From May 30 and every day until September 5… the start of the 2013 NFL season… Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ will publish “99 Stats Until Kickoff” a daily dose of NFL stats that will get you ready for the 2013 NFL season.)

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When the Baltimore Ravens won a pair of road playoff games last year en route to their appearance in the Super Bowl, it should have not come as a surprise. For the 49ers, however, their defeat of the Falcons in Atlanta may have been a little more of a surprise to pundits.

Prior to that NFC Championship Game against the Falcons in Atlanta, the 49ers had an all-time 2-10 road playoff record. In fact, you had to go back to a playoff game after the 1988 regular season to find the last time the 49ers had won a road playoff game. That was January 8, 1989 when they defeated the Bears 28-3 in a contest in Chicago.

The Ravens, on the other hand, would probably wear the title of “NFL’s best road playoff team since 2000.” Prior to their win in New England against the Patriots, Baltimore had an 8-5 record as a road playoff team in their franchise history. Their eight road playoff wins since 2000 top the NFL. Their nine road playoff wins since 2000 are by far the most of any of the 32 NFL teams.

Here’s a look at the teams that have won road playoff games since 2000.

Road Playoff wins (since 2000)
9: Baltimore
5: New York Jets, New York Giants
4: Carolina
3: Green Bay, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England
2: Indianapolis
1: Seattle, Arizona, San Diego, Jacksonville, Washington, Minnesota, St. Louis, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, San Francisco

Let’s take this stat back a little further. Going back to the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, the Dallas Cowboys and Ravens have been the best NFL road playoff teams with nine wins. The N.Y. Giants are second on the list with eight victories. Pittsburgh, St. Louis, the Jets and Tennessee are next with seven road playoff wins, and New England, Green Bay and Minnesota follow with six each.

After last season, road teams won four of the 10 playoff games. From 1990 (when the NFL went to the current playoff format) to the end of last season’s playoff games, road teams have now won 75 of the 230 playoff games (not counting the Super Bowl games that are played on a neutral site), or about 32.6 percent of the games.

From 1990-99, road teams won 27 of the 100 playoff games (.270 winning percentage). That percentage has increased since the start of the century; from 2000-2011, road teams won 48 of the 130 playoff games, a .369 winning percentage. That percentage has increased even more over the past nine post-seasons; since the 2003 season playoffs, road teams have won 41 of 100 contests, a .410 winning percentage.

“99 Stats Before Kickoff” (Stats you need to know before the start of the 2013 NFL season) is available from e-book publisher Smashwords. Go to www.smashwords.com to download a copy, including a pdf version which can be viewed on your home computer. Cost is $2.99.