1. | There's no place like home, and if seedings hold up, the AFC and NFC championships will be played out at these venues: | ||
Sports Authority and Bank of America | |||
Gillette and CenturyLink | |||
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Sports Authority and CenturyLink | ||
Gillette and Bank of America | |||
2. | Meanwhile, each of the following will host a game during the first weekend of the postseason, except for: | ||
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Candlestick Park | ||
Lucas Oil Stadium | |||
Lincoln Financial Field | |||
Paul Brown Stadium | |||
3. | The list of playoff teams that went a perfect 8-0 at home this year is as follows: | ||
Carolina, Cincinnati, Indianapolis | |||
Indianapolis, New England, San Francisco | |||
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New England, Cincinnati, New Orleans | ||
Seattle, Indianapolis, New England | |||
4. | Meanwhile, it's a little strange to see a playoff team without a winning record at home, but this team enters with a meager 4-4 record on its home turf: | ||
Carolina | |||
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Philadelphia | ||
Kansas City | |||
San Francisco | |||
By way of explanation.....
Green Bay barely eked out a winning home record, going 4-3-1 |
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5. | While the defending champion Ravens will enjoy the postseason from the cushiony comfort of their own armchairs, last season's Super Bowl runners up San Francisco enters the playoffs seeded: | ||
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5th | ||
6th | |||
4th | |||
3th | |||
6. | Do some quick cogitating and identify the number of repeat division winners in the postseason this year: | ||
1 | |||
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2 | ||
3 | |||
4 | |||
By way of explanation.....
Only the Broncos and Patriots won their divisions last year as well |
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7. | Things that are hard to believe, Part 1: No team from this NFL division has ever repeated as champion.....this year included | ||
AFC West | |||
AFC South | |||
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NFC South | ||
NFC North | |||
By way of explanation.....
Proof |
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8. | Things that are hard to believe, Part 2: Call your bookie, as the Super Bowl winner has already been decided. Since 2009, the team that the Eagles played in its home opener has gone on to win The Big Game. That means that this year, the _______ will rule over all of footballdom: | ||
Broncos | |||
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Chargers | ||
Panthers | |||
49ers | |||
9. | According to our foreign correspondent, none other than Kate Middleton streaked nude onto the field during this playoff team's victory at Wembley stadium during the 2013 season: | ||
Green Bay | |||
Kansas City | |||
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San Francisco | ||
New Orleans | |||
10. | Possibly dozens of people worldwide correctly predicted the torrid start of the Kansas City Chiefs, who won their first ________ games of the season: | ||
8 | |||
7 | |||
10 | |||
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9 | ||
11. | Let's talk league leaders. Will the league's #1 sackmeister play in the postseason this year? | ||
Yes, for Carolina | |||
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Yes, for Indianapolis | ||
Yes, for San Francisco | |||
No | |||
By way of explanation.....
Mr. Robert Matthis tackled the quarterback nineteen and one half times during the year. |
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12. | The NFL's top rusher for the 2013 season will suit up for the playoffs wearing: | ||
Orange and black | |||
Green and gold | |||
Blue and neon green | |||
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Green and white | ||
By way of explanation.....
Mr. LeSean McCoy ran for 1,607 yards |
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13. | And will the league's top receiver play in the postseason? | ||
Yes, for Denver | |||
Yes, for Green Bay | |||
Yes, for Carolina | |||
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No | ||
By way of explanation.....
The league's receiving mark of 1.646 yard was recorded by Josh Brown, who plays for the Browns. Cleveland is most decidedly not in the playoffs |
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14. | Exactly one team charges into the postseason with a winning streak greater than three games.....and that team is: | ||
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San Francisco | ||
Denver | |||
New England | |||
Cincinnati | |||
By way of explanation.....
The Niners won six straight to close out the regular season |
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15. | Now, please consider team statistics. The fewest points this season were surrendered by: | ||
The 49ers | |||
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The Seahawks | ||
The Chiefs | |||
The Bengals | |||
By way of explanation.....
The 231 points given up Seattle were 10 fewer than Carolina |
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16. | Meanwhile, the most points accumulated during the season were amassed, unsurprisingly, by: | ||
Philadelphia | |||
New Orleans | |||
New England | |||
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Denver | ||
By way of explanation.....
The Broncos' 606 points were a shocking 161 better than Chicago's |
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17. | The Broncos' top scoring offense and porous defense means they did not lead the league in point differential, right? Right?? | ||
Right, Seattle's point differential was best | |||
Right, Kansas City's point differential was best | |||
Right, New England's point differential was best | |||
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Wrong | ||
By way of explanation.....
Denver finished with a league best +207 points. Seattle was second best at +186 |
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18. | Much has been made of the Broncos' scoring proclivity this year. During the season, only one team prevented Denver from scoring more than 20 points in a game. Name that team: | ||
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Chargers | ||
Patriots | |||
Chiefs | |||
Eagles | |||
By way of explanation.....
Denver's season low in points came during a Week 15 27-20 loss to the Bolts |
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19. | A win-or-go-home game played out on the regular season's final day between two teams from these conferences, with the winner getting in the playoffs and the loser sidelined for the postseason: | ||
NFC East and AFC North | |||
AFC North and NFC North | |||
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NFC North and NFC East | ||
AFC South and NFC East | |||
20. | Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. This division sends a trio of teams to the postseason: | ||
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AFC West | ||
NFC South | |||
NFC West | |||
AFC South | |||
21. | The Houston Texas rattled off 14 straight losses to finish off their season. That means that they started 2-0, with the first of those wins coming courtesy of this playoff team: | ||
Indianapolis | |||
Cincinnati | |||
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San Diego | ||
Carolina | |||
22. | This coordinator had to pull up his big boy pants when he had to fill in for his team's head coach for several weeks during the season: | ||
Greg Manusky | |||
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Jack Del Rio | ||
Matt Patricia | |||
Adam Gase | |||
23. | Team A let its coach go last season. Team B hired the man. Neither Team A or B were in the playoffs last year. Both play in the postseason this year. We know this sounds a lot like math, but who is Team B in this scenario? | ||
Philadelphia | |||
Indianapolis | |||
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Kansas City | ||
Carolina | |||
24. | The Guinness World Record for stadium noise was set at three different times this season, as these two teams' faithful took turns setting the mark: | ||
Denver and Kansas City | |||
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Seattle and Kansas City | ||
Indianapolis and Seattle | |||
Kansas City and New Orleans | |||
25. | Peering back through the mists of history, we see that this team has not won a playoff game since 1991, and holds the longest such streak in the league: | ||
Carolina | |||
Kansas City | |||
Philadelphia | |||
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Cincinnati | ||