When was last time Packers finished in last place in NFC North?
By Jerry Tapp
Green Bay Packers fans and the team are hopeful that the 2023 NFL season will be an improvement over last season's 8-9 record. While the fan-base and those inside 1265 Lombardi Avenue are optimistic, others are not.
Oddsmakers over the past few months have opined that the Pack will be at the bottom of the standings at the end of the year in the NFC North. This hasn't happened often for the Packers since 2005.
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The 2005 season is the last year the Packers were in last place in their division. That year the team went 4-12. They lost seven of their first eight games; in fact, five of those seven losses were by seven points or less. Brett Favre led the league in interceptions with 29, and Mike Sherman, who had been the head coach for the team for five years, was fired after the end of the '05 season.
It's interesting to note, however, that the Packers are one of three teams in the NFL who have not finished in last place in their division in more than 15 years. The New England Patriots last finished in last place in their division in 2000, while the Pittsburgh Steelers have not finished in last place in their division since 1988.
In 2002, the NFL went to its current format of four divisions of four teams in each conference. That means that the Patriots and Steelers have never finished in last place in the current division format; the Packers have the third longest stretch without a last-place finish.
Here's a look at the last time each NFL team finished in last place since 2002 when the league went to the current four-division, four-team format.
- Never: New England, Pittsburgh
- 2005: Green Bay
- 2008: New Orleans
- 2011: Indianapolis
- 2012: Kansas City
- 2013: Buffalo, Minnesota
- 2014: Los Angeles Rams
- 2015: Dallas, Tennessee
- 2018: Las Vegas, Tampa Bay
- 2019: Los Angeles Chargers, Miami
- 2020: Cincinnati, Philadelphia, San Francisco
- 2021: Baltimore, Carolina, Detroit, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Seattle
- 2022: Arizona, Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, New York Jets, Washington
One final stat: The New York Jets and Denver Broncos each have finished in last place in their divisions in three straight seasons, tied for the longest current streak in the NFL.
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