SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 09: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams hands the ball off to Cam Akers #23 against the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter in an NFC Wild Card game at Lumen Field on January 09, 2021 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The NFL’s Final 8 features only one rematch from the regular season.
It is a round of postseason games that has given us such epic moments as the “Immaculate Reception,” the “Sea of Hands,” the original “Hail Mary,” the “Ghost to the Post,” the amazing “Hook and Lateral” and so many more. And was it a catch in Green Bay in 2014?
Dating back to 1970, the divisional round of the NFL playoffs has featured some epic moments. Yes, there have been some notable upsets, such as the Tennessee Titans’ 28-12 conquest of the top-seeded Ravens a year ago at Baltimore. But home field advantage has been served well when it comes to this round. Since 1990 and the advent of the 12-team playoff field, there have been eight occasions in which all four home teams (all earning a playoff bye) came away with a win over a team that had played the previous week. The cumulative record for the host clubs the past 30 years is 89-31, a brisk .742 winning percentage.
Of course, it’s a different ball game now with 14 teams in the Super Bowl hunt. Both No. 2 seeds, the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints, played a week ago while the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers rested up. Now all four of these clubs will host games this week. And it’s interesting to note that only one of these match-ups took place in 2020. Let the chess matches begin.
NOTE: All times ET
Win-loss records include playoffs