2016 NFL PLAYOFFS GET UNDERWAY

The NFL playoffs begin on Saturday and Sunday, January 7-8, with Wild Card Weekend. On Saturday, the Oakland Raiders play at the Houston Texans (ESPN/ABC, 4:35 PM ET) and the Detroit Lions visit the Seattle Seahawks (NBC, 8:15 PM ET). Wild Card Weekend continues Sunday with the Miami Dolphins at the Pittsburgh Steelers (CBS, 1:05 PM ET) and the New York Giants traveling to face the Green Bay Packers (FOX, 4:40 PM ET).

The following week (January 14-15), the New England Patriots (Saturday, CBS, 8:15 PM ET) and Kansas City Chiefs (Sunday, NBC, 1:05 PM ET) in the AFC and the Dallas Cowboys (Sunday, FOX, 4:40 PM ET) and Atlanta Falcons (Saturday, FOX, 4:35 PM ET) in the NFC host the Divisional Playoffs. The Patriots and Cowboys own home-field advantage for the Conference Championship Games (January 22) if they win their Divisional contests.

The 2017 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 29 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida (ESPN, 8:00 PM ET) and Super Bowl LI will take place on Sunday, February 5 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas (FOX, 6:30 PM ET).

FRESH FACES & CONSISTENT WINNERS HIGHLIGHT PLAYOFF FIELD

There are six new playoff teams in 2016: Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, Miami, the New York Giants and Oakland. Since the 12-team playoff format was adopted in 1990, at least four teams have qualified for the playoffs in every season that were not in the postseason the year before.

The teams since 1990 to make the playoffs a season after failing to qualify:

Six of the NFL’s eight divisions featured new division champions from last season, the most in a season since 2011 (seven). Only New England (AFC East) and Houston (AFC South) were repeat division champions.

In the 15 seasons since realignment in 2002, 28 of the 32 NFL teams have won a division title at least once.

How the 2016 playoff teams have fared in the 15 seasons since realignment in 2002 (2016 division winners in bold/italics):

The Dallas Cowboys rebounded to win the NFC East after finishing in last place in 2015. This marked the 13th time in the past 14 seasons in which at least one team went from “worst-to-first” in its division.

The teams to go from “worst-to-first” in their divisions since 2003:

* Tied for last place

The 2016 field also showcases teams that have enjoyed recent postseason success. Since realignment in 2002, the New England Patriots have been to the playoffs 13 times, which is the most in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers are tied for second with 12 postseason berths and the Seattle Seahawks rank third with 11 playoff appearances.

The teams with the most playoff appearances since 2002 (includes 2016):

*In 2016 postseason

Five of this season’s 12 playoff teams have won at least one Super Bowl since 2001, capturing eight of the past 15 Vince Lombardi Trophies. Those teams are Green Bay (XLV), New England (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX and XLIX), the New York Giants (XLII, XLVI), Pittsburgh (XL, XLIII) and Seattle (XLVIII).

*In 2016 postseason

ALL-TIME PLAYOFFS

The four franchises with the most postseason berths in NFL history – the Dallas Cowboys (32), Green Bay Packers (32), New York Giants (32) and Pittsburgh Steelers (30) – are all participants in the 2016 NFL playoffs.

The teams with the most seasons participating in the playoffs (includes 2016):

*In 2016 playoffs

The 12 playoff teams and their postseason records:

THE TEAMS

WINNING FEELING: The Green Bay Packers have won 13 NFL championships, the most in league history. Of the 12 playoff teams this season, 10 have won at least one championship.

NFL championships won by the 2016 playoff teams:

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PLAYOFF SUCCESS: The Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers each have 34 postseason victories, tied for the most in NFL history. The Green Bay Packers (32) and New England Patriots (29) rank third and fifth, respectively, on the all-time postseason wins list.

The teams with the most playoff victories in NFL history:

*In 2016 playoffs

Postseason victories for the 2016 playoff teams:

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HOME SWEET HOME…MAYBE: For the first time since the NFL adopted the 12-team playoff format in 1990, the No. 1 seed from both the AFC and NFC have advanced to the Super Bowl in three consecutive seasons. However, only 27 of the 52 (52 percent) No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Super Bowl, with 12 No. 1 seeds being crowned champions (23 percent).

Dallas is the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the fourth time since 1990 and the first since 2007, while the Patriots are the top seed in the AFC for the fourth time since 2010.

How the No. 1 seeds have fared since 1990:

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DIVISION DOMINANCE: Since realignment in 2002, the New England Patriots have won 13 division titles, the most in the NFL during that span. The Green Bay Packers lead the NFC with nine division titles since 2002.

The teams with the most division titles since 2002:

*2016 division champion

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PATRIOT PLACE: The New England Patriots won the AFC East for the eighth consecutive season in 2016, passing the Los Angeles Rams (1973-79) for the most consecutive division titles in NFL history.

