Top-heavy NFC has two teams with non-winning records

The NFC field features two teams with non-winning records: the Bears (8-8) and Washington (7-9), the third team to make the playoffs with a losing record under the current divisional setup. The other two — Seattle (7-9) in 2010 and Carolina (78-1) in 2014 — both beat 11-5 teams in the wild-card round.

1. GREEN BAY PACKERS (13-3)

■ AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 2.

■ Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 45, 31-25 over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Feb. 6, 2011, at Arlington, Texas.

■ Last year: No. 2 seed, beat Seattle

28-23 in divisional round, lost 37-20 at San Francisco 37-20 in NFC championship.

■ This year: Tenth trip to playoffs in Rodgers’ 13 seasons as starting QB. Second consecutive NFC North title.

■ Quotable: “It’s been a long time. There’s been a lot of ball between now and February 6, 2011, which was a beautiful day. It’s important to all of us. There are so many guys who haven’t been in that mix before. Only a few of us actually were there for that moment, so it would be nice for all of us to get back.”— QB Aaron Rodgers.

NFC PREVIEW 2. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (12-4)

■ AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 4.

■ Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 44, beat Indianapolis 31-17 on Feb. 7, 2010.

■ Last year: No. 3 seed, lost to Minnesota Vikings 26-20 (OT) at home in wild-card round.

■ This year: Ninth playoff appearance in Brees’ 15 seasons in New Orleans. Fourth consecutive NFC South title.

■ Quotable: “All I know is this, I did not come back to play this season for myself. I came back for my team. I came back for the city. I came back for the organization. That’s why I am here.”— QB Drew Brees.

3. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (12-4)

■ AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 5.

■ Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 48, 43-8 over the Denver Broncos on Feb. 2, 2014, at East Rutherford, N.J.

■ Last year: No. 5 seed, beat Eagles 17-9 at Philadelphia in wild-card game, lost at Green Bay 28-23 in divisional round.

■ This year: Eighth playoff appearance in Wilson’s nine-year career. First NFC West title since 2016.

■ Quotable: “I’m thrilled about the fact that we’ve just continued to crescendo. We have continued to play solid football and keep the points down. I’m ready to play anybody, doesn’t matter who we play.”— coach Pete Carroll.

4. WASHINGTON (7-9)

■ AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 16

■ Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 26, 37-24 over Buffalo Bills on Jan. 26, 1992, at Minneapolis.

■ Last year: 3-13. Missed playoffs.

■ This year: First trip to the NFC playoffs since 2015. First NFC East title since 2015.

■ Quotable: “I’m not apologizing for getting in with a sub-500 record. At the end of the day, we won our division. It doesn’t matter how we did it, it’s a matter of getting into it. If people don’t think you have an opportunity and people don’t think you have a chance, well, great. It’s my job to make sure our players believe we have an opportunity and we have a chance.”— coach Ron Rivera.

5. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (11-5)

■ AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 8.

■ Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 37, 48-21 over Oakland Raiders on Jan. 26, 2003, at San Diego.

■ Last year: 6-10. Missed playoffs.

■ This year: First trip to the playoffs since 2007.

■ Quotable: “It doesn’t matter what a team’s record is, it doesn’t matter how they got here. They’re here, so they’re going to give you their best and we should put our best out there.”— LB Lavonte David.

6. LOS ANGELES RAMS (10-6)

■ AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 11.

■ Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 34, St. Louis beat Tennessee Titans 23-16 on Jan. 30, 2000, at Atlanta.

■ Last year: 9-7. Missed playoffs.

■ This year: First trip to the NFC playoffs since 2018.

■ Quotable: “I think our defense has consistently performed really well throughout the year. In spite of some of the things that have gone on with the offense, that’s not going to be an excuse for us not to be ready to go. The guys are going to be asked to step up, and I feel like they’re more than capable.”— coach Sean Mcvay.

7. CHICAGO BEARS (8-8)

■ AP Pro32 Ranking: No. 14.

■ Last Lombardi: Super Bowl 20, beat New England 46-10 on Jan. 26, 1986, at New Orleans.

■ Last year: 8-8. Missed playoffs.

■ This year: First trip to NFC playoffs since 2018.

■ Quotable: “So you lose six in a row, you still make the playoffs, and that’s not easy — 8-8. No it’s not perfect. We understand that. It’s not perfect. We have a lot of things to get better at, but we can’t worry about that. Now what we need to do is worry about everything we can to be the best team that we can on Sunday against the Saints.”— coach Matt Nagy.