NFL: What To Look For- Wild Card Weekend

What To Look For — Wild Card Weekend

2008, WildCard, 01/02/2009 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR – WILD CARD WEEKEND

FROM WILD CARD TO SUPER BOWL: Winners in the Wild Card round have won the Super Bowl six times, with the last three champions all being Wild Card winners. Last year, the NFC fifth-seeded New York Giants won three road games and then triumphed in Arizona over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Two years ago, AFC third-seeded Indianapolis accomplished the feat. And three years ago, Pittsburgh became the first sixth seed to win a Super Bowl.

The six winners in the Wild Card round to win the Super Bowl:

SEASON
TEAM
SUPER BOWL RESULT

1980
Oakland
Defeated Philadelphia in Super Bowl XV, 27-10

1997
Denver
Defeated Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXII, 31-24

2000
Baltimore
Defeated New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, 34-7

2005
Pittsburgh
Defeated Seattle in Super Bowl XL, 21-10

2006
Indianapolis
Defeated Chicago in Super Bowl XLI, 29-17

2007
New York Giants
Defeated New England in Super Bowl XLII, 17-14

COMING IN HOT: With nine consecutive wins, the AFC fifth-seeded Indianapolis Colts have tied the all-time mark for the most consecutive victories for a Wild Card team entering the playoffs. After a 3-4 start, the Colts did not lose a game, securing second place in the AFC South behind Tennessee (13-3).

When the Colts meet the San Diego Chargers on Saturday night, the teams will set a record. Their combined 13-game winning streak (9 for Colts, 4 for Chargers), marks the longest combined winning streak for opposing teams in the Wild Card round.

Following are the top five winning streaks for Wild Card teams entering the playoffs:

TEAM
YEAR
STREAK
PLAYOFF RESULT

Indianapolis
2008
9
???

New Orleans
1987
9
Lost to Minnesota in Wild Card round, 44-10

Baltimore
2000
7
Defeated New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, 34-7

Detroit
1995
7
Lost to Philadelphia in Wild Card round, 58-37

New England
1994
7
Lost to Cleveland in Wild Card round, 20-13

ROOKIE-QB RECORD: This weekend, two games will feature rookie quarterbacks. When Atlanta’s MATT RYAN and Baltimore’s JOE FLACCO take the field on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, it will be the first time in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) that two rookie quarterbacks start a playoff game in the same year.

Ryan and Flacco make up a quarter of the list of rookie quarterbacks to start playoff games in the Super Bowl era.

The six rookie quarterbacks to start a playoff game (since 1966):

QUARTERBACK
SEASON
TEAM
PLAYOFF RESULT

Dan Marino
1983
Miami Dolphins
Advanced to Divisional round

Bernie Kosar
1985
Cleveland Browns
Advanced to Divisional round

Jim Everett
1986
L.A. Rams
Advanced to Wild Card round

Todd Marinovich
1991
L.A. Raiders
Advanced to Wild Card round

Shaun King
1999
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Advanced to NFC Championship

Ben Roethlisberger
2004
Pittsburgh Steelers
Advanced to AFC Championship

Joe Flacco
2008
Baltimore Ravens
???

Matt Ryan
2008
Atlanta Falcons
???

MAKING AN ENTRANCE: In his second season, Minnesota Vikings’ running back ADRIAN PETERSON led the NFL in rushing with 1,760 yards. On Sunday, he will make his playoff debut when the Vikings host the Philadelphia Eagles.

With 106 yards, Peterson will top the all-time mark for most rushing yards in a playoff debut by a player who led the league in rushing that year. Since entering the league in 2007, Peterson has averaged 103.4 rushing yards per game to lead the NFL in the category.

Following are the most rushing yards in a playoff debut by players who led the league in rushing in the same year:

PLAYER
TEAM
SEASON
RUSHING YARDS

Emmitt Smith
Dallas Cowboys
1991
105

Eric Dickerson
L.A. Rams
1983
99

Earl Campbell
Houston Oilers
1978
84

Jim Brown
Cleveland Browns
1957
69

Walter Payton
Chicago Bears
1977
60

Adrian Peterson
Minnesota Vikings
2008
???

— NFL —

QUICK TEACHERS: This season, several teams have excelled under the guidance of rookie head coaches. That fact will never be more evident than when JOHN HARBAUGH brings his Baltimore Ravens to Miami to face TONY SPARANO’s Dolphins on Sunday.

Both coaches led their teams to 11-5 records (as did Atlanta rookie head coach MIKE SMITH), with Harbaugh helping the Ravens secure a Wild Card spot, and Sparano guiding the Dolphins to a 10-game turnaround from last season and the AFC East crown.

Sunday’s matchup will be unique. It will be only the third time in history that rookie head coaches face each other in the playoffs.

Following is the history of rookie head coaches facing each other in the playoffs:

COACHES
DATE
RESULT

Paul Brown (Cleveland) vs. Joe Stydahar (Los Angeles)
12/24/50
Cleveland 30, Los Angeles 28

Jim Haslett (New Orleans) vs. Mike Martz (St. Louis)
12/30/00
New Orleans 31, St. Louis 28

John Harbaugh (Baltimore) vs. Tony Sparano (Miami)
1/4/08
???

— NFL —

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