The teams to finish first in their division in the most consecutive seasons:

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ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The New England Patriots finished the 2016 regular season undefeated on the road.

The Patriots are only the seventh team since 1978 – when the 16-game schedule was instituted – to post an 8-0 record on the road. Of the previous six teams to accomplish the feat, four have gone to the Super Bowl (66.7 percent).

The teams (since 1978) to post an 8-0 road record and their final season result:

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EXTRA TIME IN THE POSTSEASON: The playoffs have featured at least one overtime game in 13 of the past 16 postseasons.

In 2010, the NFL adopted a modified sudden-death system for the playoffs, which was expanded to cover all NFL games in 2012. The system guarantees each team a possession or the opportunity to possess, unless the team that receives the opening kickoff scores a touchdown on its initial possession. Play continues in sudden death until a winner is determined, and the game automatically ends upon any score.

A look at NFL overtime playoff games since 2000:

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THE PLAYERS

POSTSEASON QUARTERBACKS: Quarterbacks TOM BRADY of New England, AARON RODGERS of Green Bay, MATT RYAN of Atlanta, ALEX SMITH of Kansas City and RUSSELL WILSON of Seattle have enjoyed postseason success. They all rank among the leaders in many postseason passing categories.

Smith (99.1) ranks fourth all-time in career postseason passer rating, trailing only Pro Football Hall of Famer BART STARR (104.8), KURT WARNER (102.8) and DREW BREES (100.7). Rodgers ranks fifth all-time with a 98.2 passer rating.

The quarterbacks with the highest postseason passer rating (min. 150 attempts):

*Active in 2016 playoffs

Brady is the all-time postseason passing leader in career attempts (1,183), completions (738), yards (7,957) and touchdowns (56).

The top five all-time playoff leaders in completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdowns:

Brady has 10 career 300-yard passing games in the postseason, the most all-time.

*Active in 2016 playoffs

Ryan has completed 124 of 187 passes for a 66.3 completion percentage, the second-best mark in league playoff history, trailing only Warner (66.5 percent). Rodgers ranks seventh in league postseason history with a 63.8 completion percentage.

The quarterbacks with the highest postseason completion percentage (min. 150 attempts):

*Active in 2016 playoffs

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AIR ATTACK: Seattle quarterback RUSSELL WILSON is averaging 8.43 yards per pass attempt (2,328 yards, 276 attempts), the third-highest in NFL postseason history (minimum 200 attempts).

The quarterbacks with the highest postseason yards per attempt average (min. 200 attempts):

*Active in 2016 postseason

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PASSING BY: Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS is the only quarterback in the 2016 playoffs with a 400-yard passing game in the postseason.

The 19 400-yard passing performances in NFL postseason history:

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SUPER BOWL MVPs: There are four players in the 2016 postseason who have been named Super Bowl MVP: Quarterback TOM BRADY of New England (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XLIX), quarterback ELI MANNING of the New York Giants (XLII, XLVI), quarterback AARON RODGERS of Green Bay (XLV) and linebacker MALCOLM SMITH of Oakland (XLVIII with Seattle).

Five players in NFL history have been named Super Bowl MVP multiple times, including Brady (three) and Manning (two). Brady and Pro Football Hall of Famer JOE MONTANA are the only players to win the award three times.

The five players in NFL history to be named Super Bowl MVP multiple times:

*Active in 2016 playoffs

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WHEN IT COUNTS: New England quarterback TOM BRADY has a 22-9 (.710) career postseason record, the most playoff wins all-time by a starting quarterback.

The starting quarterbacks with the most playoff wins in NFL history:

*Active in 2016 playoffs

Brady’s 22-9 (.710) postseason record trails only Pro Football Hall of Famers TERRY BRADSHAW and TROY AIKMAN for the best winning percentage as a starting quarterback in NFL playoff history (minimum 15 starts).

Pittsburgh’s BEN ROETHLISBERGER (11-6, .647) is tied for seventh all-time.

The quarterbacks with the best winning percentage in postseason starts (minimum 15 starts):

*Active in 2016 playoffs

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A PROVEN WINNER: New England’s TOM BRADY is one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to win four Super Bowls.

Only 12 QBs in NFL history have won multiple Super Bowls. Of the 12, three are active, including Brady, the New York Giants’ ELI MANNING (two) and Pittsburgh’s BEN ROETHLISBERGER (two), and seven have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The starting quarterbacks to win multiple Super Bowls:

*Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame

**Active in 2016 playoffs

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PLAYOFF STARTERS: Seattle quarterback RUSSELL WILSON helped lead the Seahawks to the postseason for the fifth consecutive season and can join JOE FLACCO as the only Super Bowl-era quarterbacks to start a playoff game in each of their first five seasons beginning with their rookie year.

