The 2011 season was weird. Honestly, if you look back at the 2011 NFL football standings, you see a league in the middle of a massive identity crisis. It was the year of the lockout—a summer where we didn't even know if football would happen—and yet, it resulted in some of the most lopsided, offensive-heavy stat sheets we've ever seen. Defenses basically took the year off. Or maybe they just weren't allowed to play anymore.
Think about this. Three different quarterbacks threw for over 5,000 yards. Before 2011, that had only happened once in the history of the sport (Dan Marino in '84). Suddenly, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Matthew Stafford were all doing it at once. It was a video game.
The NFC North and the dominance of 15-1
The Green Bay Packers absolutely owned the regular season. Looking at the 2011 NFL football standings, that 15-1 record sits at the top like a monument to Aaron Rodgers' efficiency. He was untouchable. He threw 45 touchdowns and only six interceptions. People forget that the Packers actually rested their starters in Week 17 and Matt Flynn—yes, Matt Flynn—threw for six touchdowns against the Lions. That's how easy it was to move the ball that year.
But the standings don't tell you about the heartbreak.
The Packers went 15-1 and then got smoked at home by the Giants in the Divisional Round. It proved that a regular-season juggernaut is just a paper tiger if the pass rush gets hot at the right time. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions finally broke their playoff drought, finishing 10-6. It was the Calvin Johnson era at its peak. Megatron was a cheat code. If you were a DB in the NFC North that year, you probably still have nightmares about trying to jump with a guy who was essentially a created player in Madden.
The AFC’s predictable but chaotic hierarchy
Over in the AFC, the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens were on a collision course. The Patriots finished 13-3, clinching the top seed. Tom Brady was doing Tom Brady things, mostly throwing to Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. It was a two-tight-end system that nobody had an answer for.
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The Ravens were right behind them at 12-4. That defense was still terrifying. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs—they were the last line of defense against the "new" NFL where everyone was throwing 50 times a game.
Then you had the Houston Texans. They won the AFC South at 10-6 despite losing Matt Schaub to injury. They had to start T.J. Yates in the playoffs. It was a weird time for that division. The Colts? They were a disaster. Without Peyton Manning, who sat out the whole year with his neck injury, Indianapolis cratered to 2-14. It was the "Suck for Luck" campaign, and it worked perfectly. They bottomed out, got the first pick, and drafted Andrew Luck. Efficiency at its finest, even if it was painful to watch.
What the 2011 NFL football standings hide about the "Tebow" effect
You can't talk about these standings without mentioning the Denver Broncos. On paper, they were an 8-8 team. Average, right? Wrong.
Tim Tebow took over a 1-4 team and somehow willed them to the playoffs. They didn't win games by being better; they won games by being weirder. They’d trail for 55 minutes, Tebow would complete maybe three passes, and then suddenly he’d run for a touchdown or toss a prayer to Demaryius Thomas in overtime. They won the AFC West on a tiebreaker over the Chargers and Raiders, who also finished 8-8. It was the most improbable division title in recent memory.
The NFC East and the Giants’ "Just Enough" Strategy
The New York Giants are the reason why we shouldn't take regular-season standings too seriously. They finished 9-7. They had a negative point differential for a good chunk of the season. At one point, they lost four games in a row.
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If you looked at the 2011 NFL football standings in December, you would have bet your house that the Giants were dead.
But they beat the Cowboys in a "win and you’re in" Week 17 game. Then they went on the road and beat the 15-1 Packers. Then they beat the 49ers in a muddy, brutal NFC Championship game where Kyle Williams fumbled twice. Eli Manning took more hits that year than perhaps any quarterback in history and just kept getting up. It culminated in a Super Bowl win over the Patriots. It’s the ultimate proof that finishing "first" in the standings is secondary to being healthy and hot in January.
A look at the final divisional leaders
- AFC East: New England Patriots (13-3) - Total offensive machine.
- AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (12-4) - Won the tiebreaker over the Steelers.
- AFC South: Houston Texans (10-6) - First division title in franchise history.
- AFC West: Denver Broncos (8-8) - The year of Tebowmania.
- NFC East: New York Giants (9-7) - The eventual world champions.
- NFC North: Green Bay Packers (15-1) - Rodgers' MVP masterpiece.
- NFC South: New Orleans Saints (13-3) - Brees set the (then) passing record.
- NFC West: San Francisco 49ers (13-3) - Jim Harbaugh’s first year turnaround.
The 49ers were actually the biggest surprise. They had been irrelevant for a decade. Harbaugh showed up, told Alex Smith he was good enough, and they turned into a physical powerhouse overnight. Their 13-3 record was built on a defense that didn't allow a rushing touchdown until Week 16. That is an insane stat. In a year where everyone was throwing for 400 yards, the Niners were still trying to punch people in the mouth.
Why 2011 was a statistical outlier
The 132-day lockout meant players didn't have an offseason. No OTAs. No minicamps.
Standard logic says that would hurt the offense because timing is hard to master. The opposite happened. Defenses rely on communication, chemistry, and "clicks." Offenses rely on talent. In 2011, the talent won. Safeties were out of position, and guys like Jordy Nelson and Wes Welker made them pay every single Sunday.
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The "illegal contact" and "defenseless receiver" rules were also being enforced more strictly. The league wanted points. They got them. The 2011 NFL football standings reflect a league that had officially pivoted away from the ground-and-pound era and into the era of the "unlimited aerial assault."
Actionable takeaways for the modern fan
If you’re looking back at these numbers to settle a debate or for historical context, keep a few things in mind.
First, check the "Points For" column. You’ll see that the Saints and Packers were scoring nearly 35 points a game. That’s unsustainable for most eras, but it was the norm in 2011. Second, look at the turnover margins. The 49ers were +28. That’s why they went 13-3.
If you want to understand why the NFL looks the way it does today, 2011 is the blueprint. It was the year the league realized that high-scoring games drove ratings, and the rules—and the standings—have never looked back. To truly grasp the impact, go watch the highlights of the Saints-49ers Divisional game from that year. It’s arguably the best game of the decade and perfectly encapsulates the collision between an elite offense and a physical, opportunistic defense.
When researching these standings for historical bets or trivia, always cross-reference the "Strength of Schedule." The AFC West was notoriously weak that year, which allowed an 8-8 team to host a playoff game. It remains one of the best arguments for why the NFL eventually considered (but hasn't yet implemented) reseeding the playoffs based on record rather than division titles.