query: who plays in the nfl wild card games

pos: 2017–18 NFL playoffs 2017–18 NFL playoffs The 2017–18 NFL playoffs began on January 6, 2018, after the 2017 season, and concluded with Super Bowl LII on Sunday, February 4, 2018, when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. These playoffs were notable for several teams snapping long playoff droughts, as the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Tennessee Titans each qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1999, 2004, 2007, and 2008, respectively. The playoffs were also notable for the Patriots reaching a seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game, extending their own

pos: 1992–93 NFL playoffs 1992–93 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1992 season began on January 2, 1993. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, 52–17, on January 31, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. CBS then televised the rest of the NFC games. NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXVII. Although Minnesota scored on their opening drive of the game, they were quickly crushed by the Redskins, who massively outgained them

pos: 2013–14 NFL playoffs the rest of the AFC playoff games. Fox televised the rest of the NFC games and the Super Bowl. All games were broadcast on Westwood One radio. Trailing 38–10 a few minutes into the third quarter, Indianapolis scored 35 second half points to overcome a 28-point deficit to win, 45–44, in the second biggest comeback victory in NFL postseason history, behind just the Buffalo Bills' 32-point deficit in their 41–38 comeback Wild Card game win against the Houston Oilers in 1992. For Kansas City, the loss extended their playoff win drought to 20 years. The game got off to a

pos: 1991–92 NFL playoffs 1991–92 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1991 season began on December 28, 1991. The postseason tournament concluded with the Washington Redskins defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVI, 37–24, on January 26, 1992, at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games, then NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games. CBS televised the rest of the NFC games Super Bowl XXVI was the last Super Bowl to air on CBS until Super Bowl XXXV at the end of the 2000–01

pos: 1992–93 NFL playoffs as Changing of the Guard. 1992–93 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1992 season began on January 2, 1993. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVII, 52–17, on January 31, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. CBS then televised the rest of the NFC games. NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXVII. Although Minnesota scored on their opening drive of the game, they were quickly crushed by the

pos: 1998–99 NFL playoffs 1998–99 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1998 season began on January 2, 1999. The postseason tournament concluded with the Denver Broncos defeating the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII, 34–19, on January 31, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida. Under the new U.S. television broadcast contracts that took effect starting this season, CBS replaced NBC as the broadcaster of most of the AFC playoff games. ABC continued to broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox televised the rest of the NFC games and Super Bowl XXXIII. The Dolphins forced five Bills turnovers, including

neg: 1990–91 NFL playoffs one game and the 4 and 5 in a second game, both making up what was dubbed the "Wild Card Round". The 1 and the 2 seeds from each conference do not participate in this round, earning an automatic berth in the following week's "Divisional Playoff" games, where they face the Wild Card survivors. The 1 seeded team plays against the lowest remaining seed while the 2 seed plays the other remaining team. In a given game, whoever has the higher seed gets the home field advantage. In addition, a rule stating that teams from the same division could not

neg: 2001–02 NFL playoffs of scheduling colder, northern playoff games for daylight hours only; any stadium, regardless of evening January temperatures, could host prime time playoff games. This is (as of 2018) the last time wild card teams have met in the NFL postseason and, by extension, the last time a wild card team has hosted an NFL playoff game. The addition of the Houston Texans to the league in 2002 led to a realignment to eight divisions. The number of playoff berths remained six per conference, meaning one wild card berth per conference was eliminated and there would be no more meetings between

neg: Wild card (cards) can become so random that all skill is lost, the occasional use of wild cards can add variation to a game and add opportunities for skillful play. In particular, five-card draw is traditionally played with a joker in California (which plays as a bug), and also plays well with deuces fully wild. Seven-card stud plays well with one or two bugs, especially when played high-low split. Other games such as Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold'em do not play well with wild cards. For some players, the problem with wild card games is that the winner is almost always the

neg: Wild card (sports) from #1 through #4, while the two wild card teams are seeded #5 and #6; within these separations, seeding is by regular-season record. In the "Wild Card Round", the #6 team (a wild card team) plays against the #3 team (a division champion), and the #5 team (a wild card team) plays against the #4 team (a division champion). The division champions have automatic home-field advantage in these games. In the "Divisional Round", the worst seeded remaining team plays the #1 seeded team, while the best seeded remaining team that played in the wildcard round plays the #2 seed. Both

