Honestly, if you look back at the 2007 NFL football standings, it feels like peering into a different dimension of professional football. It was the year of the "Spygate" scandal, the year Tom Brady turned into a video game character, and the year the Miami Dolphins almost forgot how to win a single game. Most people just remember the Giants' upset in the Super Bowl, but the actual grit of the regular season standings tells a much weirder story.
The 16-0.
That’s the number that defines the AFC East. The New England Patriots didn't just win; they vaporized the competition. They finished with a point differential of +315. To put that in perspective, the next closest team that year was the Indianapolis Colts at +164. It was a statistical anomaly that made the rest of the league look like they were playing at half-speed.
The AFC dominance and the 16-0 shadow
The AFC was a meat grinder. You had the Patriots at the top, obviously, but the rest of the 2007 NFL football standings in that conference were stacked with powerhouse rosters that would’ve walked away with titles in other eras.
The Indianapolis Colts finished 13-3. Peyton Manning was at the height of his powers, throwing to Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, but they were perpetually stuck in the shadow of Foxborough. Then you had the San Diego Chargers. Remember that squad? LaDainian Tomlinson was still a human highlight reel, and they ground out an 11-5 record to take the AFC West.
In the North, the Pittsburgh Steelers took the division at 10-6. It was Mike Tomlin’s first year. People weren't sure if he could fill Bill Cowher’s shoes, but he proved it pretty quickly. They edged out the Browns—yes, the Cleveland Browns—who also finished 10-6 but lost the tiebreaker. That 2007 Browns team was a total fluke led by Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards. They scored points in bunches and gave fans a glimmer of hope that hasn't really been replicated with that same chaotic energy since.
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Down in the South, it was a bloodbath. Beyond the Colts, the Jacksonville Jaguars were actually terrifying. They went 11-5 with David Garrard playing the most efficient football of his life. He threw only three interceptions the entire season. Think about that. Three. In sixteen games. The Tennessee Titans also managed to sneak into the playoffs at 10-6, meaning the AFC South sent three teams to the postseason. It’s hard to imagine now, given the division's recent "Trash Mountain" reputation, but in 2007, the South was where careers went to die.
Breaking down the NFC’s chaos
The NFC was a completely different vibe. It felt more wide open, less "perfect," and frankly, a bit more fun if you liked unpredictable finishes.
The Dallas Cowboys took the NFC East with a 13-3 record. This was the peak Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, and Jason Witten era. They were flashy. They were loud. And they were, according to most experts at the time, the clear favorites to represent the NFC in the big game. But looking at the 2007 NFL football standings, the real story was the team that finished second in that division: the New York Giants.
The Giants were 10-6. They weren't "great." Eli Manning led the league in interceptions with 20. They were a wild card team that barely felt like a contender in December. But they had a defensive line featuring Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck that started to click at exactly the right moment.
In the North, the Green Bay Packers were 13-3. This was Brett Favre’s "last stand" in Green Bay (the first of several). He looked rejuvenated, finding Greg Jennings and Donald Driver for big plays constantly. They won the division by a mile, as the Vikings, Bears, and Lions all finished below .500.
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The NFC West was... well, it was the 2007 NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks won it at 10-6. Matt Hasselbeck was still slinging it, but the rest of the division was a mess. The Cardinals were 8-8, and the 49ers and Rams were combined for a miserable 8-24.
The South belonged to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 9-7. It was a weak division win, honestly. Jeff Garcia was their quarterback. The Panthers, Saints, and Falcons all struggled, with the Falcons specifically reeling from the Michael Vick legal situation and the Bobby Petrino "note on the locker" departure. It was a dark year for Atlanta.
The statistical outliers of 2007
When you dig into the bottom of the 2007 NFL football standings, you find the Miami Dolphins. 1-15. They were one overtime touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens away from an 0-16 season. Greg Camarillo’s 64-yard touchdown in Week 15 is the only reason they aren't remembered in the same breath as the 2008 Lions or 2017 Browns.
Then there’s the points scored category. The Patriots scored 589 points. That was a record at the time. They averaged 36.8 points per game. Most teams struggle to hit 24 consistently. Seeing that number next to the rest of the league in the standings makes it look like a typo. Randy Moss had 23 receiving touchdowns. Twenty-three. You can play Madden on "Rookie" mode and struggle to hit that.
Why the standings lie about the Giants
If you just look at the final records, the Giants shouldn't have been there. They had a negative turnover margin for a good chunk of the year. They lost to the Cowboys twice in the regular season. They lost to the Patriots in Week 17.
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But the standings don't show the "momentum" factor. The Week 17 loss to the Patriots, where the Giants actually led and played the starters the whole game despite having nothing to play for, is widely considered the most important "loss" in franchise history. It gave them the confidence that the 16-0 juggernaut was beatable.
Actionable insights for the modern fan
If you're using the 2007 NFL football standings to understand how the league has evolved, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Passing volume: In 2007, a 4,000-yard season was still elite. Only six quarterbacks hit that mark. Today, it's almost the baseline for a "good" starter.
- The "Bell Cow" back: This was one of the last years where the workhorse running back was king. LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, and Adrian Peterson (who was a rookie!) were the engines of their offenses.
- Strength of Schedule: When analyzing these standings, remember that the AFC was significantly deeper. A 10-6 record in the AFC (like the 2007 Browns) would likely have been a 12-4 record in the NFC that year.
To truly appreciate what happened in 2007, don't just look at the wins and losses. Look at the point differentials and the Pro Bowl rosters. It was a year where the gap between the "elites" and the "bottom feeders" was perhaps the widest it has ever been in the modern era of the NFL. For more context on specific team performances, checking the Pro Football Reference archives for 2007 is the best way to see the game-by-game breakdown of how these records were actually built.
The 2007 season remains a benchmark for dominance, even if the ending didn't go the way the standings suggested it would.