NFL STANDINGS
GLOSSARY
- W:Wins
- L:Losses
- T:Ties
- PCT:Winning Percentage
- HOME:Home Record
- AWAY:Away Record
- DIV:Division Record
- CONF:Conference Record
- PF:Total Points For
- PA:Total Points Against
- DIFF:Point Differential
- STRK:Current Streak
- Z –:Clinched Division
- E –:Eliminated from Playoff Contention
- Y –:Clinched Wild Card
- * –:Clinched Division and Bye
As the NFL season progresses, teams are ranked by their wins and losses, which are listed as the league’s standings. In the NFL, the determination of which teams make it to the postseason and which don’t is made based on that team’s standing in its division and its conference.
Each NFL conference (AFC and NFC) has four divisions (North, South, East and West), and each division has four teams. The NFL also awards two Wild Card spots in the playoffs on top of the four spots given to each conference for Divisional Champions.
In NFL standings, teams are ranked by how they perform in their own conference, as well as how they perform against teams in their division. The most basic numbers on a chart listing the league’s standings is the win-loss (W-L) column, giving viewers an instant idea of how many games each team has won and lost.
Next to the W – L column is typically a number that represents a team’s winning percentage. For example, if ten games have been played and a team has won five of them, their winning percentage is 0.50, or 50%. A team wins the divisional title by having the highest winning percentage. In the event that two division teams tie with their records, there are rules to determine who is the division winner, although this doesn’t happen very often.
Other details available to bettors in standings charts are a team’s records playing at home or away, how they play against in-conference or in-division teams and current winning or losing streaks. The home and away records can be particularly valuable, especially when it comes to placing bets. If a team has a pattern of playing poorly on the road, then the gambler may want to think twice, even if that team is favored in an upcoming game.
A team’s performance against in-conference and in-division opponents is a great indicator of how they might perform in the postseason if they make it there. A team that has a large number of wins against non-divisional opponents is more likely to lose in the early rounds of the playoffs than a team that has consistently won against inter-divisional rivals.
Gamblers might also see other stats on the standings charts, such as PA and PF. These are Points Allowed and Points For, which give viewers an idea of how well a team, on average, performs defensively and offensively. This information also has to be considered before placing any bets.
