You already knew that New York's three straight road playoff wins to reach the Super Bowl were historic. Only the 1985 Patriots and 2005 Steelers had done it before them.
But here are a few other Cold, Hard Football Facts to put into perspective:
The Giants single-handedly won more road games in the 2007 postseason than the entire field did in 2006. Road teams last year were just 2-8 in the playoffs, with the two victories coming from powerhouses Indy (at Baltimore) and New England (at San Diego).
The Giants in one postseason accounted for nearly 3 percent of all road playoff wins in the post-merger era. Road teams are just 102-228 (.309) since 1970.
The Giants had won a total of just three road playoff games from 1970 to 2006, a period which included three Super Bowl appearances and two championships. (The Patriots have also won six road playoff games over the same period.)
The entire field has won more than three playoff road games just six times in 38 seasons since the merger.
Here’s a year-by-year rundown of the playoff teams that have won on the road, dating back to the merger:
PLAYOFF VICTORIES by ROAD TEAMS (1970-2007)
|
Season |
Wild-Card Playoffs |
|
|
|
2007 |
2
(Giants, Jaguars) |
2
(Giants, Chargers) |
1
(Giants) |
|
2006 |
0 |
2
(Colts, Patriots) |
0 |
|
2005 |
3
(Steelers, Redskins, Panthers) |
2
(Steelers, Panthers) |
1
(Steelers) |
|
2004 |
3
(Jets, Rams, Vikings) |
0 |
1
(Patriots) |
|
2003 |
1
(Titans) |
2
(Colts, Panthers) |
1
(Panthers) |
|
2002 |
1
(Falcons) |
0 |
1
(Buccaneers) |
|
2001 |
1
(Ravens) |
1
(Eagles) |
1
(Patriots) |
|
2000 |
0 |
1
(Ravens) |
1
(Ravens) |
|
1999 |
1
(Dolphins) |
1
(Titans) |
1
(Titans) |
|
1998 |
1
(Cardinals) |
0 |
1
(Falcons) |
|
1997 |
1
(Vikings) |
1
(Broncos) |
2
(Broncos, Packers) |
|
1996 |
1
(Jaguars) |
1
(Jaguars) |
0 |
|
1995 |
1
(Colts) |
2
(Colts, Packers) |
0 |
|
1994 |
1
(Bears) |
0 |
1
(Chargers) |
|
1993 |
1
(Packers) |
1
(Chiefs) |
0 |
|
1992 |
2
(Redskins, Eagles) |
1
(Bills) |
2
(Bills, Cowboys) |
|
1991 |
2
(Falcons, Cowboys) |
0 |
0 |
|
1990 |
1
(Redskins) |
0 |
1
(Giants) |
|
1989 |
2
(Steelers, Rams) |
1
(Rams) |
0 |
|
1988 |
1
(Oilers) |
0 |
1
(49ers) |
|
1987 |
1
(Vikings) |
2
(Vikings, Redskins) |
0 |
|
1986 |
0 |
1
(Redskins) |
1
(Broncos) |
|
1985 |
1
(Patriots) |
1
(Patriots) |
1
(Patriots) |
|
1984 |
1
(Giants) |
2
(Steelers, Bears) |
0 |
|
1983 |
0 |
1
(Seahawks) |
0 |
|
1982* |
2
(Jets, Chargers) |
1
(Jets) |
0 |
|
1981 |
2
(Bills, Giants) |
1
(Chargers) |
0 |
|
1980 |
0 |
2
(Raiders, Cowboys) |
1
(Raiders) |
|
1979 |
0 |
2
(Oilers, Rams) |
1
(Rams) |
|
1978 |
1
(Oilers) |
1
(Oilers) |
1
(Cowboys) |
|
1977 |
n/a |
2
(Raiders, Vikings) |
0 |
|
1976 |
n/a |
2
(Steelers, Rams) |
0 |
|
1975 |
n/a |
1
(Cowboys) |
1
(Cowboys) |
|
1974 |
n/a |
0 |
1
(Steelers) |
|
1973 |
n/a |
0 |
1
(Vikings) |
|
1972 |
n/a |
1
(Cowboys) |
1
(Dolphins) |
|
1971 |
n/a |
3
(Dolphins, Colts, Cowboys) |
0 |
|
1970 |
n/a |
1
(49ers) |
1
(Cowboys) |
|
TOTALS |
34 out of 102 (.324) |
42 out of 152 (.276) |
26 out of 76 (.342) |
* strike-shortened season in which each conference played four first-round games
