The Washington Commanders (5), Philadelphia Eagles (4), Buffalo Bills (4), and Kansas City Chiefs (6) have combined to make 19 Super Bowl appearances. That number will increase to 21 regardless of the results of Sunday’s NFC and AFC title games, in that order.
While Kansas City (4), Washington (3), and Philadelphia (1) have all hoisted at least one Lombardi Trophy, Buffalo remains one of 12 current NFL franchises that hasn’t won a Super Bowl.
Here are some interesting facts and figures to contemplate regarding this Sunday’s action.
5
If both the Washington Commanders and Buffalo Bills both emerge with victories on Sunday, it sets up a rematch of Super Bowl XXVI. That’s easier said than done. The last time both road teams won on Championship Sunday was back in 2018, when Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots and Sean McVay’s Los Angeles Rams defeated the Kansas City Chiefs (37-31) and New Orleans Saints (26-23), respectively, both in overtime.
Hence, it’s only happened five times in the first 58 years of the Super Bow Era. The only other times both road clubs in the title games came out on top the same year were 1966, 1992, 1997 and 2012.
2
Dating back to 2022, home teams have pretty much had their way in the postseason, which wasn’t really the case in 2020 (6-6) and ’21 (75). Since 2022, the host clubs own a combined 26-8 mark, including a strong 8-2 win-loss record this postseason.
What is even more interesting that the only two victories by an away squad in these playoffs have come courtesy of Dan Quinn’s Washington Commanders. They edged the Buccaneers in Tampa, 23-20, in the wild card round, then stunned the Lions at Ford Field, 45-31, a week ago. If you include their regular-season record, the Commanders are 7-3 on the road in 2024.
610
During the regular season, Eagles’ running back Saquon Barkley (2,005) logged the ninth 2,000-plus-yard rushing performance in NFL history. In Philadelphia’s two playoff games this season, he’s blistered the Packers (119) and Rams (205) for a combined 324 yards on a total of 51 carries.
Still, the most combined rushing yards by a player in the postseason came via Washington’s John Riggins during the 1982 16-team Super Bowl tournament. On the way to capturing Super Bowl XVII MVP honors, he gashed the Lions (119), Vikings (185), Cowboys (140), and Dolphins (166) for a combined 610 yards (4 TDs) on the ground.
8
Talk about an interesting correlation? The last time the Kansas City Chiefs turned over the ball this season, quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a pair of interception in the team’s 30-21 setback at Buffalo in Week 11. It was the first loss of 2024 for the defending Super Bowl champions, who have not gone eight straight games (including playoffs) without giving up the pigskin.
Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bills have committed a total of eight turnovers in 19 contests, including the postseason wins over the Broncos and Ravens. Those eight miscues during the regular-season ties an NFL record, first set by the New Orleans Saints in 2019.
7
Andy Reid and the Chiefs are playing in their seventh consecutive conference championship game. That’s one short of the mark set by the New England Patriots from 2011-18. Bill Belichick’s club owned a 5-3 record in those contests, three two losses coming in 2012 (at home to the Ravens), 2013 and 2015 (both at Denver).
New England went on to lose Super Bowls XLVI and LII to the Giants and Eagles, respectively, while defeating the Seahawks (XLIX), Falcons (LI) and Rams (LIII) to win their final three Super Bowl titles. The Chiefs are 4-2 in the previous six AFC title games, both losses at home and in overtime, to the Patriots (2018) and Bengals (2021). However, they won at Baltimore a season ago to advance to Super Bowl LVIII.