Divisional Playoffs Preview

On Saturday, January 14, the NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers (13-3) will host the NFC South champion New Orleans Saints (14-3) at Candlestick Park (FOX, 4:30 PM ET). That night in primetime (CBS, 8:00 PM ET), the New England Patriots (13-3), the AFC’s No. 1 seed, will welcome the AFC West champion Denver Broncos (9-8) to Gillette Stadium. On Sunday, January 15, the AFC North champion Baltimore Ravens (12-4) will play the AFC South champion Houston Texans (11-6) at M&T Bank Stadium (CBS, 1:00 PM ET) and the NFC’s top seed, the Green Bay Packers (15-1), will face the NFC East champion New York Giants (10-7) at Lambeau Field (FOX, 4:30 PM ET). 

“Now it’s time to play real football,” says Packers head coach MIKE MC CARTHY, who is 5-2 (.714) in the postseason, the second-best mark in franchise history (Pro Football Hall of Famer VINCE LOMBARDI, 9-1, .900). “That’s what playoff football is all about. It’s exciting and it’s fun. Players and coaches live for these types of games.”

For the first time in NFL history, the Divisional round will feature four Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks: New England’s TOM BRADY (XXXVI, XXXVIII), New Orleans’ DREW BREES (XLIV), the New York Giants’ ELI MANNING (XLII) and Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS (XLV).

Three of the four Divisional games are rematches of regular-season meetings: The Patriots defeated the Broncos 41-23 in Week 15, the Ravens beat the Texans 29-14 in Week 6 and the Packers knocked off the Giants 38-35 in Week 13. A look at this weekend’s Divisional Playoffs:

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (14-3) at SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (13-3) (Saturday, FOX, 4:30 PM ET)      

The NFL’s top offense (New Orleans, 467.1 yards per game) will face the NFC’s best defense (San Francisco, 308.2 yards per game) on Saturday at Candlestick Park.

New Orleans has won nine consecutive games, including last week’s 45-28 Wild Card victory over Detroit. The Saints, who achieved numerous offensive milestones during the regular season, continued to rewrite the record books, gaining an NFL postseason record 626 yards and tying a league playoff record with 34 first downs. Quarterback DREW BREES passed for 466 yards and is the first player in NFL history with back-to-back 400-yard passing games in the playoffs. He also joined Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO and PEYTON MANNING as the only players in NFL history to pass for at least 400 yards in two postseason games in a career.

In his first season, head coach JIM HARBAUGH guided the 49ers to 13 wins, tied for the third-most victories by a rookie head coach in NFL history. San Francisco claimed its 15th division title since 1980, the most in the NFL during that span.

“We’ve had a great season up to this point,” says 49ers quarterback ALEX SMITH. “We’ve put ourselves in a good situation but it doesn’t guarantee you anything. So much of the playoffs is the hot team and the team that’s peaking and continuing to get better at the end of the season. That’s really our focus.”

The 49ers, who tied for the NFL lead with eight players selected to the Pro Bowl, led the league with a +28 turnover differential and boasted the league’s best run defense (77.3 yards per game). San Francisco allowed only three rushing touchdowns, the fewest in a 16-game season and the 49ers became the first team to not allow a rushing touchdown in each of its first 14 games to start a season.

DENVER BRONCOS (9-8) at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (13-3) (Saturday, CBS, 8:00 PM ET)      

Denver enters the Divisional round riding high after a 29-23 overtime win over Pittsburgh. Quarterback TIM TEBOW, who averaged an NFL postseason record 31.6 yards per completion(316 yards, 10 completions), threw a game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver DEMARYIUS THOMAS just 11 seconds into OT, the fastest end to an overtime in NFL history. Thomas had four receptions for 204 yards and averaged an NFL postseason record 51 yards per catch. He is the seventh player with 200+ receiving yards in a playoff game and, combined with fellow Georgia Tech alum CALVIN JOHNSON (211 yards), this is the first postseason in NFL history with two 200-yard receiving games.

