The 2011 Jacksonville Jaguars season was the 17th season in the National Football League (NFL) for the Jacksonville Jaguars. It began as the 9th under head coach Jack Del Rio, until he was fired on November 29 and replaced on an interim basis by defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. Del Rio finished his tenure in Jacksonville with a 69-73 record in the regular season and 1-2 in the playoffs. He was also just 4 wins shy of surpassing his predecessor, Tom Coughlin as the winningest head coach in Jaguars history. The Jaguars had hoped to improve on their 8–8 record from 2010, but exceeded their loss total in Week 13, and were officially eliminated from postseason contention. With the 10th pick in the 2011 NFL draft, they selected quarterback Blaine Gabbert from the University of Missouri, and Gabbert would replace Luke McCown as the starting quarterback in Week 3.
The 2013 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 44th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the first under head coach Doug Marrone. It was also the final season under the ownership of Ralph Wilson, who died in March 2014 at the age of 95. The team equaled their record from 2012 and missed the playoffs, increasing their playoff drought to 14 seasons. This was the first year of renewed leases on Ralph Wilson Stadium and for the Bills Toronto Series, both of which were signed in the preceding offseason.
The 2014 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 19th in the National Football League (NFL) and their seventh under head coach John Harbaugh. The Ravens improved upon their 8–8 record from 2013, when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007. Additionally, the Ravens scored a franchise record 409 points and quarterback Joe Flacco passed for a career-high 27 touchdowns and 3,986 yards.
The 2014 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 45th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 47th overall and the twelfth under head coach Marvin Lewis. The Bengals qualified for the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season, but lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the first round, extending their playoff losing streak to 7 games, the 3rd longest losing streak in NFL history at the time, behind the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs who both had 8.
The 2015 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 50th overall. The Dolphins looked to improve on their 8–8 record from 2014 and return to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. However, Miami failed to clinch a playoff berth for the seventh consecutive season after a Week 14 loss to the New York Giants.
The 2015 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 20th in the National Football League (NFL) and their eighth under head coach John Harbaugh. Although picked by some, including Sports Illustrated's Peter King, to reach the Super Bowl, they had a disappointing season due to devastating injuries to team starters. 14 of their games were decided by 8 points or less and Joe Flacco, Justin Forsett, Steve Smith, Sr., and Terrell Suggs all suffered season ending injuries. They were eliminated from playoff contention in Week 14 with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, in which they also suffered their ninth loss, resulting their first losing season in the Harbaugh era and first since the collapse of the Brian Billick era. Ultimately the Ravens finished with a 5–11 record and twenty-two players ended the season on Injured Reserve. The 5–11 record is their worst since the 2007 season.
The 2015 Tennessee Titans season was the franchise's 46th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 56th overall and the 19th in the state of Tennessee. Second-year head coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired on November 3 following a 1–6 start, and was replaced by tight ends coach Mike Mularkey on an interim basis. Despite slightly improving from their 2–14 season from the previous year, finishing with a 3–13 record, they finished with a lower Strength of Schedule, thus earning the right to the top pick in the 2016 NFL draft, later trading it to the Los Angeles Rams.
The 2016 season was the Miami Dolphins' 47th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 51st overall, their first under general manager Chris Grier and their first under head coach Adam Gase. The season saw the Dolphins trying to improve upon their 6–10 record from 2015. After a lackluster 1–4 start, the Dolphins would claim six straight wins, and finish the season on a 9–2 run. With their Week 15 win over the New York Jets, the Dolphins clinched a winning record for the first time since 2008, and clinched a playoff berth the following week after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Denver Broncos, ending their 8-year playoff drought. This made Gase the Dolphins' first rookie coach since Tony Sparano to end a year-long playoff drought and also lead them to a winning record of at least 10 wins. They were also the first AFC East team, other than the New England Patriots, to qualify for the postseason since the 2010 New York Jets. However, they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round, ending their season and not winning a playoff game for the 16th straight year.
The 2016 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 21st in the National Football League (NFL) and their ninth under head coach John Harbaugh. With a week 12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the Ravens improved upon their 5–11 record from 2015, finishing the season 8–8. Despite the improvement, the Ravens failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive year after losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas Day in Week 16. It was the first time the Ravens missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2004–2005, and their first consecutive non-winning seasons since 1996–1999. They did, however, improve their position in the division, finishing in second place after finishing in third place for the previous three seasons.
The 2016 season was the Tennessee Titans franchise's 47th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 57th overall. It also marked the franchise's 20th season in the state of Tennessee as well as the first full season under head coach Mike Mularkey, who served as the team's interim head coach for the last nine games of the 2015 season.
The 2017 season was the Los Angeles Chargers' 48th in the National Football League (NFL), their 58th overall, their second in the Greater Los Angeles Area and their first under head coach Anthony Lynn. It was the Chargers' first season in Los Angeles since their inaugural 1960 season, when they were in the AFL, as the team exercised its option to move back to the city and join the Los Angeles Rams on January 12, 2017. The 2017 season was the first of three seasons played at StubHub Center prior to the new stadium in Inglewood being completed in 2020.
