By Julie Buehler
The 16-0 New England Patriots set the 2007 NFL season a blaze with new records, scorching previously held highs and were approaching a perfect season in Glendale, Arizona for Super Bowl XLII. Tom Brady and Wes Welker and Randy Moss and some other dudes no one remembers because they played on the other side of the ball and were taking on the 10-6 New York Giants who earned a trip to the playoffs as a 5 seed by default. The NFC was incredibly weak that year, or so pundits thought, with only 4 teams achieving 10-win status.
In contrast, the AFC, boasted the defending Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts at 13-3 that lead a division with 3 10+ win teams, the AFC North had 2 playoff teams with 10+ wins, a newly “Norved” San Diego team that won the West at 11-5 and the only team in NFL history to go 16-0.
The AFC had more inflated egos than the White House, except had good reason. Enters the New York Football Giants. Who promptly stunned the nation on February 8, 2008 by beating the, then 18-0, Patriots 17-14.
The 2011 Packers were a studly team. Led by MVP Aaron Rodgers, they were doing something most teams don’t dream of: vying for back-to-back titles. Yup, they had eeked into the 2010 playoffs as a 6-seed, only got in because they faced a slightly (by .075) tougher schedule than the Giants or Buccaneers, they couldn’t even beat the Chicago Bears for a division title. All they did was hit the road in the playoffs to beat Philly by 5, they smoked Atlanta by 27 in the divisional round and beat the Bears, in Chicago, for the NFC Championship on their way to a Lombardi trophy in Dallas. Unlikely as that was in 2010, their season in 2011 was shaping up to be something every Cheese Head salivates over. A 15-1 season secured the Packers the 1-seed, home field advantage through the playoffs and in many pundits’ minds, a trip to Indianapolis for another Super Bowl for Titletown. Unfortunately, the New York Giants, who, at 9-7, only earned a 4-seed because their division was Kleenex-thin, ended up hammering Rodgers with a running attack and pass rush and sent the Packers, well, packing.
I could tell you about the 2004 15-1 Steelers getting bounced in the AFC title game to the Patriots, the 2005 14-2 Colts who couldn’t get past the Steelers in the divisional game, the 2006 Chargers who went 14-2 and got beat at home in their first playoff game, the 2010 Patriots who were 14-2 but upended by the New York Jets and many more top seeded teams that had managed to navigate the murky waters of an NFL season with only 1 or 2 losses and were unable to win the final game of the season.
In fact, the last 1 seed to win a Super Bowl was the New Orleans Saints in 2009, before that, the Patriots in 2003.
Seems the best place to start the playoffs isn’t at the top, but somewhere in the middle if you want to win the Super Bowl.
Other than 2009 when the Saints, the 1-seed, and the Colts, also a 1-seed, went head-to-head, you’d have to go all they way back to Buffalo Bills relevance to find an occasion that the two 1-seeds competed for a title. That’d be 1993.
Many prognosticators predicted the Broncos and Seahawks would meet at this year’s Super Bowl in New York, and current standings have each team as their respective conference’s 1-seed.
Will they fall victim to the curse of the 1-seed or can Peyton lead another team to the world’s biggest stage against a franchise looking for it’s first title ever?
Julie Buehler hosts the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day from 3-6 on 1010 KXPS, the valley’s all sports station. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in M-F 3-6 pst at www.team1010.com or watch the show on Ustream.