The Broncos will face a New England team that won the head-to-head meeting in Week 15. Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY is 14-5 (.737) in the playoffs, tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer TERRY BRADSHAW for the best postseason record by a starting quarterback in NFL history (minimum 15 starts). Brady, who is one of only four players to win multiple Super Bowl MVP awards (XXXVI, XXXVIII), ranks among the all-time leaders in the postseason in completions (424; fourth), attempts (682; fifth), passing yards (4,407; sixth) and touchdown passes (30; tied for fifth).

“The opportunity is here, so you have to take advantage of it,” says New England linebacker JEROD MAYO. “We’re all working hard and making sacrifices to hopefully get a victory.”

Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK is 15-6 (.714) in the playoffs and ranks fifth all-time with 15 postseason wins. With a win on Saturday, he would move into a tie with Pro Football Hall of Famer CHUCK NOLL (16) for fourth place.

HOUSTON TEXANS (11-6) at BALTIMORE RAVENS (12-4) (Sunday, CBS, 1:00 PM ET)      

Two of the league’s best defenses will meet when the Ravens host the Texans. Baltimore and Houston were the only two teams in the NFL to rank in the top five in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense.

Last week, the Texans won their first playoff game in franchise history, defeating Cincinnati 31-10 at Reliant Stadium. The last team to win its franchise’s playoff debut was the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who went on to win Super Bowl XXXV.

“I’m just elated, excited and happy to bring this city a playoff win,” says Texans running back ARIAN FOSTER, who became the third undrafted player in NFL history to rush for at least 100 yards (153) in his first playoff game. “To be a part of that, it just feels so good. You can feel the energy and the buzz throughout the city.”

One of the key plays in Houston’s Wild Card victory was J.J. WATT’s 29-yard interception-return touchdown. Watt is the first rookie to record both an INT-TD and a sack in a postseason game since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

Houston will now travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens, who defeated the Texans in Week 6. Since taking over the team in 2008, head coach JOHN HARBAUGH has guided the Ravens to four consecutive playoff berths. On Sunday, Baltimore will host its first playoff game under Harbaugh. The Ravens are 8-0 at home in 2011. 

“It will be crazy here,” says Baltimore linebacker RAY LEWIS about the home playoff game. “Baltimore is one of those cities that makes it crazy. You feel love and you feel strength. That’s why it’s so hard to win on the road. Home teams have a certain type of aura. We have that special thing in downtown Baltimore.”

NEW YORK GIANTS (10-7) at GREEN BAY PACKERS (15-1) (Sunday, FOX, 4:30 PM ET)      

The Giants and Packers meet in the postseason for the seventh time. The first five meetings were in NFL Championship Games and the last playoff contest between the two teams was the 2007 NFC Championship Game. The Giants won that contest, 23-20 in overtime, and eventually won Super Bowl XLII.

On Wild Card Weekend, the Giants defeated Atlanta 24-2 at MetLife Stadium. Quarterback ELI MANNING threw for three touchdowns and his 11 career postseason TD passes are the most ever by a Giant. Manning, who passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns in the teams’ Week 13 meeting, knows the challenge ahead for the Giants.

“We know the Packers are a great team,” says Manning. “We’ve played them and we played them tough. We’ve got to have a good game plan, go in there and give it our all.”

The Green Bay Packers, who own the league’s best postseason winning percentage (.644, 29-16), open the playoffs at home – where they went 8-0 during the regular season – aiming to become the ninth defending champion to win the Super Bowl the following season. Green Bay won a franchise-record 15 games and scored a team-best 560 points, the second-most in a season in NFL history.

The Packers are led by Pro Bowl quarterback AARON RODGERS, who set an NFL single-season record with a 122.5 passer rating, throwing for a franchise-record 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns. Rodgers, who was the MVP of Super Bowl XLV, is one of the top postseason quarterbacks in NFL history, ranking first all-time in passer rating (112.6), completion percentage (67.8 percent) and yards per pass attempt (8.72).

“Last year’s run is really going to help all of us,” says Rodgers. “It’s the playoffs now so the focus has to go up, the urgency goes up and the preparation is more refined.”

WHAT TO LOOK FOR – DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

VIEW FROM THE TOP: Since the NFL moved to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, No. 1 seeds in the NFC are 18-3 (.857) in the Divisional Playoffs. In the AFC, the No. 1 seed has compiled a 12-9 (.571) record.

