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NFL teams that have gone 5-0 have finished ...

 

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  • Matt Ryan has guided the Falcon to the team's first 5-0 start in franchise history. If history is a guide, it could mean good fortunes for Atlanta. Here is a look at how teams who over the past 30 years started 5-0 finished the season:
  • The 1985 Bears lost their only game of the season in Week 13 and went on to win the Super Bowl 46-10 over the New England Patriots. The team started the following season 6-0, but lost in the Divisional playoffs.
  • The 1986 Broncos finished 11-5, behind the heroics of John Elway. The eventual AFC champions met their match against the N.Y. Giants, losing in the Super Bowl.
  • After starting the season 5-0 in 1989, the Rams finished second in the NFC West with a 13-3 regular season record. The Rams lost in the Conference Championship to the San Francisco 49ers. The Rams would have five more subpar seasons in Los Angeles before moving to St. Louis in 1994.
  • Jim Kelly and the 1991 AFC champions went 5-0 before ending the year 13-3. It was the second of the Bills’ four straight trips to the Super Bowl – they lost all four.
  • The 1991 Super Bowl champs actually started the season 11-0. The Redskins finished the regular season 14-2 (defeating the Falcons in the regular season and the Divisional Playoffs).
  • The Bucs in 1997 got off to a fast start going 5-0 and 5-6 the rest of the way, capturing the NFC Wild Card. They lost in the Divisional playoff to the Green Bay Packers.
  • Starting the season 6-0, the 1988 AFC champions finished the regular season 12-4 and scored more points (448) than anyone that season. The Bengals reached the Super Bowl, losing to the San Francisco 49ers.
  • Led by quarertback John Elway, the 1997 and 1998 Broncos started off the season 5-0 and won the Super Bowl. In 1997, the team finished the regular season 12-4 and defeated the Green Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. The following season the Broncos went 14-2 and won Super Bowl XXXIII 34-19 over the Falcons (sorry, Atlanta). Coincidentally, Denver’s offensive coordinator those seasons was Gary Kubiak, who is the head coach of the 5-0 Houston Texans.
  • Behind quarterback Randall Cunningham, the 1998 Vikings started the season 7-0, finishing with a 15-1 regular season record. The Falcons ended the Vikings’ hope for a Super Bowl with a memorable 30-27 overtime loss in the Conference Championship game.
  • The “Greatest Show on Turf” had back-to-back 6-0 starts in 2000 and 2001 - going 10-6 and 14-2, respectively. The Rams lost in Super Bowl XXXVI to the New England Patriots.
  • In 2003, the Chiefs went on an surprising 9-0 run before finishing the regular season 13-3. Kansas City was booted from the playoffs in the first round by the Indianapolis Colts.
  • Tony Romo led the 2007 Cowboys on a 5-0 run to start the season. The team finished the regular season 13-3, but were pushed out of the playoffs by the N.Y. Giants.
  • The 2007 Patriots started the season 5-0 and didn’t lose again – going a perfect 16-0 – until the Super Bowl, which was won by the New York Giants by a field goal.
  • Tennessee posted an NFL-best 13-3 record in 2008 with 10 straight wins to start the season. The team lost in the Divisional round in the playoffs and didn’t win again until Week 8 of the following season.
  • In five seasons – 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009 – the Colts started the year at 5-0 or better. Reaching the playoffs every season and winning the Super Bowl in 2006 over the Chicago Bears.
  • With former longtime Packers quarterback Brett Favre at the helm, the 2009 Vikings won their first six games before finishing the regular season 12-4. The Vikings trounced the Cowboys in the Divisional round, but were ousted by the New Orleans Saints in the Conference Championship game in overtime.
  • Behind former first-round pick Matthew Stafford, the Lions started the 2011 season 5-0 before finishing the year 10-6 and returning to the playoffs for the first time since 1999. The Lions lost to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card game.
  • The reigning Super Bowl champions got off to a blistering start in 2011, going undefeated in their first 13 games. The Packers finished the regular season 15-1 before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New York Giants, in the Divisional playoffs.
  • A 5-0 start doesn’t always lead to the promised land. Since 1990 two teams have won their first five games and missed the playoffs. The 2003 Minnesota Vikings and the 1993 New Orleans Saints.
 
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