Welcome to the divisional playoffs, aka the upset round of the NFL postseason.
The top two teams from each conference make their appearance in this year's playoffs after a week off and the four have earned the right to host the conference semifinals. The bye week and home-field advantage in the postseason are something all the 32 NFL teams fight for during the 17-week regular season, but it is not always a guaranteed path to the Super Bowl.
Actually, the No. 1 seeds have rarely won the Super Bowl in recent years. Since 2002, when the current eight-division format was set, only two top seeds — the 2003 Patriots and the 2009 Saints — have won the NFL championship game. On the other hand, six of last eight Super Bowl champions came from the wild-card round.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.