Both No. 1 seeds are in action this weekend when the top-seeded Green Bay Packers host the New York Giants in the NFC and the No. 1-seed New England Patriots face the Denver Broncos in the AFC.

The No. 1 seeds in Divisional-round play since 1990:

— NFL —

POSTSEASON SUCCESS: Green Bay has won 13 NFL championships, the most all-time, and the club’s .644 postseason winning percentage (29-16) is the best in NFL history.

The Packers currently have 29 playoff wins. With a win Sunday against the New York Giants, they can become the third team to record 30 postseason victories in NFL annals, joining the Pittsburgh Steelers (33) and Dallas Cowboys (33).

The teams with the most playoff victories in NFL history:

                                                                                 *2011 postseason participant

— NFL —

CHAMPIONSHIP GOAL: With a victory against New Orleans on Saturday, San Francisco would advance to its 13th NFC Championship Game. That total would be the third-most appearances in a Conference Championship Game since 1970.

The teams with the most appearances in a Conference Championship Game since 1970:                         

                                                         *Host New Orleans Saturday

— NFL —

400 CLUB: New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES passed for 466 yards in last weekend’s 45-28 Wild Card victory over Detroit. Brees, who passed for 404 yards in a 2010 Wild Card loss to Seattle, became the third player in NFL annals to pass for at least 400 yards in multiple postseason games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO (two) and PEYTON MANNING (two). Brees is the first to do so in consecutive games.

With 400 passing yards this weekend when New Orleans visits San Francisco, Brees would become the first player in NFL history to pass for 400+ yards in three postseason games.

Currently, Brees possesses an NFL-record streak of 215 consecutive postseason passes without an interception, and can add to that total Saturday.

The players with multiple postseason games of at least 400 passing yards:

                              *Plays at San Francisco Saturday 

— NFL —

BRADY BUNCH OF RECORDS: New England quarterback TOM BRADY has thrown for 4,407 yards in his postseason career. With 104 passing yards this weekend against Denver, he would surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer DAN MARINO(4,510) for the fifth-most postseason passing yards in NFL history.

                                                                   *Active this weekend

Brady has also thrown 30 postseason touchdown passes. With three touchdown passes this weekend, he would surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer TERRY BRADSHAW (30), KURT WARNER (31), and Marino (32) for third-most postseason touchdown passes in NFL history.

                                                                 *Active this weekend

Brady has thrown a touchdown pass in 17 consecutive postseason games.  With a touchdown pass this Sunday against Denver, he can record his 18th consecutive postseason game with a touchdown pass, already the second-longest streak in NFL history (BRETT FAVRE, 20).

                                                         *Active this weekend

— NFL —

FOSTER FOLLOW-UP: In his postseason debut last weekend, Houston running back ARIAN FOSTER rushed for 153 yards in the Texans’ 31-10 Wild Card victory over Cincinnati.

This weekend against Baltimore, Foster could challenge for the most rushing yards in a player’s first two postseason games in NFL history.

The players with the most rushing yards in their first two postseason games in NFL history:

     *Will play second career postseason game Sunday

— NFL —

HEAD OF THE CLASS: New England Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK has compiled a 15-6 (.714) record in his postseason career. Belichick ranks fifth all-time with 15 playoff victories, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famers TOM LANDRY, DON SHULA, JOE GIBBS and CHUCK NOLL.

With a win against Denver on Saturday night, Belichick would tie Noll (16) for the fourth-most playoff wins all-time.

The head coaches with the most playoff wins in NFL history:

                                                *Active

GOOD COMPANY: Some other notes to keep in mind for this weekend’s Divisional Playoffs:

For the second time (2006) since realignment in 2002, all eight remaining teams in this weekend’s Divisional round are division winners.

For the first time in NFL history, the Divisional round will feature four Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks. New England’s TOM BRADY (XXXVI, XXXVIII) will face Denver; New Orleans’ DREW BREES (XLIV) will travel to San Francisco; and the New York Giants’ ELI MANNING (XLII) and Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS (XLV) will square off in Green Bay.

San Francisco (13-3) will host New Orleans (13-3) Saturday. The teams enter the game with a combined 26-6 (.813) regular-season record, tied for the second-highest combined winning percentage between opposing teams in a divisional playoff game.