Stat of the Jay: Historic, Best Vs. Best Postseason Matchup On Tap This Weekend

CINCINNATI – Saturday night the Detroit Lions will play just their fifth home playoff game, moving them out of a last place tie for fewest appearances since the 1970 merger.

Come Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals will hold the dubious mark of fewest home playoff games. But the Cardinals also own the best home playoff winning percentage, going a perfect 4-0 in their limited appearances.

Another team that is playing at home this weekend is on the other side of the rankings, with the Philadelphia Eagles owning 24 home playoff appearances.

That’s the fifth most in the league behind the San Francisco 49ers (34), Pittsburgh Steelers (32), Dallas Cowboys (29) and New England Patriots (28).

As far as home playoff success goes, a Divisional Round host is near the top.

The Buffalo Bills are 13-3 in home playoff games for an .833 winning percentage. That’s second only to the Cardinals’ perfect 1.000 mark.

The Bills, however, are just 2-2 in their last four playoff games at home, losing at Highmark Stadium in the Division Round in each of the last two seasons – falling 27-10 to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022 and 27-24 to the Kansas City Chiefs last year.

The Kansas City Chiefs, despite their recent dominance, are a pedestrian 12-9 in home playoff games since the merger.

Since the arrival of Patrick Mahomes, however, the Chiefs are 10-2 at Arrowhead, losing only to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in overtime of the 2018 AFC Championship Game and Joe Burrow and the Bengals, also in overtime, in the 2021 AFC Championship Game.

What about road success in the postseason?

This is where it gets really interesting.

The Baltimore Ravens are 11-8 in road playoff games for an NFL-best .579 winning percentage.

They’re the best on the road, and the Bills are the best at home (minimum five games), and Baltimore will be in Buffalo on Sunday night.

Also of note, the Houston Texans have never won a road playoff game, going 0-5. They’ll be at Arrowhead where Mahome and the Chiefs have been close to invincible the last seven seasons.

And how important was it for the Lions to get the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage? They are an NFL-worst 0-12 in road playoff games.

The Lions and Texans are the only two teams who have never won a road playoff game since the 1970 merger.

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