Are we really that far off from the top….
To win in the NFL you cannot just be lucky: you have to be lucky AND good.
We were neither last year, so don't fool yourself into thinking a little luck makes us real competitors. The flip side to "almost" beating 3 contenders is, perhaps, those competitors were just a small amount of luck from blowing us out. Perhaps our luck was in keeping it close.
There haven't been any coaches here who have covered themselves in glory the past 2 1/2 years and it is unlikely any of them would have, regardless of our injury history.