by NFL Reporter Dean Michaels
From Wild Card To Super Bowl
Winners in the Wild Card round have won the Super Bowl nine times, including each of the past three seasons. At least one Super Bowl participant in seven of the past eight years played a Wild Card game.
The Baltimore Ravens won four playoff games last year to win Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. In 2011, the NFC No. 4 seed New York Giants claimed four playoff victories to win their second championship in five seasons. In 2010, the Green Bay Packers won four playoff games to become the second No. 6 seed to win a Super Bowl, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.
The Wild Card participants to win the Super Bowl:
| Season | Team | Super Bowl Result |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| 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 |
| 2010 | Green Bay | Defeated Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV, 31-25 |
| 2011 | New York Giants | Defeated New England in Super Bowl XLVI, 21-17 |
| 2012 | Baltimore | Defeated San Francisco in Super Bowl XLVII, 34-31 |
49ers & Packers - Familiar Foes
This Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers (Wild Card) travel to play the Green Bay Packers (NFC North Champions) as part of Wild Card Weekend. It marks the seventh postseason meeting between these teams, tying for the fourth-most all-time (49ers vs. Giants, 8; Bears vs. Giants, 8; Cowboys vs. Rams, 8). It is the third meeting between the 49ers and Packers on Wild Card Weekend.
The Packers lead the playoff series (4-2) and of those six games, the winning team reached the Super Bowl three times, winning once.
The playoff games between San Francisco and Green Bay:
| Season | Round | Winner | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||||
| 2012 | Divisional | 49ers | 45-31 | Lost Super Bowl XLVII |
| 2001 | Wild Card | Packers | 25-15 | Advanced to Divisional Round |
| 1998 | Wild Card | 49ers | 30-27 | Advanced to Divisional Round |
| 1997 | NFC Championship | Packers | 23-10 | Lost Super Bowl XXXII |
| 1996 | Divisional | Packers | 35-14 | Won Super Bowl XXXI |
| 1995 | Divisional | Packers | 27-17 | Advanced to NFC Championship |
The 49ers-Packers matchup marks the 21st time that Green Bay hosts a playoff game. Already boasting the highest home winning percentage in postseason history (.800), Green Bay looks to extend that mark against San Francisco.
The teams with the highest home winning percentage all-time in the postseason (minimum 10 games):
| Team | Record | Win Pct. |
|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | ||
| Green Bay | 16-4 | .800 |
| Oakland | 19-5 | .792 |
| New England | 14-4 | .778 |
| Buffalo | 10-3 | .769 |
| Denver | 13-4 | .765 |
| Washington | 13-4 | .765 |
Number 1 QB's
This weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Indianapolis in a Wild Card matchup featuring starting quarterbacks who were selected as No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith, who is in his first season with the Chiefs, led the team to an 11-5 record. Smith was the first overall selection of San Francisco in 2005.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was the Colts first selection in the 2012 NFL Draft and has led the team to playoff appearances in consecutive seasons.
When Kansas City and Indianapolis play this weekend, it will mark the fifth time in postseason history that the opposing quarterbacks are both former first overall selections.
The playoff games featuring opposing quarterbacks who were first overall selections:
| Season | Round | Matchup | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL | |||
| 2011 | NFC Championship | Alex Smith (SF) vs. Eli Manning (NYG) | NYG defeated SF 20-17 (OT) |
| 1999 | Wild Card | Jeff George (MIN) vs. Troy Aikman (DAL) | MIN defeated DAL 27-10 |
| 1998 | AFC Championship | John Elway (DEN) vs. Vinny Testaverde (NYJ) | DEN defeated NYJ 23-10 |
| 1994 | Wild Card | Vinny Testaverde (CLE) vs. Drew Bledsoe (NE) | CLE defeated NE 20-13 |
| 2013 | Wild Card | Andrew Luck (IND) vs. Alex Smith (KC) | ??? |
Awesome Aaron Rodgers
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 423 yards in his first playoff start in the 2010 playoffs against Arizona on Wild Card Weekend. With another 400-yard passing performance this Sunday against San Francisco, Rodgers can join Drew Brees (three), Peyton Manning (two) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (two) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to accomplish the feat in multiple playoff games.
Playoff Brees
New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES enters this weekend's Wild Card matchup against Philadelphia with a 104.2 rating in his postseason career, the second-best mark in NFL history. His 67.0 completion percentage in the postseason is the highest mark ever.
Through nine career postseason games, Brees has five 300-yard passing games, the third-most in NFL history. With 300 passing yards on Wild Card Weekend, Brees would join Peyton Manning (Eight), Tom Brady (Six), Kurt Warner (six) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Joe Montana (Six) as the only quarterbacks to have at least six 300-yard passing games in NFL postseason history. The NFL quarterbacks with the most 300-yard passing games in the playoffs:
| Quarterback | Team(s) | Games Played |
300 Yard Passing Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL *Active **Pro Football Hall Famer | |||
| Peyton Manning* | Colts, Broncos | 20 | 8 |
| Tom Brady* | Patriots | 24 | 6 |
| Joe Montana** | 49ers, Chiefs | 23 | 6 |
| Kurt Warner | Rams, Cardinals | 13 | 6 |
| Drew Brees* | Saints | 9 | 5 |
| Dan Fouts** | Chargers, Saintss | 7 | 5 |
Brees also enters the weekend with a streak of three consecutive 300-yard passing games in the playoffs, the second-longest in history. With 300 yards passing on Saturday against Philadelphia, Brees would tie Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN FOUTS (four) for the most consecutive 300-yard passing games in NFL postseason history.
The quarterbacks with the most consecutive 300-yard passing games in the playoffs:
| Quarterback | Team(s) | Seasons | Consecutive 300 Yard Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL *Current streak **Pro Football Hall Famer | |||
| Dan Fouts** | Chargers | 1979-81 | 4 |
| Jim Kelly** | Bills | 1989-90 | 3 |
| Warren Moon** | Oilers | 1991-93 | 3 |
| Drew Brees* | Saints | 2010-11 | 3 |
First-Timer
Philadelphia quarterback NICK FOLES will make his first-career postseason start on Wild Card Weekend. Foles helped the Eagles, winners of seven of their last eight games, clinch the NFC East. The second-year signal-caller led the league in passer rating (119.2) and had 27 touchdowns while only throwing two interceptions, the best touchdown-interception ratio in NFL history.
The NFL quarterbacks with the most passing yards in their first career postseason start:
| Quarterback | Team | Season | Round | Yards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source: NFL *Current streak **Pro Football Hall Famer | ||||
| Kelly Holcomb | Browns | 2002 | Wild Card | 429 |
| Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 2009 | Wild Card | 423 |
| Randall Cunningham | Eagles | 1988 | Divisional | 407 |
| Kurt Warner | Rams | 1999 | Divisional | 391 |
| Neil Lomax | Cardinals | 1982 | Wild Card | 385 |
NFL Football News & Analysis
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NFL 2013 Wild Card Weekend: What to Look For