What Non-Playoff Teams Have Best Chance To Make 2022 NFL Playoffs?

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The NFL is full of parity. That is part of the reason as to why it is one of the most entertaining of any of the other professional sports leagues. Generally, not all teams that made the playoffs the season prior make it back the following year. Part of this is due to a drop off in performance by the team that did make the postseason the year before. Or, a non-playoff team is able to learn, adjust and develop better habits, in order to reach their ultimate goal of the playoffs.

Last season, there were many tight finishes for playoff positioning and wild card spots. The NFL also completed their first season in which teams played 17 regular season games, as opposed to the 16 regular season games fans had been accustomed to. This made tiebreakers much more awkward to have to work through. At the same time, many viable teams with winning records missed the postseason last year.

Namely, the Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints were all teams that finished with a winning record last season as non-playoff teams. The Minnesota Vikings were also battling closely to the very end.

With so many close calls, that opened the door for our question for today. Who are the five non-playoff teams from 2021 that have the best shot of making the playoffs in 2022? We narrowed down our list to many viable contenders. Whereas with other teams, they may have just missed the cut of making this group of five, due to competition within their conference or division, as well as possible holes on the roster. Let’s kick it off.

Baltimore Ravens

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The Balitmore Ravens faced adversity surrounding multiple injuries last year from the beginning of the preseason to the end of the regular season. And we are not just talking about losing a depth player or two here and there. In fact, Baltimore lost many star level starters to devasting injuries throughout last season. Names like Marcus Peters, JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards were lost before the regular season even began. And of course, quarterback Lamar Jackson missed their final push for a playoff spot, due to an ankle injury.

Despite all of that, Baltimore still battled hard and was a tough out, winning eight games. The Ravens were forced to get away from their bread and butter at times last year. Mainly, this seemed to be one of more glaring reasons as to why they could not win games late in the year. Opponents forced the Ravens to get away from their dynamic rushing attack and pressured the passer very aggressively. Baltimore was unable to consistently put massive amounts of points on the scoreboard, finishing with 22.8 points scored per game, good for just 17th in the NFL.

Why The Ravens Can Get Back To The Playoffs

We mentioned them being forced to abandon the running game. Obviously, having Dobbins and Edwards back healthy this year will be monumental. And Jackson is ultra-dangerous when he takes off as well. The Ravens did a good job in building the roster this offseason in order to get back to playing smashmouth football. Baltimore drafted two sturdy and powerful blockers in this year’s draft (Tyler Linderbaum, Daniel Faalele). The veteran free agent additions of right tackle Morgan Moses and running back Mike Davis should not be slept on either.

During Baltimore’s history, they have always been a tedious task for teams to have to deal with. Their attention to detail and adjustments week to week are simply not present inside of every NFL locker room. The “Raven Way” is not just focused on punching the opponent in the mouth. Moreover, Baltimore has fortified those strengths with the roster moves they have made. Finally, their ability to play a last place schedule, due to their last place AFC North finish, helps a great deal as well. With some revenge on their mind, the Ravens will be difficult to keep out of the playoffs.

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts appeared to be a shoo-in for the playoffs last year. Two scrappy wins over the New England Patriots and the Arizona Cardinals got them to 9-6 with two games left to play. Yet, the Colts collapsed and tripped all over themselves against the Las Vegas Raiders and the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars in the final two weeks. Carson Wentz saw his tenure in Indianapolis flash quickly before his eyes, allowing him to head back to the NFC East via trade. Elsewhere, six of the Colts’ eight losses last year were decided by nine points or less.

Quickly, Jonathan Taylor has become one of the most dominant running backs in the entire NFL. He led the league in carries (332), rushing yards (1,811) and rushing touchdowns (18) last season. Whereas defensively, the Colts ranked in the top ten in points allowed (9th), takeaways (2nd), rushing yards allowed (10th) and rushing touchdowns allowed (3rd). They will have to respond with losing defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, however. He is now the head coach of the Chicago Bears.

Why The Colts Can Get Back To The Playoffs

As you can see, the Colts are one of the more complete teams in the entire NFL. If they want to wear you down by running the ball 40 times a game, they can succeed at that. If they want to force ill-advised throws, they have no problem with consistently dropping eight into coverage. To boot, if they want to play the field position game and rely on special teams, they are extremely sound in that area too.

Overall, Indianapolis needed more dependability and control at the game’s most important position. They are not just getting a less reckless quarterback in Matt Ryan. But, the Colts are going to be getting a new passer who knows how to command the game in all facets. The term “game manager” may not be sexy in today’s pass happy NFL. Nevertheless, Indianapolis just needs Ryan to make the smart reads and urgent decisions, something he was not always able to accomplish with what was around him in Atlanta. If he does that, Indianapolis can pounce on opponents in a hurry and get back to the playoffs.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers have been close to making the postseason in each of the last two seasons. Quarterback Justin Herbert has enjoyed a tremendous statistical start to his young career. In 32 career games, the former Oregon Duck has thrown for 9,350 yards, has a touchdown to interception ratio of 69:25 and has a ghastly yards per pass attempt average of 7.4. On the other hand, he has been highly efficient as well. Herbert has completed just under 70 percent of his passes in each of the last two years.

