Super Bowl History of the Wild Card

[observer]

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http://www.profootballhof.com/history/story.jsp?story_id=1940
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Excerpts [with inserts, not part of original
article, included in brackets]:

...

Since the Wild-Card System began in 1970,
only nine wild-card teams have advanced
all the way to the Super Bowl. Of those, only
four won the Super Bowl [thus far, with the
2007 Giants in the running for a Super Bowl
win, the 4 Super Bowl winning wild card
teams being the 1980 Oakland Raiders, the
1997 Denver Broncos, the 2000 Baltimore
Ravens, and the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers].

Only three of those wild-card teams

New England Patriots [1985],
Pittsburgh Steelers [2005], and
New York Giants [2007]

won three games on the road to make it to
the Super Bowl.

...

1975 Dallas Cowboys (10-4-0, 2nd Place, NFC Eastern Division)
Divisional Playoff - at Minnesota Vikings - (W) - 17-14
NFC Championship - at Los Angeles Rams - (W) - 37-7
Super Bowl X - vs. Pittsburgh Steelers - (L) - 21-17

1980 Oakland Raiders ( 11-5-0, 2nd Place, AFC Western Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - vs. Houston Oilers - (W) - 27-7
Divisional Playoff - at Cleveland Browns - (W) - 14-12
AFC Championship - at San Diego Chargers - (W) - 34-27
Super Bowl XV - vs. Philadelphia Eagles - (W) - 27-10

1985 New England Patriots(11-5-0, 3rd Place, AFC Eastern Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - at New York Jets - (W) - 26-14
Divisional Playoff - at Los Angeles Raiders - (W) - 27-20
AFC Championship - at Miami Dolphins - (W) - 31-14
Super Bowl XX - vs. Chicago Bears - (L) - 46-10

1992 Buffalo Bills (11-5-0, 2nd Place, AFC Eastern Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - vs. Houston Oilers - (W) - 41-38 (OT)
Divisional Playoff - at Pittsburgh Steelers - (W) - 24-3
AFC Championship - at Miami Dolphins - (W) - 29-10
Super Bowl XXVII - vs. Dallas Cowboys - (L) - 52-17

1997 Denver Broncos (12-4-0, 2nd Place, AFC Western Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - vs. Jacksonville Jaguars - (W) - 42-17
Divisional Playoff - at Kansas City Chiefs - (W) - 14-10
AFC Championship - at Pittsburgh Steelers - (W) - 24-21
Super Bowl XXXII - vs. Green Bay Packers - (W) - 31-24

1999 Tennessee Titans (13-3-0, 2nd Place, AFC Central Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - vs. Buffalo Bills - (W) - 22-16
Divisional Playoff - at Indianapolis Colts - (W) - 19-16
AFC Championship - at Jacksonville Jaguars - (W) - 33-14
Super Bowl XXXIV - vs. St. Louis Rams - (L) - 23-16

2000 Baltimore Ravens(12-4-0, 2nd Place, AFC Central Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - vs. Denver Broncos - (W) - 21-3
Divisional Playoff - at Tennessee Titans - (W) - 24-10
AFC Championship - at Oakland Raiders - (W) - 16-3
Super Bowl XXXV - vs. New York Giants - (W) - 34-7

2005 Pittsburgh Steelers(11-5-0, 2nd Place, AFC North Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - at Cincinnati Bengals - (W) 31-17
Divisional Playoff - at Indianapolis Colts - (W) 21-18
AFC Championship - at Denver Broncos - (W) 34-17
Super Bowl XL - vs. Seattle Seahawks - (W) 21-10

2007 New York Giants (10-6-0, 2nd Place, NFC East Division)
Wild-Card Playoff - at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - (W) 24-14
Divisional Playoff - at Dallas Cowboys - (W) 21-17
NFC Championship - at Green Bay Packers - (W) 23-20 (OT)
Super Bowl XLII - vs. New England Patriots

--- end excerpts ---

[Fred Goodwin, CMA]

They weren't exactly a "wild-card" team, but prior to the NFL-AFL
merger, the 1969 KC Chiefs finished 2nd in the AFL Western Conference,
having lost twice to divisional foe Oakland.

For the only time in the ten-year history of the AFL, in 1969, 2nd
place teams entered the playoffs, going on the road to face the
opposite conference champ. In the case of the Chiefs, they went east
to play the NY Jets, while the 2nd place Eastern Conference team, the
Houston Oilers, went west to face the Raiders.

The Chiefs beat the Jets 13-6, setting up a rematch with the Raiders
(who had disposed of the Oilers). The Chiefs took the third game with
the Raiders, 17-7, and became the first team to qualify for the Super
Bowl that had not won its own division (the AFL Western Conference).

Of course, the Chiefs went on to beat the heavily favored Vikings,
23-7 in SB 4, becoming the first non-divisional champion to win the
Super Bowl, eleven years before the WC Raiders won SB 15.