Inside the Numbers
By Michael Eisen
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The Giants will have history both on their side and working against them when they open postseason play Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. With their 12-4 regular season record and overtime victory over Carolina on Dec. 21, the Giants earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. The Eagles are seeded sixth and advanced to the divisional round with a 26-14 victory Sunday in Minnesota.
Since the NFL began seeding the playoff teams in each conference in 1990, a top seed has hosted a sixth seed 11 times. The No. 1 seeds are 10-1, including 9-0 in the NFC. The only defeat suffered by a top seed occurred three years ago, when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated their Indianapolis Colts on their way to victory in Super Bowl XXL. Last year, the Giants duplicated the Steelers’ feat of winning three road games on the way to the Super Bowl. In the process, they became the first No. 5 seed to defeat a No. 1 in the NFC when they won in Dallas.
But the Giants must overcome some other history if they are to win back-to-back championships for the first time in their history (and the 18th time in NFL history). No NFC team has repeated as Super Bowl champions since the 1992-93 Dallas Cowboys. Denver (1997-98) and New England (2003-2004) did it in the AFC. The last NFC team to make consecutive Super Bowl appearances was the Green Bay Packers in 1996-97.
The fate of No. 1 seeds is additional proof of how unpredictable the postseason can be. Only three of the NFC’s 18 top seeds from 1990 through 2007 won the Super Bowl: Washington in 1991, Dallas in 1993 and St. Louis in 1999. Seven more lost the Super Bowl, including the Giants in 2000. In the AFC, six No. 1 seeds have won the Super Bowl, most recently New England in 2003. Of course, the Patriots were also last year’s top AFC team and they lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - The Giants will have history both on their side and working against them when they open postseason play Sunday at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. With their 12-4 regular season record and overtime victory over Carolina on Dec. 21, the Giants earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. The Eagles are seeded sixth and advanced to the divisional round with a 26-14 victory Sunday in Minnesota.
Since the NFL began seeding the playoff teams in each conference in 1990, a top seed has hosted a sixth seed 11 times. The No. 1 seeds are 10-1, including 9-0 in the NFC. The only defeat suffered by a top seed occurred three years ago, when the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated their Indianapolis Colts on their way to victory in Super Bowl XXL. Last year, the Giants duplicated the Steelers’ feat of winning three road games on the way to the Super Bowl. In the process, they became the first No. 5 seed to defeat a No. 1 in the NFC when they won in Dallas.
But the Giants must overcome some other history if they are to win back-to-back championships for the first time in their history (and the 18th time in NFL history). No NFC team has repeated as Super Bowl champions since the 1992-93 Dallas Cowboys. Denver (1997-98) and New England (2003-2004) did it in the AFC. The last NFC team to make consecutive Super Bowl appearances was the Green Bay Packers in 1996-97.
The fate of No. 1 seeds is additional proof of how unpredictable the postseason can be. Only three of the NFC’s 18 top seeds from 1990 through 2007 won the Super Bowl: Washington in 1991, Dallas in 1993 and St. Louis in 1999. Seven more lost the Super Bowl, including the Giants in 2000. In the AFC, six No. 1 seeds have won the Super Bowl, most recently New England in 2003. Of course, the Patriots were also last year’s top AFC team and they lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. 
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