If you go strictly by record and homefield advantage, San Francisco, Baltimore, Kansas City and Green Bay should be the winners of this weekend’s playoff games. But there is no such thing as a given in the postseason. Especially in the divisional round.
History has shown that upsets – including some very big ones – often take place in the divisional round. That’s why it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if Minnesota, Tennessee, Houston or Seattle pulls off an upset this week.
Divisional round upsets have taken place before and they’ll take place again. Let’s take a look at the nine biggest upsets in divisional round history:
1985: Patriots 27, Raiders 20
This was a historic season for the Patriots. They became the first team in history to make it to the Super Bowl by winning three straight road games. The victory in Los Angeles was especially big because the Raiders had gone 12-4 and appeared to be one of the league’s dominant teams. The Patriots also won at Miami the following week, but got crushed in the Super Bowl by the Chicago Bears.