What is strength of victory in the NFL? Exploring the method used to determine playoff teams in case of a tiebreak

As we head closer to the NFL playoffs, some teams are rushing to book their spots in the postseason. Others may finish with an equal win-loss record at the end of the regular season. In such cases, the league may use each team's strength of victory to determine which side makes it to the playoffs.

The strength of victory is effectively the composite record of teams defeated by a franchise. It is calculated by combining the winning percentage of the opponents a team has beaten.

When two teams end up with identical records after the regular season, they combine the records of the opponents in each of the team's wins and calculate the total winning percentage. The team whose opponents have the highest winning percentage has the advantage in the tiebreaker.

The NFL can use this method to determine which teams can qualify for the postseason if teams have similar win-loss records at the end of the regular season. The procedure can also be used to resolve seedings in the playoffs if teams that have qualified for the postseason have identical records.

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Which teams have made the NFL playoffs in the 2022-23 season?

(L-to-R) Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce

As we head into Week 16, a total of six teams have already made the playoffs. They are the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and San Francisco 49ers. There are still eight playoff spots available with three weeks of regular season football remaining.

The Chiefs, Niners, and Vikings are the three teams that have already sealed their respective divisional titles for the campaign.

Meanwhile, five teams have also officially been eliminated from playoff contention. The Houston Texans (1-10-1), Chicago Bears (3-10), Denver Broncos (3-10), Arizona Cardinals (4-10), and Los Angeles Rams (4-10) will not participate in the postseason.

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