Although we’ve all moved on from 2020, the remainder of the National Football League season may still seem a bit strange.
As with Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, the post-season is different for the NFL as two teams were added to the postseason, so that 14 squads will compete for the Super Bowl title.
Today and Sunday there are three games scheduled for a total of six contests in the Wild Card. Only the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs earned an opening round bye.
While it may be weird, the 14 teams reaching the postseason is not a record in the history of the NFL playoffs. That mark was set during the 1982 strike year when the teams play just nine contests during the regular season.
There were eight Wild Card games in 1982 and none of the teams had a bye.
Washington won it’s first Super Bowl title that year with a 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins as the top seed in the NFC.
This year, the club will try to add its fourth win on Super Sunday to go with titles in 1987 and 1991. Prior to the Super Bowl era, Washington won NFL championships in 1937 and 1942.
Losing Records
At 7-9 in 2020, Washington is the fifth team to qualify for the playoffs with a record below .500. The team won the National Football Conference’s East Division.
Prior to this season, the last time it happened was in 2014 when the Carolina Panthers claimed the NFC South Division. In 2010, the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West Division at 7-8-1.
The question being asked is what are Washington’s chances? If history is an indicator, Washington has a pretty decent opportunity to win since they are hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Being a division champ allowed Carolina and Seattle to host games against Wild Card opponents resulting in victories. Carolina beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-16 and the Seahawks defeated the New Orleans Saints 41-36. Both teams lost in the next round.
However back in 1982, the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions earned tickets with a 4-5 record with neither winning their respective division.
The Browns were third in the American Football Conference Central Division, while the Lions were fourth in the NFC Central. Of course, that meant they would be on the road and they each lost to the No. 1 seed in their conference.
Cleveland fell 27-10 to the Los Angeles Raiders and the Lions were beat by eventual Super Bowl champ Washington 31-7.
First Championship Game
Professional football’s postseason play began in 1933 season when the Chicago Bears beat the New York Giants 23-21 in the very first NFL Championship Game on Dec. 17.
The 10 teams in the league were divided in half and placed in East and West Divisions. The Giants won the East finishing 11-3, while the Bears had a better winning percentage at 10-2-1 to claim the West crown earning the right to host the finale at Wrigley Field.
Bill Karr scored two touchdowns for the Bears that day including the game-winner with less that three minutes left. Karr ran for the score with a lateral from teammate Bill Hewitt, who had caught a pass from Bronko Nagurski.
From 1920-1932, the league champion was determined by winning percentage with ties not counting in the mix.
That formula led to the Cleveland Bulldogs winning the title in 1924 with a 7-1-1 record, while the Frankfort Yellow Jackets were third at 11-2-1. The Chicago Bears finished second at 6-1-4.
In the final year of that format, the Bears (7-1-6) won the crown over the Green Bay Packers (10-3-1). The teams met three times during the season, so the finale turned into a de facto championship game, which the Bears won 9-0. The season opener for the two squads ended in a scoreless tie, while the Packers won midway through the year 2-0.