NFC West
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| Conference | National Football Conference |
|---|---|
| League | National Football League |
| Sport | American Football |
| Founded | 1967 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Most recent champion(s) | San Francisco 49ers (18th title) |
| Most titles | San Francisco 49ers (18 titles) |
The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks.
The division was formed in 1967 as the National Football League Coastal Division, keeping with the theme of having all of the league's divisions starting with the letter "C." The division was so named because its teams were fairly close to the coasts of the United States, although they were on opposite coasts, making for long travel between division rivals. The NFL Coastal Division had four members: Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Colts, Los Angeles Rams, and San Francisco 49ers. Los Angeles and San Francisco occupied the West Coast, while Baltimore and Atlanta occupied the East Coast (in the case of Atlanta, it was also fairly close to the Gulf Coast).
After the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970, the division was renamed the NFC West. The Baltimore Colts moved to the AFC East and were replaced by the New Orleans Saints. In 1976, the newly-formed Seattle Seahawks spent one season in this division before moving to the AFC West. Except for that one year, the division remained the same until 1995 with the addition of the new Carolina Panthers team. And even though the Rams moved to St. Louis that same year, they remained in this division (despite the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East being located further west), leaving just one team on the West Coast.
The 2002 re-alignment changed the entire look of the NFC West. The Falcons, Panthers, and Saints moved into the NFC South, while the Cardinals and Seahawks moved in. The Rams remained in the West, preserving the historical rivalry with the 49ers that has existed since 1950, and thus are currently the only team in the division that is located east of the Rocky Mountains (the Rams had played in Los Angeles from 1946–1994, thus contributing to the rivalry with the 49ers).
In 2010, the NFC West became the first division in NFL history to have a champion with a losing record, after the 2010 Seattle Seahawks won the division title with a record of 7-9.
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[edit] Divisional lineups
- 1967–69
The Western Conference respectively divided into the Coastal and Central divisions. Atlanta moved in from the Eastern Conference. Also joining the Coastal Division are Baltimore, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
- 1970–75
- Atlanta Falcons
- Los Angeles Rams
- New Orleans Saints
- San Francisco 49ers
New Orleans Saints moved in from Capitol Division (now National Football Conference's East division, also known as NFC East) The Coastal Division is renamed National Football Conference's West division (or NFC West for short), due to the AFL-NFL Merger. Baltimore moved to the American Football Conference's East division (or AFC East for short).
- 1976
- Atlanta Falcons
- Los Angeles Rams
- New Orleans Saints
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks are enfranchised.
- 1977–94
- Atlanta Falcons
- Los Angeles Rams
- New Orleans Saints
- San Francisco 49ers
Seattle moved to AFC West.
- 1995–2001
- Atlanta Falcons
- Carolina Panthers
- New Orleans Saints
- St. Louis Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
L.A. Rams moved to St. Louis. Carolina Panthers are enfranchised.
- 2002–present
- Arizona Cardinals
- St. Louis Rams
- San Francisco 49ers
- Seattle Seahawks
Atlanta, Carolina, and New Orleans moved to the NFC South division. Arizona moved in from NFC East, Seattle moved in from AFC West.
[edit] Division champions
*A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special sixteen-team playoff tournament for that year only. Division standings were ignored, and Atlanta had the best record of the division teams.
[edit] Wild Card qualifiers
| Season | Team | Record | Playoff Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | None | -- | -- |
| 1971 | None | -- | -- |
| 1972 | None | -- | -- |
| 1973 | None | -- | -- |
| 1974 | None | -- | -- |
| 1975 | None | -- | -- |
| 1976 | None | -- | -- |
| 1977 | None | -- | -- |
| 1978 | Atlanta Falcons | 9-7-0 | Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1979 | None | -- | -- |
| 1980 | Los Angeles Rams | 11-5-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1981 | None | -- | -- |
| 1982* | None | -- | -- |
| 1983 | Los Angeles Rams | 9-7-0 | Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1984 | Los Angeles Rams | 10-6-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1985 | San Francisco 49ers | 10-6-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1986 | Los Angeles Rams | 10-6-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1987 | New Orleans Saints | 12-3-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1988 | Los Angeles Rams | 10-6-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1989 | Los Angeles Rams | 11-5-0 | Lost NFC Championship Game |
| 1990 | New Orleans Saints | 8-8-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1991 | Atlanta Falcons | 10-6-0 | Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1992 | New Orleans Saints | 12-4-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1993 | None | -- | -- |
| 1994 | None | -- | -- |
| 1995 | Atlanta Falcons | 9-7-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 1996 | San Francisco 49ers | 12-4-0 | Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1997 | None | -- | -- |
| 1998 | San Francisco 49ers | 12-4-0 | Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 1999 | None | -- | -- |
| 2000 | St. Louis Rams | 10-6-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 2001 | San Francisco 49ers | 12-4-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 2002 | None | -- | -- |
| 2003 | Seattle Seahawks | 10-6-0 | Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs |
| 2004 | St. Louis Rams | 8-8-0 | Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs |
| 2005 | None | -- | -- |
| 2006 | None | -- | -- |
| 2007 | None | -- | -- |
| 2008 | None | -- | -- |
| 2009 | None | -- | -- |
| 2010 | None | -- | -- |
| 2011 | None | -- | -- |
*A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special sixteen-team playoff tournament for that year only. Division standings were ignored.
[edit] See also
[edit] Total playoff berths
| Team | Division Championships | Playoff Berths | Super Bowl Record (wins-losses) |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 18 | 22 | 5-0 |
| St. Louis Rams | 11 | 18 | 1-2 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 5 | 6 | 0-1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 2 | 2 | 0-1 |
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