As dramatic as it would be to see Kerry Collins led the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl against his former team he led into a Super Bowl slaughter, the New York Giants, we have to look at the facts.
Yes, the Giants and Titans both have the best record in the NFL at 10-1. Yes, they both lead their divisions by three games.
But when was the last time we saw the team with the most wins actually triumph in the Super Bowl?
Furthermore, when was the last time we saw the best teams in each conference face off for the championship? The answer to that is 1993 with the Dallas Cowboys beating the Buffalo Bills (both 12-4 and number one seeds) for the second year in a row.
Two of the last three years, the Super Bowl winner didn't even clinch its division. And that third year it was a Colts team that did play on Wild Card weekend.
And all three of those years it was won by teams who had experienced recent postseason disappointments. The Steelers had lost four AFC championship games at home but when it came to the road, no one could stop them. Peyton Manning's Colts had lost in the playoffs for straight years, including one to the previously mentioned Steelers during their championship run. And last year, Eli Manning joined his brother to remove postseason misery.
With that pattern, the odds on favorite points to one team...a team that I hate to mention...the Dallas Cowboys.
They won't win the division. They haven't won a playoff game since 1996. They were embarrassed at home last postseason. In the AFC, the Chargers would have fit that mold. But to get to the Super Bowl, you first must make it to the playoffs.
That doesn't mean that either of the Giants or Titans won't make it. The Super Bowl losers of that same time span have been the first seed in their respective conference. In fact, the last time the Super Bowl winner had a better regular season record than its opponent was the Patriots over the Eagles in 2004 (or for those of you keeping score, the completion of Bill Belichick's movie trilogy).
So for teams who want to win a title, it might be best for them not to clinch home field advantage...or get a bye week...or even win their division at all.
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about 1 month ago
This is definitely some good reasoning, although this is one of the craziest seasons in the NFL. It might be so crazy that we see a 1-1 match-up, or even a 6-6 match-up. Both conferences are wide open to seize second place in. This is going to be one of the hardest postseasons to predict.
about 1 month ago
1 word, 4 letters: Jets
The Tennessee Titans can't beat the Jets. -and I'm not sure if any other team can beat the Jersey Steamroller right now.
about 1 month ago
Welp, although your reasoning would be sound if the nfl were some sort of math equation but it's not, it's an unpredictable athletic competition. Maybe if you based your argument on CURRENT facts of the CURRENT teams not a past-based number game that has nothing to do with any one single player in the game today, the article would hold more weight. Just a thought.
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