Quote:
|
The past eight AFC teams to reach the Super Bowl have been aided by a first-round bye, a luxury afforded only the No. 1 seeds in the newly-designed NFL format that squeezes in a seventh playoff team from each conference. The 2012 Ravens were the last to get to the NFL’s championship game without a bye. (The frequency of that occurrence will increase, of course, now that only one team receives a bye. The top seed will not hold serve at the same rate all alone.) Nevertheless, it does demonstrate the difficulty of winning three consecutive playoff games — one of which could be on the road — as compared to just two to reach the Super Bowl.
|
My theory is this is a false narrative and it's not so much about winning 3 games in a row, but a simpler reason that there's only one or two teams worth a shit in each conference every year.
Placing a true SB caliber team in WC weekend doesn't make it infinitely harder on them.