neg: Daniel Federkeil wild-card round of the playoffs. The Colts went on to win the Super Bowl XLI to conclude the 2006 NFL season. He played in the first 8 games of the 2007 NFL season as a member of the special teams unit. He suffered a concussion on December 5, 2007. In the 2008 NFL Season Federkeil started the first 3 games at right guard. Played as a member of the special teams unit in last 9 games of the regular season. Started at right guard against the San Diego Chargers on January 3, 2009, in a wild-card playoff game. The Colts

neg: 2016–17 NFL playoffs against each other, as Atlanta was the #2 seed in the NFC. All playoffs games were televised nationally on network television. ABC simulcasted one AFC Wild Card game with ESPN. One NFC Wild Card game was broadcast on NBC. Coverage of the remainder of the AFC playoff games was split between CBS and NBC, while the remainder of the NFC playoff games was broadcast by Fox. CBS had exclusive coverage of the AFC Championship Game. Fox had exclusive coverage of the NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LI. 2016–17 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2016 NFL

neg: 2009–10 NFL playoffs 2009–10 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2009 season began on January 9, 2010. The postseason tournament concluded with the New Orleans Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, 31–17, on February 7, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Wild Card round featured three games that were re-matches of Week 17 games. In the United States, NBC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XLIV. Rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez completed

neg: NFL playoffs in the 1978 season, the league added one more wild-card team for each conference. The two wild-card teams played the week before the division winners. The winner of this game played the top seeded division winner as was done from 1970–1977. The league continued to prohibit intra-divisional games in the divisional playoffs, but allowed such contests in the wild-card round. This ten-team playoff format was used through the 1989 season. Under this system, the Oakland Raiders became the first wild-card team to win a Super Bowl following the 1980 season. During the strike-shortened 1982 season, only nine regular season games

neg: NFL playoffs both would be held on Sunday. In 1983 and 1988, the games were split between Saturday and Monday because Sunday was Christmas, and the NFL had avoided playing on that day at the time. In 1984, both games were played in the Pacific Time Zone, so they had to be played on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate for time differences. In 1985, both the New York Giants and Jets hosted wild-card games. As they have shared a home stadium since 1984, the games had to be played on different days. For the 1990 season, a third wild-card team for each

neg: 2002–03 NFL playoffs NFL experimented with playing Saturday prime time playoff games. The league was pleased with the results, and decided to revise its entire playoff schedule, beginning with the 2002 season. Wild Card and Divisional Saturday games continued to be played at 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. EST, as they had in the previous season. Sunday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST to 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively. The start times for the Conference Championship Games were also changed, from 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST to 3:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

neg: NFL playoffs stadium since 1984 (first Giants Stadium from 1984 to 2009, and MetLife Stadium since 2010). Thus, if both teams need to host playoff games on the same weekend, they are always required to play on separate days, even during the Conference Championship round. The only time such a scheduling conflict has occurred was during wild-card weekend in 1985, when only 10 teams qualified for the postseason and there were only two wild-card games "(See the "History" section below)": Instead of playing both wild-card games on the same day, as was the case when the 10-team system was used from 1978

neg: Playoffs card spots to 8 division winners and only 4 wild card qualifiers. The winners of each division automatically earn a playoff spot and a home game in their first rounds, and the two top non-division winners from each conference will also make the playoffs as wild-card teams. The top two teams with the best records in the regular season get a first round bye, and each of the bottom two division winners plays one of the two wild-card teams. Each winner of a wild-card game then plays one of the two bye teams. The winners of these two games go

neg: NFL on NBC play-by-play announcer, calling one of NBC's two games on Wild Card Weekend. John Madden (who had last worked with Al Michaels on "Monday Night Football" for ABC) was one of the first people hired by NBC, chosen to continue as a color analyst. Cris Collinsworth substituted for Madden when he was unavailable, called Wild Card games alongside Hammond until 2008, and took over on a permanent basis for the 2009 season when Madden announced his retirement from broadcasting on April 16, 2009. Prior to this, he served as a studio analyst for NBC's pregame show, "Football Night in America". For

neg: History of Monday Night Football 1984 hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight." As part of the league's television contract renewal with the network in 1989, ABC was awarded the television rights to Super Bowl XXV and Super Bowl XXIX, and the first round of NFL playoffs. The "Monday Night Football" announcing team anchored the telecasts, except for the first of two Wild Card Playoff games, in which "ESPN's Sunday Night" NFL crew of Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann presided over that telecast. However, the original crew for one of the two Wild Card Playoff games from 1990 to 1995 consisted of Brent

