happen again. They had such a great year with Tua Tagovailoa and Ryan Fitzpatrick splitting reps, with neither really popping off the page when looking at the stat sheet. Tagovailoa should be much improved this time around and the organization even got him Jaylen Waddle to make their offense even more dangerous. Meanwhile, their defense is already solid, but they still got Jaelan Phillips and Jevon Holland in the draft to make it one of the best young groups in the NFL. Look out for the Miami Dolphins the next couple of years.