National Football Conference West Division

The NFC West is a division of the National Football League's National Football Conference. It currently has four members: Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks.

When the division was created after the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970, the division had the following four teams: Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, and San Francisco 49ers, basically being the old Coastal Division with a team substitution. When the Seattle Seahawks began play in 1976, they spent their first year in this division before moving to the AFC West the following year. In 1995, the new Carolina Panthers team was put into the NFC West. And even though the Rams moved to St. Louis that same year, they remained in this division (despite the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East being located further west).

The 2002 re-alignment changed the entire look of the NFC West. The Falcons, Panthers, and Saints moved out into the NFC South, while the Cardinals and Seahawks moved in. The Rams remained in the West, preserving the historical rivalry with the 49ers that has existed since 1950, and thus are currently the only team in the division that is located east of the Rocky Mountains (the Rams had played in Los Angeles from 1946-1994, thus contributing to the rivalry with the 49ers).

Divisional membership

Current members

*Arizona Cardinals - Joined in 2002 from the NFC East
*St. Louis Rams - Founding member
*Seattle Seahawks - Joined in 2002 from the AFC West
*San Francisco 49ers - Founding member

Former members

*Atlanta Falcons - Founding member; currently part of the NFC South
*New Orleans Saints - Founding member; currently part of the NFC South
*Carolina Panthers - Joined in 1995 as an expansion team; currently part of the NFC South

Division Lineups

Lineup for 1970-1975

*San Francisco 49ers
*Atlanta Falcons
*New Orleans Saints
*Los Angeles Rams

Changes from 1969

*Creation of division due to 1970 AFL-NFL Merger

Changes from 1975

*The Seattle Seahawks were added in the 1976 expansion

Lineup for 1976

*San Francisco 49ers
*Atlanta Falcons
*New Orleans Saints
*Los Angeles Rams
*Seattle Seahawks

Changes from 1976

*The Seattle Seahawks moved into the AFC West

Lineup for 1977-1995

*San Francisco 49ers
*Atlanta Falcons
*New Orleans Saints
*Los Angeles Rams

Lineup from 1995-2001

*San Francisco 49ers
*Atlanta Falcons
*New Orleans Saints
*St. Louis Rams
*Carolina Panthers

Changes from 1994

*The Carolina Panthers were added in the 1995 expansion
*The Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis

Lineup from 2002-Present

*Arizona Cardinals
*St. Louis Rams
*Seattle Seahawks
*San Francisco 49ers

Changes from 2001

*The Arizona Cardinals moved from the NFC East in the 2002 NFL realignment
*The Seattle Seahawks moved from the AFC West
*The Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Carolina Panthers moved into the NFC South

Division champions

{| class="wikitable"
- bgcolor="#efefef"! Season !! Team !! Record !! Playoff Results
-
1970 || San Francisco 49ers || 10-3-1 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1971 || San Francisco 49ers || 9-5-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1972 || San Francisco 49ers || 8-5-1 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1973 || Los Angeles Rams || 12-2-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1974 || Los Angeles Rams || 10-4-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1975 || Los Angeles Rams || 12-2-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1976 || Los Angeles Rams || 10-3-1 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1977 || Los Angeles Rams || 10-4-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1978 || Los Angeles Rams || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1979 || Los Angeles Rams || 9-7-0 || Lost Super Bowl XIV
-
1980 || Atlanta Falcons || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1981 || San Francisco 49ers || 13-3-0 || Won Super Bowl XVI
-
1982+ || Atlanta Falcons || 5-4-0 || Lost NFC First Round
-
1983 || San Francisco 49ers || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1984 || San Francisco 49ers || 15-1-0 || Won Super Bowl XIX
-
1985 || Los Angeles Rams || 11-5-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1986 || San Francisco 49ers || 10-5-1 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1987 || San Francisco 49ers || 13-2-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1988 || San Francisco 49ers || 10-6-0 || Won Super Bowl XXIII
-
1989 || San Francisco 49ers || 14-2-0 || Won Super Bowl XXIV
-
1990 || San Francisco 49ers || 14-2-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1991 || New Orleans Saints || 11-5-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1992 || San Francisco 49ers || 14-2-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1993 || San Francisco 49ers || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1994 || San Francisco 49ers || 13-3-0 || Won Super Bowl XXIX
-
1995 || San Francisco 49ers || 11-5-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1996 || Carolina Panthers || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1997 || San Francisco 49ers || 13-3-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1998 || Atlanta Falcons || 14-2-0 || Lost Super Bowl XXXIII
-
1999 || St. Louis Rams || 13-3-0 || Won Super Bowl XXXIV
-
2000 || New Orleans Saints || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
2001 || St. Louis Rams || 14-2-0 || Lost Super Bowl XXXVI
-
2002 || San Francisco 49ers || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
2003 || St. Louis Rams || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
2004 || Seattle Seahawks || 9-7-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
2005 || Seattle Seahawks || 13-3-0 || Lost Super Bowl XL
-
2006 || Seattle Seahawks || 9-7-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
2007 || Seattle Seahawks || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
###@@@KEYEND@@@###
* A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored, Atlanta had the best record of the division teams.

