So here's some random useless Divisional Round trivia as Seattle and Atlanta kick this weekend off. Small sample sizes were abused for the sake of interesting trivia. As a further note, none of this actually means anything in regards to the games played this weekend.
There hasn't been an all home team sweep in the divisional round since 2004, when New England, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Philadelphia won.
Since the league expansion to 32 teams, there have only been two instances where both underdogs in a conference won on divisional weekend: 2006, where Indianapolis beat Baltimore and New England beat San Diego, and 2008, where Arizona beat Carolina and Philadelphia demolished the New York Giants. Both times, the home team won the ensuing conference championship game.
Andy Reid is, to this date, undefeated (3-0) when playing at home in the divisional round.
If you see an AFC game go into overtime this weekend, settle in, because history suggests they'll be playing for a while. 4 out of the 7 AFC divisional round games that have been tied at the end of regulation have gone into double OT, most recently in 2013, when the Ravens won in Denver. That was also the last time a #1 seed lost a playoff game that was not the Super Bowl.
The NFL record for most consecutive seasons winning a divisional round game is 5, held by both Oakland (1973-1977) and New England (2011-2015). If the Patriots beat the Texans tonight, they will hold the record at six. Incidentally, both the Patriots and the Raiders only won one Super Bowl in their respective 5 year spans.
Last piece of Patriots related trivia, I promise. New England holds the record for hosting the most consecutive NFL divisional round games now, with 7 (2010-2016).
With a win tonight, Houston would have its first divisional round win in team history.
Seattle has advanced to the Divisional Round in five straight years, a team record and the long streak of any NFC team since the 49ers of the mid-late 1990s.
Despite not being a consistent playoff participant, Atlanta has opened at home in the divisional round in 4 of its last 6 playoff appearances.
Out of the remaining field, Kansas City is the current team with the longest drought in the divisional round (not counting Houston since they've never won and only existed since 2002). The Chiefs haven't advanced to a conference championship game since 1993. After them, it's the Cowboys, who have not won a divisional round game since 1995, when they went on to win the Super Bowl.
Perhaps it's better that Green Bay is playing on the road this weekend; since Aaron Rodgers took over in 2008, the Packers have been outscored by nearly 11 points per game on average in divisional home playoff games.
Peyton Manning holds the (dubious?) distinction for most divisional round playoff losses of all time, with 6. For those interested, each loss has come to a different team; the Titans, Patriots, Steelers, Chargers, Ravens, and Colts have all beaten him once.
The last rookie to win a divisional round game was Mark Sanchez in 2010. Dak Prescott will be trying to become the first rookie since then to win a playoff game against a non rookie QB.
Despite being a very regular playoff participant, the Steelers have only played one divisional round game on the road since 2006. That was a loss, last year, to the eventual Super Bowl champ, Denver.