Wilson has seven playoff wins in his first four seasons and trails only TOM BRADY (nine), JOE FLACCO (nine) and BEN ROETHLISBERGER (eight) in postseason victories among quarterbacks in their first five seasons in the league.

The quarterbacks with the most postseason victories in their first five seasons:

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SMITH KEEPS IT SAFE: Kansas City quarterback ALEX SMITH has made five career postseason starts, completing 112 of 186 passes (60.2 percent) for 1,309 yards with 11 touchdowns and one interception for a 99.1 passer rating.

Smith’s 0.5 interception percentage is the lowest by a quarterback in postseason history (minimum 150 attempts). Dallas’ TONY ROMO and Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS rank second and fifth, respectively, in career interception percentage in NFL postseason history.

The lowest interception percentages in postseason history (minimum 150 attempts):

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FIRST-TIMERS: Several teams may feature a quarterback making his first career playoff start. Among those are Dallas rookie DAK PRESCOTT, Houston’s BROCK OSWEILER, Miami’s MATT MOORE and Oakland rookie CONNOR COOK.

The players with the most passing yards in their first career postseason start:

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TAKING A PASS: Atlanta quarterback MATT RYAN led the NFL with a 117.1 passer rating, the fifth-highest single-season passer rating in league history. New England’s TOM BRADY (112.2), Dallas’ DAK PRESCOTT (104.9) and Green Bay’s AARON RODGERS(104.2) each recorded a passer rating of at least 100 and led their respective teams into the playoffs.

The quarterbacks with the highest passer rating in a single postseason (min. 50 attempts):

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THREE FOR 300: Detroit quarterback MATTHEW STAFFORD passed for 4,327 yards, including four games with at least 300 passing yards, this season. Stafford has at least 300 passing yards in each of his first two postseason starts and is one of only four quarterbacks in postseason history with at least two consecutive games with 300+ passing yards.

The most consecutive postseason games with at least 300 passing yards to begin a career:

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RUSHING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS: Dallas rookie running back EZEKIEL ELLIOTT led the NFL with 1,631 rushing yards, the third-highest rushing total by a rookie in NFL history.

The players with the most rushing yards in a single postseason:

The rookies with the most rushing yards in a single postseason:

The rookies with the most rushing touchdowns in a single postseason:

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FINDING PAYDIRT: New England running back LE GARRETTE BLOUNT led the NFL with a franchise-record 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016.

The players with the most rushing touchdowns in a single postseason:

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CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Pittsburgh wide receiver ANTONIO BROWN ranked second in the NFL with 106 receptions. Brown, who has at least 100 catches in four consecutive seasons, is tied with Pro Football MARVIN HARRISON for the most consecutive seasons with at least 100 catches in NFL history.

The players with the most receptions in a single postseason:

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CATCHING ON: Detroit wide receiver ANQUAN BOLDIN has eight touchdown receptions in his postseason career. With two touchdown catches, Boldin will become the eighth player in NFL history with at least 10 postseason touchdown receptions and move into a tie for the third-most all-time.

The players with the most touchdown catches in postseason history:

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WELCOME RECEPTION: There are 11 players in the 2016 playoff field who recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in the regular season: Atlanta’s JULIO JONES (1,409), the New York Giants’ ODELL BECKHAM JR. (1,367), Pittsburgh’s ANTONIO BROWN (1,284), Green Bay’s JORDY NELSON (1,257), Oakland’s AMARI COOPER (1,153), Miami’s JARVIS LANDRY (1,136), Seattle’s DOUG BALDWIN (1,128), Kansas City’s TRAVIS KELCE (1,125), New England’s JULIAN EDELMAN (1,106), Detroit’s GOLDEN TATE (1,077) and Oakland’s MICHAEL CRABTREE (1,003).

The players with the most receiving yards in a single postseason:

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200 CLUB: Atlanta wide receiver JULIO JONES (300 yards, Week 4), New York Giants wide receiver ODELL BECKHAM JR. (222 yards, Week 6) and Detroit wide receiver MARVIN JONES JR. (205 yards, Week 3) each had at least 200 receiving yards in a single game in 2016. There have been eight 200-yard receiving games in NFL postseason history.

The players with at least 200 receiving yards in a postseason game:

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TD PARTY: Green Bay wide receiver JORDY NELSON led the NFL with 14 receiving touchdowns in 2016. Pittsburgh wide receiver ANTONIO BROWN led the AFC with 12 touchdown catches this season.

The players with the most receiving touchdowns in a single postseason:

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ROOKIE RECEIVERS: New York Giants wide receiver STERLING SHEPARD ranked second among rookies with 65 catches and 683 receiving yards and tied for second with eight touchdown catches in 2016.

