With a few exceptions, most NFL teams see their performances fluctuate wildly from year to year. A down-and-out 4-win team can transform into a 12-win NFC championship participant overnight, while a 12-win team that reached overtime in the Super Bowl can instantly drop to a six-win afterthought.
There are plenty of reasons for the NFL’s volatility. One of the biggest?
The volatility of individual players.
Most NFL players experience plenty of variability in their individual performance. The year-to-year consistency that may be standard in other sports is not the case in this particular league. Players who can sustain their performance on a yearly basis are exceptions.