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The Philadelphia Eagles went from playoff spectators to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy Mike Singletary Jersey , an impressive one-season turnaround that was far from unprecedented in the modern NFL.

The Eagles were the seventh team in the past 19 seasons to pull off that trick in a sport that always goes through some significant playoff turnover each season.

There have been at least four new playoff teams each year since the NFL went to the 12-team format in 1990, including eight new postseason participants last season when the Eagles won it all.

With new blood coming into the playoffs each year, there are just as many teams heading another way, doomed by injuries, age, bad luck, poor coaching or other reasons.

Here’s a look at three teams that could go from playoff spectators to participants, and three others that could go the opposite direction:

TRENDING UP

Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson showed flashes of becoming a star quarterback in six starts as a rookie before getting hurt. With the dynamic Watson on offense and a healthy J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus back on defense, the Texans could be in position to get back into the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. The Texans scored at least 33 points in Watson’s final five starts and then went 1-8 after he had a season-ending injury in practice. Keeping Watson healthy will be necessary it the Texans are going to rebound.

Green Bay Packers: Green Bay’s run of eight straight playoff appearances ended last season thanks mostly to a collarbone injury that limited star quarterback Aaron Rodgers to seven games. With Rodgers again healthy, the Packers should be among the contenders in the NFC, as they usually are. Green Bay was much more active this offseason under new GM Brian Gutekunst, adding prominent free agents like Jimmy Graham and Muhammad Wilkerson. New defensive coordinator Mike Pettine should bring a more aggressive approach that could help support Rodgers and the offense.

San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco won its final five games last year after making the switch to Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. With Garoppolo signed long term and poised to take his 7-0 career record into his first full season as an NFL starter and coach Kyle Shanahan having much more talent in Year 2 at the helm, the Niners could have the pieces to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Free-agent running back Jerick McKinnon should spark the offense Phillip Gaines Jersey , and the defense has some key building blocks in DT DeForest Buckner and LB Reuben Foster. Richard Sherman could provide a defensive boost at cornerback if his Achilles tendon injury is healed.

TRENDING DOWN

Buffalo Bills: The Bills ended the longest playoff drought in North America’s four major sports leagues when they made the postseason for the first time since 1999. Repeating that in coach Sean McDermott’s second season will be a more difficult trick, especially with the change made at quarterback this offseason. Tyrod Taylor was traded to Cleveland, leaving either career backup A.J. McCarron or raw rookie Josh Allen as the top two options. Making the playoffs with one of those two at the helm would be a long shot, even in the weaker AFC.

Tennessee Titans: The Titans also ended a playoff drought last season, making the postseason for the first time since 2008 under third-year quarterback Marcus Mariota and coach Mike Mularkey. Even winning a postseason game wasn’t enough for Mularkey to keep his job and Tennessee is now retooling under new coach Mike Vrabel. The Titans are in a tough division with Houston and Indianapolis likely taking big steps forward if Watson and Andrew Luck are healthy, and Jacksonville having one of the league’s most talented rosters. That makes a return to the postseason a difficult proposition in Tennessee.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons took a step back last year after their Super Bowl collapse the previous season but still made the playoffs as a wild-card team. The offense regressed a bit after losing Shanahan as coordinator. There still is plenty of talent in Atlanta led by quarterback Matt Ryan and receiver Julio Jones, but the NFC is stacked, leaving little margin for error.

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Sports rivalries between California teams are always intense. When it comes to hockey there isn’t much of a history, but that’s about to change.

North meets South when the San Jose Sharks visit the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of a first-round Western Conference matchup on Thursday night at Honda Center

This is the 14th playoff series between California teams and only the second between San Jose and Anaheim. It will be nearly impossible to top the first series.

In 2009, the Sharks entered the postseason as Presidents’ Trophy winners and with franchise records of 53 wins and 117 points. The eighth-seeded Ducks pulled off the upset in six games.

This season, Anaheim (44-25-13) finished on a 10-1-1 run to ease past San Jose and the Los Angeles Kings into second place in the Pacific Division.

“If we didn’t have success, we might not even be qualified for the playoffs,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle told the team’s official website.

San Jose (45-27-10) reached 100 points for the first time in coach Peter DeBoer’s three seasons but enters the playoffs on a 1-4-1 slump after a season-high eight-game winning streak.

“We’re drawing probably one of the top teams in the league Richard Dent Jersey , and it’s a great test for us,” DeBoer said Monday.

The Sharks went 3-0-1 versus the Ducks in the regular season, with three games going to a shootout. DeBoer is not expecting an easy series.

“They had 101 points, and that was without (Ryan) Getzlaf and (Ryan) Kesler (hip injury) for big parts of the season, so they’re probably a 110-point team at the end of the day,” he said.

Carlyle, who led Anaheim to its only Stanley Cup title in 2007, gave his insight on the Sharks.

“They’re a skating, well-coached hockey club,” he told the Orange County Register. “Lots of balance. They’re not a flashy team by any means but they’ve got a lot of depth through their lineup. They play a high-tempo game.”

San Jose’s offense is powered by Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns, who overcame a slow start — seven assists in his first 19 games — to lead the team with 67 points. Wings Joe Pavelski (66 points) and Logan Couture (team-high 34 goals, 61 points) also figured prominently.

Sharks winger Evander Kane, the fourth overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Atlanta Thrashers Patrick DiMarco Jersey , will make his postseason debut. Kane had nine goals and five assists in 17 games after being acquired in February from the Buffalo Sabres.

“In the short period he’s been here, he’s brought speed, which backs teams off. He’s brought a physical presence, which keeps people honest,” DeBoer said Monday.

For the second straight season, winger Rickard Rakell was Anaheim’s top goal scorer, this time with a career-high 34.

Getzlaf appeared in only 56 games — he missed 19 between late October and mid-December after facial surgery — and tied a career low with 11 goals, but also put up 50 assists. He has 118 points (37 goals, 81 assists) in 121 career playoff games.

Anaheim also got 20 goals this season from winger Ondrej Kase — a seventh-round draft pick in 2014 — and 20 from center Adam Henrique after he was picked up in a late November trade from the New Jersey Devils.

Both teams have solid options in goal, but the Ducks may have the better tandem.

Anaheim’s John Gibson set a career best with 31 wins and posted a 2.43 goals-against average in 60 games, while Ryan Miller went 12-6-6 with a 2.35 GAA and owns 28 career playoff wins.

San Jose’s Martin Jones reached 30 wins for the third time in as many seasons with the club despite a career-worst 2.55 GAA. Aaron Dell, who won 15 games in his second season, has never played a minute in the postseason.

Both teams will miss key players. For the Ducks Chad Thomas Jersey , defenseman Cam Fowler (eight goals, 24 assists) is expected to sit out the first round with a shoulder injury.

“The one thing they have is depth,” DeBoer said of Anaheim’s defensemen. “If (Fowler’s) in, he’s a great player. If he isn’t, they have a lot of great players.”

The bulk of the Ducks’ blue-line scoring comes from Josh Manson (career-high 37 points), Brandon Montour (career-high 32 points) and Hampus Lindholm (31 points).

San Jose will still be without Joe Thornton. The 20-year-veteran center has not played since suffering a right knee injury in late January. Nine months earlier, Thornton needed surgery to repair the MCL and ACL in his left knee.

“Not for Game 1, and that’s as far as we’ll go,” DeBoer said Tuesday.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at Honda Center.
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