One of the tenets of the NFL's caliber of competition is the balance among the 31 teams.
Any team can beat anyone else.
Never has that been more true than now. Prior to the merger in 1970, it was more difficult for such a turnaround to result in playoff success. Occasional exceptions were made when two teams tied for a conference or division title, yielding a tie-breaking playoff game. In addition, just 18.8 percent of the division winners in those eight seasons had not recorded a winning season the year before. The 1978 addition of a second wild-card in each conference gave turnaround teams an extra chance.