It's not exactly the best way to enter the NFL playoffs.
Starting out as a wild-card team means a long trek to the Super Bowl, usually with games on the road against favoured opponents.
But teams that fail to win division titles aren't automatic write-offs anymore.
In fact, since the wild-card playoff system was introduced in 1970, non-division winners have advanced to the Super Bowl nine times. Five of those teams won the title.
Those teams were living proof that what you do in the regular season doesn't matter as long as you put it all together in the clutch.
And, on this wild-card weekend in the NFL, it's those wild-card wonders which we salute in our Top-10.
10. 1969-70 Kansas City Chiefs
Technically, this was before there ever was a wild-card system and, in fact, the Chiefs weren't even part of the NFL at the time. The Chiefs finished second in their division in the AFL with an 11-3 record but pulled off wins in New York against the Jets (13-3) and in Oakland against the Raiders (17-7). Despite being 13-point underdogs, the Chiefs rode quarterback Len Dawson and a stifling defence to a 23-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
9. 1975-76 Dallas Cowboys
The Boys were 10-4 and second in the NFC East, which meant they had to hit the road for the entire playoffs. The Tom Landry-led Cowboys rode quarterback Roger Staubach's solid play to a pair of wins, 17-14 at Minnesota and 37-7 in Los Angeles against the Rams in the NFC Championship. They eventually lost 21-17 to Terry Bradshaw and MVP Lynn Swann in Super Bowl X.
8. 1992-93 Buffalo Bills
They went 11-5, finished second in the AFC East and started the playoffs with the greatest comeback in NFL history, a Frank Reich-led 41-38 overtime win over the Houston Oilers in which the Bills trailed 35-3 in the third quarter. In the throes of their four-game Super Bowl losing streak, the Bills then hammered the Steelers 24-3 in Pittsburgh and beat the Dolphins 29-10 at Miami to reach the big game yet again. They were obliterated 52-17 by the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII.
7. 1985-86 New England Patriots
The Patriots actually finished third in the AFC East with an 11-5 record but led by backup quarterback Steve Grogan, they went on a charge in the playoffs, winning three straight road games to reach Super Bowl XX. Their wins (26-14 over the New York Jets, 27-20 over the Los Angeles Raiders and 31-14 over the Miami Dolphins) were somewhat tempered by the fact that they were clobbered 46-10 by the dominant Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl.
6. 1999-2000 Tennessee Titans
At 13-3, the Titans were likely the best team ever to enter the playoffs as a wild card. They finished second in the AFC Central, behind the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars, and then needed a miracle (Music City Miracle to be exact) to get past the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card game. Steve McNair and the Titans then went to Indianapolis and won 19-16 and hammered the Jags 33-14 in Jacksonville in the AFC Championship. They eventually lost Super Bowl XXXIV 23-16 to Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams but came within a foot of tying the game when Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Titans receiver Kevin Dyson with no time on the clock.
5. 2000-2001 Baltimore Ravens
Despite having the underwhelming Trent Dilfer at quarterback, the Ravens rode Ray Lewis and his punishing defence to victory over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. All this despite the fact the 12-4 Ravens finished second in the AFC Central to the 13-3 Tennessee Titans. However, with Lewis leading the charge, the Ravens stifled their opponents in the playoffs, winning 21-3 over Denver at home, then upsetting the Titans 24-10 in Tennessee and drubbing the Raiders 16-3 in Oakland in the AFC Championship. A 34-7 win over the Giants in the Super Bowl meant the Ravens allowed just 23 points against in four playoff games.
4. 1997-98 Denver Broncos
The Broncos had an impressive 12-4 record in the 1997 season but finished second to the Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) in the AFC West. Still, John Elway and the Broncos had the second-best record in the AFC, so it wasn't a huge surprise when they blasted the Jacksonville Jaguars 42-17 in Denver in the Wild-Card Game. However, they then went to Kansas City and beat the Chiefs 14-10, then toppled the 11-5 Steelers 24-21 in Pittsburgh to reach Super Bowl XXXII. With four losses in previous Super Bowls under their belts, and carrying the weight of 13 consecutive losses by AFC teams in the championship game, the Broncos were huge underdogs against Brett Favre and the defending champion Green Bay Packers. But led by MVP Terrell Davis, the Broncos got lots of monkeys off lots of backs, winning 31-24.
3. 1980-81 Oakland Raiders
The Raiders (11-5, second in AFC West) became the first wild-card team to win the championship when they upset the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10 in Super Bowl XV at the Superdome in New Orleans. To get there, Jim Plunkett and the Raiders had to beat the Houston Oilers 27-10 in Oakland and then go on the road for wins against the Cleveland Browns (14-12) and San Diego Chargers (34-27 in the AFC Championship). Plunkett threw three touchdown passes in Super Bowl and was named MVP.
2. 2005-06 Pittsburgh Steelers
An 11-5 record and a second-place finish in the AFC North meant the Steelers and their rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would have to play on the road throughout the playoffs. That, however, was not a problem. The Steelers, who were a pedestrian 7-5 at one point in the season, destroyed the Cincinnati Bengals 31-17 in the Wild-Card Game, edged the Indianapolis Colts 21-18 (thanks Mike Vanderjagt) and hammered the Denver Broncos 34-17 in the AFC Championship game. They then went on to beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL.
1. 2007-08 New York Giants
After starting out 0-2 and finishing second in the NFC East with a mediocre 10-6 record, the Giants went on a post-season tear that included three consecutive gritty road wins against favoured opponents (24-14 at Tampa Bay, 21-17 at Dallas, 23-20 in OT at Green Bay) to reach Super Bowl XLII. There, they faced the New England Patriots, a team that was 18-0 to that point in the season and was looking to make history with an undefeated season. The Giants, 12-point underdogs, would not be denied though and, thanks to the spectacular efforts of Eli Manning, David Tyree and Plaxico (Just Shoot Me) Burress, they pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all-time -- a 17-14 win.
Disagree with our picks? E-mail yours to topten@sunmedia.ca