Los Angeles enjoyed an admirable start to their year last season. They entered their bye week at 4-2. Later on, the Chargers were sitting at 8-5 with four games left to play. It appeared that the Bolts were heading to a playoff appearance. Yet, they lost three of their last four games to miss the playoffs. The Chargers seemingly had chances to capitalize in all of those losses. Against both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Raiders, LA failed to come through in advantageous spots, losing both of those contests in overtime. They also failed to show up in Houston against the Texans, losing horribly to one of the league’s worst teams of 2021.

Why The Chargers Can Get Back To The Playoffs

Los Angeles had no problem in scoring points in bunches last season. Being able to re-sign wide receiver Mike Williams to an extension was crucial, though. It was the defensive moves that the Chargers made that could end up putting them over the top. They added a stout defensive tackle in Sebastian Joseph-Day. To pair with Joey Bosa, the Chargers landed a veteran stud at pass rusher, Khalil Mack, via trade. On top of all that, the team signed JC Jackson in free agency. He is arguably a top five cornerback in all of the NFL right now, if not top three.

Los Angeles being more secure defensively will assuredly help them get back to the NFL playoffs. Their run defense was among one of the worst three run defenses last year, in terms of yards allowed. They were also already able to affect the opponent’s passing attack in so many different ways. With the additions of Mack and Jackson, the Chargers have plenty of depth to do anything they want with mixing coverages or blitzes against three dynamic quarterbacks in their division. This LA defense does not even have to be a top five unit, in terms of points allowed. If that defense is able to come through more often in crucial situations, the Chargers should find themselves in the playoffs in 2022.

Minnesota Vikings

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The Vikings were largely similar to the aforementioned Colts, as far as their losses go. Eight of Minnesota’s nine losses were decided by eight points or less last season. It was a year in which they hovered right around .500 throughout most of the season too. Overall, the Vikings just simply struggled to rattle off wins against teams that finished with winning records during the second half of the season.

After the average finish, the Vikings fired head coach Mike Zimmer, whom had been Minnesota’s head coach since 2014. The team opted to hire Kevin O’Connell as their new head coach entering 2022. Most recently, he was the offensive coordinator under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 and 2021. He was also the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator in 2019. The young offensive mind certainly has some dynamic pieces to play with in Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.

Why The Vikings Can Get Back To The Playoffs

Part of the reason as to why the Vikings can get back into the playoffs, is due to the pairing of that offensive emphasis at head coach with that somewhat deep offensive arsenal of skill players. Kirk Cousins is going to have full belief in him under this regime, at least initially. That was not necessarily always steadfast under the Zimmer regime in the last couple of years. With Cousins possibly gaining more confidence, Minnesota could find themselves back in the NFL playoffs.

On the other hand, this NFC conference is no match for the suddenly deep and tumultuous AFC conference. Minnesota may not need a massive improvement in the win column in order to make the postseason in the NFC bracket. Lastly, the Green Bay Packers are surrounded with many questions, mainly regarding the offense around Aaron Rodgers. If there was any year where the Vikings looked to have a shot at winning the NFC North during the latter stages of Rodgers’ career, it may be in 2022.

New Orleans Saints

As mentioned above, New Orleans was indeed one of the teams who missed the playoffs last year, despite finishing with a winning record. It was a new era for the Saints at the quarterback position. Drew Brees had retired, allowing for Jameis Winston to take the reins under center. He enjoyed an admirable showing for the Saints. In total, Winston had thrown for 1,170 yards and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 14:3. His decisions were a lot more decisive, and he was attacking all areas of the field. Unfortunately, his run as Saints 2021 starting quarterback lasted just seven games, before he suffered a torn ACL and additional MCL damage in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

During the offseason, the Saints re-signed Winston to a two-year contract worth $28 million to stay in New Orleans. He lost a key part of his early success from last season, though. Head coach Sean Payton abruptly retired, and the team was forced to find a new head coach for the first time since 2006. New Orleans opted to hire from in-house by promoting defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to head coach.

Why The Saints Can Get Back To The Playoffs

New Orleans obviously has the trust in Winston. That is just one of the reasons as to why the Saints could return to the playoffs. New Orleans did not waste time in surrounding him with new weapons either. Veteran wide receiver Jarvis Landry was signed after the team used a first-round pick on Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave. Other top names like Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are also still intact on offense.

Defensively, this team was stingy and deep last season. The Saints replaced the departing Marcus Williams with hometown star Tyrann Mathieu at safety. Furthermore, this defense returns many cornerstones that helped create a defense that finished top ten in many categories throughout 2021. This includes being in the top ten in points allowed (4th), yards allowed (7th), takeaways (10th), passing touchdowns allowed (3rd), rushing yards allowed (4th), rushing touchdowns allowed (6th) and yards allowed per rushing attempt (1st). This team is largely the same but added some significant star power along the way. That should be enough to make it back to the NFL playoffs in the scarce NFC.

Be on the lookout for more NFL articles and analysis here at Full Press Coverage throughout this offseason.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.