Jump to content

Titans @ Patriots: Wild Card Weekend

Vic Mackey

By Vic Mackey
in Football

 Share

Recommended Posts

Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 46936

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I’ll never understand people that don’t pick the patriots to make the super bowl. Every year they’re “not like the pats teams of old” and every year they prove people wrong.

This year will probably be that year. In their dynasty which now spans 18 or 19 years, they have never made the Super Bowl as a wild card team off the top of my head. The NFL is not set up for wild card round teams to make runs to the Super Bowl. I think they will beat the Titans but going on the road to KC next week? I don't know about that. They did it last year in the AFc title game so who knows. They screwed themselves royally by losing to Miami at home last week. That loss took them from a first round bye to a wild card round. Their road after this round would be road games in KC and Baltimore. That's tough/

Link to comment
Share on other sites
EMAWesome

EMAWesome 101

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, Helobious said:

I’ll never understand people that don’t pick the patriots to make the super bowl. Every year they’re “not like the pats teams of old” and every year they prove people wrong.

Here's their problem this year.  They have to show stuff this week while the team they play next week doesn't.  In past years it was the other way around every time they played.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10771

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

The NFL is not set up for wild card round teams to make runs to the Super Bowl.

Since the NFL expanded the playoffs in 1990-91, it hasn't been unheard of for teams to emerge from the wild-card round and win the Super Bowl. But a team without the benefit of a first-round bye hasn't advanced to the NFL's final Sunday in seven years. 

 

Saints coach Sean Payton noted several times this week that sometimes this is just how things shake out. Yes, the 2019 Saints are just the third 13-3 team to fall to the No. 3 seed — but then there were seasons like 2006, when the Saints secured the No. 2 seed with a 10-6 record. 

 

"You look around and there's a ton of great teams, and even the teams that are going on the road this week are really, really good teams," quarterback Drew Brees said. "Nobody snuck into the playoffs here. Everybody earned their spot."

 

The last time a team from the wild-card round won the Super Bowl was in 2012-13, when the Baltimore Ravens earned the No. 4 seed after winning the AFC North on a tiebreaker. The Ravens hosted the No. 5 Colts, winning 24-9 before hitting the road in Denver. It took double overtime for the Ravens to beat the No. 1-seeded Broncos 38-35.

 

Baltimore then beat New England 28-13 to advance to the Super Bowl, where it toppled San Francisco at the Superdome to win their second championship. 

 

Overall, eight teams have advanced out of the wild-card round to win the Super Bowl — No. 4 Denver in 1997-98, No. 4 Baltimore in 2000-01, No. 6 Pittsburgh in 2005-06, No. 3 Indianapolis in 2006-07, No. 5 New York Giants in 2007-08, No. 6 Green Bay in 2010-11, No. 4 Giants in 2011-12 and No. 4 Baltimore in 2012-13.

 

Four other teams have won wild-card games and lost the Super Bowl: No. 4 Buffalo in 1992-93, No. 4 Tennessee in 1999-00, No. 3 Carolina in 2003-04 and No. 4 Arizona in 2008-09. 

 

But since the Ravens' last Super Bowl, the brackets have more often gone chalk. The maximum number of wild-card teams that could have played in AFC or NFC championship games since then is 12, two for each year. Five of the 12 have made it that far. 

 

San Francisco made the 2013-14 NFC championship game as a No. 5 seed before losing to eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle. The next year, No. 4-seeded Indianapolis made the AFC championship game before getting trounced by eventual Super Bowl champion New England.

 

No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 4 Green Bay made their conference title games in 2016-17 (the Steelers lost to the Patriots; the Packers lost to the Falcons). 

 

Jacksonville was the lone wild-card survivor in 2017-18 for the AFC championship game, but the Patriots edged the Jaguars 24-20. Last year, no wild-card teams made it through to the conference championship weekend. 

 

This year is a little different. This year's Saints team is just the third in NFL history to enter a wild-card game with a 13-3 record for the third time in NFL history. 

 

The two previous 13-3 teams who played wild-card games — the 2011 Saints and the 1999 Tennessee Titans — finished in different spots.

 

The No. 3-seeded 2011 Saints bullied past the No. 6 Lions in their wild-card game but lost to the No. 2-seeded 49ers at Candlestick Park in a 36-32 thriller. Alex Smith to tight end Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left. 

 

Tennessee, on the other hand, won close games in the AFC wild-card round — against Buffalo 22-16, in the Music City Miracle — and the AFC divisional round (a 19-16 win at Indianapolis). The Titans then stomped the No. 1-seeded Jaguars in the AFC championship game 33-14 to advance to their first and only Super Bowl appearance. St. Louis defeated the Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV. 

 

If the Saints reach the Super Bowl again, their road will be one game longer than the path they took in 2009.

 

But other teams have done it before. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 46936

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 minutes ago, EMAWesome said:

Here's their problem this year.  They have to show stuff this week while the team they play next week doesn't.  In past years it was the other way around every time they played.  

Yep. This is why getting that first round bye is so crucial. You get a 2 week break before a facing a team that plays the week before. I know there have been a few wild card teams win it all like Giants and Steelers but for the most part, the NFL holds form from the divisional round on. Well unless you are Dallas. Then you blow divisional round games at home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Vic Mackey

Vic Mackey 46936

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Just now, TommyGufano said:

Curious what purpose the 3 non-rushers serve in that situation. Anyone? 

I guess 1 or 2 accounting for James White... but 3?

Brady could have jerked off and took a nap back there before throwing that ball with as much time as they gave him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...