Wild Card qualifiers

{| class="wikitable"
- bgcolor="#efefef"! Season !! Team !! Record !! Playoff Results
-
1970 || "None" || -- || --
-
1971 || "None" || -- || --
-
1972 || "None" || -- || --
-
1973 || "None" || -- || --
-
1974 || "None" || -- || --
-
1975 || "None" || -- || --
-
1976 || "None" || -- || --
-
1977 || "None" || -- || --
-
1978 || Atlanta Falcons || 9-7-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1979 || "None" || -- || --
-
1980 || "None" || -- || --
-
1981 || "None" || -- || --
-
1982+ || "None" || -- || --
-
1983 || Los Angeles Rams || 9-7-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1984 || Los Angeles Rams || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1985 || San Francisco 49ers || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1986 || Los Angeles Rams || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1987 || New Orleans Saints || 12-3-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1988 || Los Angeles Rams || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1989 || Los Angeles Rams || 11-5-0 || Lost NFC Championship Game
-
1990 || New Orleans Saints || 8-8-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1991 || Atlanta Falcons || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1992 || New Orleans Saints || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1993 || "None" || -- || --
-
1994 || "None" || -- || --
-
1995 || Atlanta Falcons || 9-7-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
1996 || San Francisco 49ers || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1997 || "None" || -- || --
-
1998 || San Francisco 49ers || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
1999 || "None" || -- || --
-
2000 || St. Louis Rams || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
2001 || San Francisco 49ers || 12-4-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
2002 || "None" || -- || --
-
2003 || Seattle Seahawks || 10-6-0 || Lost NFC Wild Card Playoffs
-
2004 || St. Louis Rams || 8-8-0 || Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
-
2005 || "None" || -- || --
-
2006 || "None" || -- || --
-
2007 || "None" || -- || --
###@@@KEYEND@@@###
* A players' strike in 1982 reduced the regular season to nine games. Thus, the league used a special 16-team playoff tournament just for this year. Division standings were ignored.

Total playoff berths

{| class="wikitable"
- bgcolor="#efefef"! Team !! Division Championships !! Playoff Berths
-
San Francisco 49ers || 17 || 21
-
Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams¹ || 11 || 18
-
Seattle Seahawks⁴ || 4 || 5
-
Atlanta Falcons² || 3 || 6
-
New Orleans Saints² || 2 || 5
-
Carolina Panthers² || 1 || 1
-
Arizona Cardinals || 0³ || 0³
###@@@KEYEND@@@###¹ Known as the Los Angeles Rams before 1995.

² Realigned into the NFC South during the 2002 NFL season.

³ Cardinals had all 4 of its playoff appearances while in the NFC East: two when they were in St. Louis. The two championships were when they were based in Chicago.

⁴ Seattle won two division titles and had a total of five playoff berths while in the AFC West. The numbers in the above table only represent NFC playoff appearances.

Trivia

* The Seattle Seahawks played their inaugural season, in 1976, as a member of the NFC West. They since played in the AFC West from 1977 to 2001, and then returned to their original division alignment in 2002.