The rookies with the most receiving yards in a playoff game:

The rookies with the most receptions and receiving yards in a single postseason:

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TIGHT ENDS MAKING MARK: Kansas City’s TRAVIS KELCE led all NFL tight ends with 1,125 receiving yards and ranked second with 86 receptions in 2016. New England’s MARTELLUS BENNETT tied for third among tight ends with seven touchdowns catches.

The tight ends with the most receiving yards in a single postseason:

The tight ends with the most touchdown receptions in a single postseason:

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SPECIAL DELIVERY: There have been 26 kickoff-return touchdowns in NFL postseason history. The last postseason kickoff-return touchdown was scored by Kansas City’s KNILE DAVIS, who returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown in the Chiefs’ Wild Card win at Houston last season.

Ten kickoffs have been returned for touchdowns in Super Bowl history, with the last coming on PERCY HARVIN’s 87-yard kickoff-return touchdown to open the second half of Super Bowl XLVIII. RON DIXON of the New York Giants (2000-02) is the only player with two career kickoff-return touchdowns in the playoffs.

Chiefs rookie TYREEK HILL and Miami rookie KENYAN DRAKE are the only players in the 2016 postseason who returned a kickoff for a touchdown this season.

There have been only 21 punt-return touchdowns in playoff history. The last player with a punt-return touchdown in the postseason was Denver’s TRINDON HOLLIDAY in the 2012 Divisional round (90 yards, the longest in NFL playoff history). No player has ever recorded more than one in a career.

Among the players in the 2016 postseason who returned a punt for a touchdown this season are Hill (two), Detroit’s ANDRE ROBERTS (two), Houston’s WILL FULLER (one) and Miami’s JAKEEM GRANT (one).

Hill, who was selected to the Pro Bowl as a return specialist, is the only player in the NFL this season to return both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown.

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SACK ATTACK I: Atlanta defensive end DWIGHT FREENEY and Green Bay linebacker CLAY MATTHEWS tie for the lead among players in the 2016 playoff field with 10 career postseason sacks. Both players are on the verge of entering the top five in the category.

The top five players with the most postseason sacks (since 1982):

SACK ATTACK II: Seven players in the 2016 playoff field recorded at least 10 sacks this season: Atlanta’s VIC BEASLEY JR. (15.5), Seattle’s CLIFF AVRIL (11.5), Miami’s CAMERON WAKE (11.5), Oakland’s KHALIL MACK (11), Green Bay’s NICK PERRY (11), Seattle’s FRANK CLARK (10) and Kansas City’s DEE FORD (10).

The players with the most sacks in a postseason game:

The players with the most sacks in a single postseason:

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BALL HAWKS: Houston’s QUINTIN DEMPS, Kansas City’s MARCUS PETERS and the New York Giants’ DOMINIQUE RODGERS-CROMARTIE tied for second in the NFL with six interceptions each this season. The Giants’ duo of Rodgers-Cromartie (six) and LANDON COLLINS (five) were the only pair of teammates in the league with at least five interceptions apiece.

The players with the most interceptions in a playoff game and an entire postseason:

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ROOKIE DEFENDER: Pittsburgh cornerback ARTIE BURNS and Atlanta linebacker DEION JONES tied for the NFL rookie lead with three interceptions each this season.

The rookies with the most interceptions in a playoff game and an entire postseason:

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1. RELIABLE: New England kicker STEPHEN GOSTKOWSKI has made 15 consecutive field goals in the postseason dating back to the 2011 season. Gostkowski ties for fourth all-time in career postseason points, trailing only ADAM VINATIERI (234), DAVID AKERS (175) and GARY ANDERSON (153).

The players with the most career points scored in the postseason:

The kickers with the most points scored in a single postseason:

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BEST NFL PLAYOFF PERFORMANCES

(Single postseason)

THE COACHES

HEAD OF THE CLASS: New England Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK has 23 career postseason victories, the most all-time.

The head coaches with the most playoff wins:

*Active in 2016 postseason

Since joining New England in 2000, Belichick has led the Patriots to four Super Bowl titles (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX), which is tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer CHUCK NOLL (IX, X, XIII, XIV) of Pittsburgh for the most in history.

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BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: Four head coaches in the 2016 postseason field have won at least one Super Bowl title – New England’s BILL BELICHICK (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX), Seattle’s PETE CARROLL (XLVIII), Pittsburgh’s MIKE TOMLIN (XLIII) and Green Bay’s MIKE MC CARTHY (XLV). Additionally, Kansas City’s ANDY REID (XXXIX with Philadelphia) and Detroit’s JIMCALDWELL (XLIV with Indianapolis) have each led a team that advanced to the Super Bowl.

The head coaches in the 2016 playoff field with Super Bowl experience:

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POSTSEASON RECORDS OF 2016 PLAYOFF HEAD COACHES

by NFL Media