The first thing that struck me about the first round of the playoffs is that the Seahawks and Giants both gave up more points than they scored this year and both made the postseason. The next thing that seems a bit strange about the eight teams in the first round is that besides the Colts' 8-0 home record, the rest of the home teams (Philadelphia, Seattle and New England) were all 5-3 at home, which isn't very strong for playoff teams. Visiting teams on Wild Card Weekend will not believe for one second that they can't win on the road.
Crunching numbers on some teams in the playoffs
1. New England has scored 40 points twice in the past three weeks.
2. Larry Johnson had an NFL-record 416 carries this season. Since Jamal Lewis rushed 387 times for 2,066 yards at 5.3 per carry in 2003, he has averaged under 4.0 yards per attempt. I hope L.J. gets a big rest, although a few playoff games this year will put him close to 500 attempts.
3. Kansas City is now 19-1 in December home games since 1997.
4. Dallas has allowed 132 points in its last four games -- 33 points a game!
5. The Colts have given up 100 yards or more rushing in every game this year.
Crunching numbers on some teams not in the playoffs
1. The Raiders have the first pick in the draft for the first time since 1962.
2. In the Bengals-Steelers rivalry, the road team has won five straight times.
3. Maurice Jones-Drew set a rookie record with a touchdown in eight straight games.
4. Mike Furrey did not have a reception in 2005 because he was a defensive back for the Rams. This season as a Lions receiver he had 98 receptions, the most ever by a non-rookie following a season of zero.
5. Warren Sapp played really hard this season. He finished with 10 sacks, his best since 2000.
GO FIGURE!
Eight teams finished the season with better road records than home records -- so much for that home-field advantage. The Patriots, Jets, Broncos, Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Bears and Packers all traveled better than they did at their home stadium. Six of these teams are in the playoffs and they did it without the great home-field advantage people feel is necessary.
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