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January, 3nd 2006
Seven new playoff teams. One that has won three of the past four Super Bowls. Four clubs that won 51 of their 64 games this year.
Who knows what histrionics these teams have in store!
The football universe starts to find out this Saturday and Sunday as Wild Card Weekend kicks off the 2005 NFL playoffs, signaling the final turn on the "Road to Forty" expressway that leads to Super Bowl XL in Detroit on Feb. 5.
"What the regular season does is get you to the playoffs," says the quarterback of one of those new playoff teams, Eli Manning of the New York Giants. "Now you see what you've really got."
So far, the 12 2005 playoff teams have accomplished a great deal:
Combined, they have the most victories of any playoff field ever -- 138. And their combined winning percentage (.719, 138-54) is the highest in a playoff field in 28 years -- since 1977 (.732, 82-30).
Ten of the teams -- Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Tampa Bay -- have at least 11 wins, the most ever in one season.
A strong field? One team -- wild card Jacksonville -- has more victories (12-4) than the division winner they will face this week (New England, 10-6).
A hot field? Since Thanksgiving weekend -- when the playoff race really starts to heat up -- the playoff teams have combined for a .722 winning percentage (52-20).
A distinctive field? All 12 teams rank in the top 10 in the league in either offense or defense.
A consistent field? Most of this year's playoff field has been consistently strong over the past five years, headed by New England (.725 win pct.), Pittsburgh (.694), Indianapolis (.675), Denver (.625) and Seattle (.600). Four of those five clubs have averaged at least 10.0 wins per season over that time, with Seattle at 9.6.
The wild-card storylines:
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (10-6) AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
STORYLINE: Rematch of the "Go-For-It" Game
On Nov. 13 in Tampa, these two waged a 71-point, 729-point slugfest that ended when the Bucs went for the win with 54 seconds left rather than the tie in a 36-35 victory. RB Mike Alstott bulled it in after the Redskins had blocked an extra-point attempt but were called for offsides.
The Bucs won five of their next seven games, the Redskins lost two more, then finished the year with five victories in a row. Washington head coach Joe Gibbs has his team in the playoffs in only his second year back in the NFL (after it made them only once after he retired at the end of 1992).
"A lot of us coaches have stolen from Joe Gibbs," says Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden. "The way he presents his offense and runs his football team is quite impressive."
Key matchup: Two 1,000-yard running backs -- Washington's Clinton Portis (NFL No. 4; 1,516 yards) vs. Tampa Bay rookie Cadillac Williams (No. 13; 1,178), behind only OL this season with the same five starters at each position.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (12-4) at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (10-6)
STORYLINE: Last team to beat the Patriots in the playoffs? The Jaguars!
That was seven years ago, in a 1998 wild-card game (25-10) in Jacksonville when the Jaguars were coached by Tom Coughlin, now leading the NFC East champion Giants, and the Patriots by now-USC coach Pete Carroll.
Since that meeting, the Patriots have won nine consecutive playoff games under head coach Bill Belichick, including, of course, three of the past four Super Bowls. They seek an NFL record 10th in a row Saturday (Green Bay, 1961-62, 1965-67).
The Jags -- with more wins this year than the Pats -- are on their own hot streak, winning eight of their past nine. They expect starter Byron Leftwich (ankle) to return at quarterback.
"We're going against the defending champs," says Jacksonville safety Deon Grant. "You can't ask for anything more than that. If we go up there and stay focused and play our game, we'll take care of them."
The Patriots' second-ranked NFL passing game -
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