Home is where the advantage is.

Packerlifer · Jan 14, 2016

The Packers will be swimming against the current of the league's and their own playoff history when they take on the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Divisional Playoff this Saturday night. While all the road teams won in the Wild Card round last weekend history shows the Divisional to be a very different situation.

Since the NFL instituted its current playoff format in 1978 the home team in the NFC Divisional round has won nearly 85% of the games. The home team is 60-11 all-time against the team coming to them from the wild card weekend. Since 2000 the NFC home divisional teams are 23-5.

The Packers show this same trend in their own record in the Divisional round. This week's game will be the 14th time the Packers have reached this level of the playoffs. They are 4-1 in Divisional playoffs at Lambeau Field but only 2-6 on the road for an overall record of 6-7.

The Packers do have two of the only 7 games won by the visiting team in the last 48 NFC Divisional playoffs since 1990.

The 1995 team went to San Francisco and dethroned the reigning Super Bowl Champion 49ers in a game that signaled Green Bay's rise to contention. They didn't win the Super Bowl that season but did the next, when they beat the Niners again in the divisional round; this time at Lambeau.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199601060sfo.htm

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199701040gnb.htm

The 2010 team was given small chance against the NFC top seed Falcons in Atlanta but, led by Aaron Rodgers nearly flawless game, they overwhelmed the NFC Super Bowl favorites in their own dome stadium.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201101150atl.htm

A game that has rather faded in most fans' memory is the 1997 divisional at Lambeau against Tampa Bay. The Packers and Bucs were in the same division then, the old NFC Central, and were meeting for the third time that season. Tampa, coached by Tony Dungy, possessed a premiere defense but a pedestrian offense that the Packers' top 7 defense, led by Reggie White, managed to contain. It was the first time since the Packers beat the Colts in 1965 to win the NFL title that the Packers had beaten an opponent three times in one season.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199801040gnb.htm

One of the most satisfying playoff wins in Packers' history was in the 2007 divisional at Lambeau against former head coach Mike Holmgren and the Seattle Seahawks. RB Ryan Grant lost two fumbles early, which gave Seattle two short field drives for a 14-0 lead. But then Grant turned on the afterburners, rushing a club playoff record 201 yds and scoring 3 td's to pace a Packers' rout.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200801120gnb.htm

Last season's division playoff at Lambeau against Dallas has to rank as a classic in Green Bay postseason history. Best remembered for the non-catch call on Dez Bryant, which preserved the Packers' lead late in the game, the Packers gave a courageous performance with qb Aaron Rodgers playing on an injured calf and rallying the team for a comeback victory.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201501110gnb.htm

The win over the Cowboys was additionally satisfying because in three previous divisional round playoff meetings at Dallas "America's Team" had been a road block for the Packers and showed them "not ready for prime time. "

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199501080dal.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199401160dal.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198301160dal.htm

Two of the bitterest playoff losses in Packers' history came in the Divisional round. The infamous "4th & 26" overtime loss at Philadelphia in 2003 was in the division round.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200401110phi.htm

In 2011 the Packers lost a chance at a Super Bowl repeat and became the first 15-1 team to be a "one and done" in the playoffs as they lost their only home divisional playoff to the Giants.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201201150gnb.htm

The Packers suffered two of their biggest postseason embarrassments in the division round at St.Louis in 2001 and San Francisco in 2012.

In 2001 the Packers visited the Rams and their famous "Greatest Show on Turf" offensive team. Their defense actually acquitted itself rather well; "limiting" the Rams to 24 points and Green Bay actually outgained St.Louis. But a meltdown by the offense - 8 turnovers- and 6 interceptions thrown by Brett Favre, three of which were returned for td's, turned the game into a scoreboard rout.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200201200ram.htm

At San Francisco in 11 years later it was the defense' s turn to bear the brunt of defeat. Allowing the 49ers almost 600 yds. of total offense, including 323 yds rushing and having a qb Colin Kaepernick rush for 181 on them the Pack suffered another blow-out loss.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201301120sfo.htm

When the Packers have won in the divisional round half the time they have gone on to the Super Bowl. Two out of the 3 times they didn't they lost overtime NFC Championship games and in the third had a fourth quarter lead before losing.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/gnb/playoffs.htm

Deleted member 6794 · Jan 14, 2016

The NFL has been using the current format since 1990, expanding the playoffs to 12 teams for that season. Since then home teams are a combined 40-10 (.800) in the NFC divisional round.

El Guapo · Jan 14, 2016