Here are some of the numbers that helped define the NFL Wild Card Weekend playoff games played January 6-7
- A pair of teams got their first playoff wins in over a decade. The Tennessee Titans defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday for their first playoff win since Jan. 3, 2004; the Jacksonville Jaguars got their first playoff win since January 5, 2008 with their win Sunday over Buffalo. The New Orleans Saints’ win over Carolina was their first post-season win since January 4, 2014. Atlanta’s win over the Rams was their second straight year with a playoff win. Of the four home teams in this coming week’s NFL playoff games, both New England and Pittsburgh won playoff games last season. The Eagles have not won a playoff game since the 2008 season while the Vikings’ last playoff win was after the 2009 regular season.
- Tennessee’s running back Derrick Henry had 23 carries for 156 yards in his team’s playoff win over Kansas City. It was the 48th time a running back gained 150 or more yards rushing in a playoff game (he became the 38th player to accomplish this feat). Eric Dickerson holds the NFL record for most rushing yards in a playoff game with 248 (he did it January 4, 1986 versus the Cowboys). Terrell Davis holds the record for most playoff games with 150 or more yards rushing with four. Marcus Allen, Le’Veon Bell, Dickerson, Franco Harris, John Riggins and Thurman Thomas each had two such games in their careers.
- The Kansas City Chiefs had a 21-3 halftime lead over the Titans in their playoff game yet did not score a point in the second half as the Titans rallied to secure a 22-21 victory. The Buffalo Bills also this weekend did not score in the second half of their playoff game. Playoff teams that have not scored in the second half of a post-season game are 12-117 (.093 winning percentage) in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).
- The New Orleans Saints beat Carolina 31-26 in their playoff contest. Teams that score 30 or more points in a playoff game have won 20 of the last 22. Teams that have scored 30 or more points in a playoff game since 1966 are 206-23 (a .900 winning percentage).
- Saints’ QB Drew Brees passed for 376 yards in his team’s win over the Panthers. It was the seventh playoff game where Brees has passed for 300 or more yards in a playoff game. That places him third on this list. Tom Brady tops the list with 12 playoff games with 300 or more yards passing. He is followed by Peyton Manning with nine games. Joe Montana, Aaron Rodgers, and Kurt Warner each have six such games in their careers and Dan Fouts has five.
- Brees had a 115.2 Passer Rating in the game. It was his sixth career playoff game with a Passer Rating over 100. Brady and Montana top this stat with 12 games, followed by Brett Favre with 10 playoff games with a Passer Rating above 100.
- Jacksonville defeated Buffalo 10-3 in their Wild Card game. The last time a team won a playoff game with 10 or fewer points was on January 10, 2016 when the Seattle Seahawks beat Minnesota 10-9. There have been eight playoff games since 1970 where the winning team had 10 or fewer points.
- Tennessee Titans’ QB Marcus Mariota had the unique distinction of throwing a TD pass to himself when he caught one of his deflected passes and ran it in for a TD in Saturday’s game. It happened one other time in an NFL game when QB Brad Johnson caught one of his own passes for a TD in a regular season game. It was the 68th time in NFL history that a player had a TD pass and a TD pass reception in the same game. Last to do so was Dez Bryant last season on December 26, 2016 when he had two TD receptions and threw a TD pass in a regular game versus the Lions. Frank Gifford holds the NFL record with most games where a player had a TD reception and a TD pass in the same game; he did it four times in his career.
- Tennessee’s 22-21 win over Kansas City was the first one-point playoff game since the 2015 season when Seattle beat Minnesota 10-9 (game was played on January 10, 2016). It was the 17th one-point playoff game in the Super Bowl era. The San Francisco 49ers have the most one-point playoff wins with three; the Chiefs now have the most one-point playoff losses with three.
- The Chiefs also now have the most home playoff losses since 1995 with six. They are followed by Green Bay and Pittsburgh with five, and Cincinnati, Denver, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and the Chargers each with four. The Packers have the most home playoff losses since 2000 with five; Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh each have four.