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An odd NFL regular season has come to a close.
For the first time since 2003, neither Super Bowl team from the previous season has made the playoffs. Two rookies, on the same team, are MVP candidates. Kickers missed kicks at a staggering rate. The team with the best defense (Denver Broncos) through 16 weeks, per Football Outsiders, missed the playoffs while the team with the worst defense (Detroit Lions) made it.
All in all, it was a strange but entertaining year, and the playoffs should be a lot of fun too.
Here are the final regular-season standings, a power ranking and a look back at a few on-field storylines that dominated this year.
Final 2016 NFL Standings Team Record Div. Record AFC East New England Patriots * 14-2 5-1 Miami Dolphins * 10-6 4-2 Buffalo Bills 7-9 1-5 New York Jets 5-11 2-4 AFC North Pittsburgh Steelers * 11-5 5-1 Baltimore Ravens 8-8 4-2 Cincinnati Bengals 6-9-1 3-3 Cleveland Browns 1-15 0-6 AFC South Houston Texans * 9-7 5-1 Tennessee Titans 9-7 2-4 Indianapolis Colts 8-8 3-3 Jacksonville Jaguars 3-13 2-4 AFC West Kansas City Chiefs * 12-4 6-0 Oakland Raiders * 12-4 3-3 Denver Broncos 9-7 2-4 San Diego Chargers 5-11 1-5 NFC East Dallas Cowboys * 13-3 3-3 New York Giants * 11-5 4-2 Philadelphia Eagles 8-7-1 3-3 Washington Redskins 7-9 2-4 NFC North Green Bay Packers * 10-6 5-1 Detroit Lions * 9-7 3-3 Minnesota Vikings 8-8 2-4 Chicago Bears 3-13 2-4 NFC South Atlanta Falcons * 11-5 5-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-7 4-2 New Orleans Saints 7-9 2-4 Carolina Panthers 6-10 1-5 NFC West Seattle Seahawks * 10-5-1 3-2-1 Arizona Cardinals 7-8-1 4-1-1 Los Angeles Rams 4-12 2-4 San Francisco 49ers 2-14 2-4
*Denotes playoff team
Final Regular Season Power Rankings
NFL Power Rankings Rank Team 1 New England Patriots 2 Dallas Cowboys 3 Pittsburgh Steelers 4 Kansas City Chiefs 5 Atlanta Falcons 6 Green Bay Packers 7 New York Giants 8 Seattle Seahawks 9 Oakland Raiders 10 Detroit Lions 11 Miami Dolphins 12 Denver Broncos 13 Houston Texans 14 Tennessee Titans 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 Washington Redskins 17 Indianapolis Colts 18 Arizona Cardinals 19 Minnesota Vikings 20 Philadelphia Eagles 21 Baltimore Ravens 22 Buffalo Bills 23 Cincinnati Bengals 24 New Orleans Saints 25 Carolina Panthers 26 San Diego Chargers 27 New York Jets 28 Los Angeles Rams 29 Chicago Bears 30 Jacksonville Jaguars 31 San Francisco 49ers 32 Cleveland Browns
Regular-Season Review of Top On-Field Storylines
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
Rookie Duo Dominates NFL
Has there ever been a time in NFL history when two rookies on the same team were strong MVP candidates?
Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys ran roughshod over the NFL, scoring points at will. Zeke finished with 1,994 all-purpose yards and 16 touchdowns, while Dak finished with 23 passing touchdowns (to only four interceptions) and six rushing scores.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, rolled to their best record (13-3) since 2007, when Tony Romo, Terrell Owens and DeMarcus Ware were leading the team.
This storyline is not yet over, as Dak and Zeke have a chance to make history and give Dallas its first Super Bowl in 21 years.
It helps that they don't have to leave the state of Texas throughout the entire NFL postseason.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Tom Brady Defies Aging Process, Patriots Dominate Again
Tom Brady, who will turn 40 years old this year, is an MVP candidate. That's a mind-boggling sentence to write.
Brady returned from his four-game Deflategate suspension and torched the NFL, throwing 28 touchdowns (to only two interceptions) to go along with 3,554 passing yards...in 12 games.
The Patriots went 11-1 in that span, defeating eight of 11 teams by double-digit scores. Overall, New England finished 14-2, marking the 14th straight season that they have won at least 10 games. They did all this even though their top weapon, Rob Gronkowski, played in only eight games.
Their run is simply remarkable.
Top 2015 Teams Disappoint
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The Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals failed to make the playoffs after each winning at least 12 games last season.
Injuries hurt the Panthers, and the loss of Josh Norman to free agency hurt a young secondary that struggled mightily at the beginning of the year.
Denver's offensive line and inconsistent—sometimes anemic—run game did it in despite the defense playing great football much more often than not.
Cincinnati couldn't find a way to close out tight games, losing six by single digits.
The Cards saw Carson Palmer regress and a wide receiver corps resemble a shell of its former self either because of injury or ineffectiveness.
Overall, the stark declines proved that the NFL truly is the "not for long" league.