Winning division year after no playoffs commonplace in NFL

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The idea a year ago that the San Francisco 49ers would win the NFC West following a three-year stretch of winning just 12 games combined seemed far-fetched.  Maybe it shouldn’t have considering how often teams go from also-rans to division champs in the span of a year in the modern NFL. Last year marked the 16th time in the past 17 seasons that two teams won the division a year after missing the playoffs entirely, with Green Bay also doing it.The post