The 2017 season was the Miami Dolphins' 48th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 52nd overall, their second under general manager Chris Grier and their second under head coach Adam Gase. The team came off from a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance for the first time since 2008. They were seen as potential playoff contenders and looked to make consecutive playoff seasons for the first time since the 2000 and 2001 seasons. However, the team was affected by the loss of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who tore his ACL during practice and was ruled out for the season. The team turned to former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, who came out of retirement to become Tannehill's replacement and team's starter. After Tannehill got injured, coach Adam Gase called former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning about possibly coming out of retirement and taking Tannehill's place. However Manning later declined the idea of coming out of retirement. Gase was the QB coach and offensive coordinator of Peyton's Broncos between the 2012 and 2014 seasons. Additionally, the Dolphins were also one of the teams Peyton considered signing with following his release by the Colts in 2012. Later during the season, the team traded starting running back Jay Ajayi to the eventual champion Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a 2018 fourth round draft pick on October 31.
The 2017 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 52nd in the National Football League (NFL), their first playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and their third under head coach Dan Quinn. They entered the season as the defending NFC champions and tried to defend their NFC title for a second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl after losing the previous year against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI after blowing a 28-3 lead. This was the Falcons' first year in Mercedes-Benz Stadium after spending the previous 25 seasons in the Georgia Dome, which was demolished on November 20, 2017. Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened as scheduled on August 26, 2017; however, its retractable roof system was incomplete. The roof of Mercedes-Benz Stadium remained in the closed position for most of the 2017 season, with the roof opened only during the September 17 game against the Green Bay Packers, as contractors continued to fully mechanize the roof.
The 2017 season was the Jacksonville Jaguars' 23rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their first under head coach Doug Marrone. Marrone was hired after acting as the team's interim head coach for the final two games of the 2016 season. The team improved on their 3–13 record from 2016 and ended their 10-year playoff drought dating back to 2008 with a Week 15 win over the Houston Texans. They also secured their first winning season since 2007 after a 30–24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. On December 24, 2017, they clinched their third division title, and their first AFC South title following a Tennessee Titans loss. They won the wild card game against the Buffalo Bills 10–3, then headed to Pittsburgh, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 45–42 to advance to the AFC Championship to face the New England Patriots, the first time that they had made the AFC Championship game since 1999. Despite leading for much of the game, the Jaguars would allow two fourth quarter touchdowns, and ultimately lost to the Patriots 24–20.
The 2017 season was the Baltimore Ravens' 22nd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 10th under head coach John Harbaugh. This was also the 10th season with Joe Flacco as the team's starting quarterback. The Ravens improved on the previous season's 8–8 record, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season because of a last second touchdown in a 31–27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, combined with a Buffalo Bills' victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 17.
The 2018 season was the Miami Dolphins' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their 53rd overall and their third and last under head coach Adam Gase. During the offseason, the Dolphins tweaked their uniforms' orange color to better align with their classical past and history. For the second straight season, they also brought back their throwback uniforms from the Shula/Marino eras and wore them for three games.
The 2018 season was the New York Jets' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their 59th overall and their fourth and final under head coach Todd Bowles. Despite starting 3–3, they lost 9 of their last 10 games. In Week 3, the Jets lost to the Browns by a score of 21–17, becoming the first team to lose to the Browns since the Chargers lost 20–17 on Christmas Eve 2016. The win by the Browns ended a 19-game winless streak. Week 6 marked the first season the Jets have scored 40+ points in multiple games since the 2008 season. They were officially mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the 8th consecutive season after the Titans defeated the Jaguars 30–9 in Week 14. The Jets failed to improve on their 5–11 record from the previous season with a 38–3 blowout loss in Week 17 to the New England Patriots, finishing at last place in the AFC East with a 4–12 record. Following the season finale, the Jets fired Bowles.
The 2018 season was the Indianapolis Colts' 66th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 35th in Indianapolis. It was also their first season under head coach Frank Reich and second under the leadership of general manager Chris Ballard. Despite a 1–5 start, the Colts managed to improve on their 4–12 campaign from the year prior with a 38–10 victory over the Tennessee Titans, and a 5-game winning streak. On Week 16, the Colts achieved their first winning season since 2014 with a 28–27 win against the New York Giants. The next week, they beat the Tennessee Titans in a win or go home match-up to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and became the third team in NFL history to qualify for the playoffs after a 1–5 start and first since the 2015 Chiefs.
The 2018 season was the Atlanta Falcons' 53rd in the National Football League (NFL), their second playing their home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and their fourth under head coach Dan Quinn. The Falcons attempted to be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium as an expected Super Bowl contender. However, the Falcons were riddled with injuries, losing 7 starters to IR with the Falcons stumbling to a 1–4 start.
The 2021 season was the Miami Dolphins' 52nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 56th overall, and their third and final year under head coach Brian Flores, and sixth under general manager Chris Grier. Despite a 1–7 start to the season, Miami then won the next seven games, becoming the first team in NFL history to lose seven straight games and then win seven straight games in the same season. The 7-game win streak was their first since the 1985 season. They also became the sixth team in NFL history to win four or more consecutive games after losing seven in a row, after the 2009 Cleveland Browns, 1994 New York Giants, 1993 New England Patriots, 1984 Green Bay Packers, and the 1978 St. Louis Cardinals. However the Dolphins were eliminated from the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year after their win streak ended in Week 17 to the Tennessee Titans, combined with a win by the Los Angeles Chargers.