neg: 2005–06 NFL playoffs Card playoff games. Super Bowl XL was also ABC's final Super Bowl telecast. In addition to taking over "Sunday Night Football" during the following season, NBC was awarded the first two Wild Card playoff games, as well as ABC's place in the annual Super Bowl broadcasting rotation. ABC would not broadcast a playoff game again until the 2015–16 playoffs when it started to simulcast the ESPN-produced Wild Card Game. CBS continued to televise the rest of the AFC playoff games and Fox the rest of the NFC games. Although the Redskins gained only 120 yards on offense, the lowest total

neg: 2001–02 NFL playoffs wild card teams in the first round. As was the case prior to 2002, division champions retain priority for higher seeding and home field advantage regardless of records. Since the 2002 re-alignment, the only way two wild card teams in the same conference can meet in the playoffs would be for both teams to win two consecutive road games in the playoffs, which would result in a meeting in the conference championship game hosted by the fifth seed. As of 2018, this scenario has not yet occurred. In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games,

neg: 2015–16 NFL playoffs two rounds. Fox had exclusive coverage of the NFC Championship Game. CBS had exclusive coverage of the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl 50. ESPN Deportes served as the league's Spanish-language broadcaster. For the first time since the wild card round expanded to four games in 1990–91, all four playoff games on wild card weekend were won by the visiting teams. It also marked the first time in that all of the wild card teams advanced past the first round of the playoffs (this was only possible from 1970–71 until 1977–78 and since 2002–03, because playoff formats between 1978–79 and

neg: Cory Raymer all but one of the 1,029 offensive plays. Again in 1999 Raymer started all 16 games and also playoff games. He was a fixture on the Redskins' offensive line, composed of Keith Sims and Tre Johnson at guard, Andy Heck and Jon Jansen at tackle, the NFL's second-ranked offense that season with 443 points (27.7 points/game), with Brad Johnson at quarterback. In a wild card game of the 1999-00 NFL playoffs, Washington defeated the Detroit Lions, rushing for a massive 223 yards, as the interior line bowled over defensive tackles James Jones (defensive lineman) and Luther Elliss with middle linebacker

neg: Walt Anderson (American football) At the college level, Anderson was scouted by ex-NFL officials who were looking to fill openings at the professional football level. Anderson joined the NFL in 1996 and, as of 2015, he has officiated in 17 playoff games, including eight Wild Card, two Divisional, five Conference Championship games, and two Super Bowls: Super Bowl XXXV in 2001 (as line judge) and Super Bowl XLV in 2011 (as referee). He was the referee in the January 18, 2015 AFC Championship game, known for the deflategate controversy. Anderson cites Super Bowl XXXV as being his most memorable game. Anderson's 2018 NFL officiating

neg: Football Night in America sat in with Patrick, Dungy and Harrison in New York City. NBC renegotiated its contract with the NFL following the 2013 season and ceded one of its two Wild Card Saturday playoff games in order to obtain rights to one of the Saturday playoff games in the Divisional Playoffs. This guarantees NBC at least two games per playoff year, with the network airing a wild card matchup, and a second round playoff game which alternates conferences each year. These playoff games under the 2014 contract have aired at 1:00 pm EST, 4:30 pm EST, and NBC's usual 8:30 pm EST.

neg: Bob Costas the postseason, with the team with the best record receiving a buy-in to the League Championship Series. Once, on the air on HBO's "Inside the NFL", he mentioned that the NFL regular season counted for something, but baseball's was beginning to lose significance. With the advent of the second wild card, Costas has said he feels the format has improved, since there is now a greater premium placed on finishing first. He has suggested a further tweak: Make the wild card round a best two of three, instead of a single game, with all three games, if necessary, on the

neg: 1971–72 NFL playoffs 1971–72 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1971 season began on December 25, 1971. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, 24–3, on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. Like the previous NFL seasons, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly divisional rotation, excluding the wild card teams who would always play on the road. It was the first time that the NFL scheduled games on Christmas Day, a decision that drew considerable criticism. In the longest NFL game

neg: 1990–91 NFL playoffs This system was later modified before the 2002–03 NFL playoffs after the league realigned the teams into eight divisions (four per conference). With the new 12-team playoff system, ABC was awarded the rights to broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. CBS then televised the rest of the NFC games and NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games. ABC also televised Super Bowl XXV. The Redskins overcame losing two turnovers and a 6–0 deficit to score 20 unanswered points. This game was sweet revenge for the Redskins, who had lost to the Eagles 28–14 in a Monday

neg: NFL playoff results of tiebreakers, rather than via a playoff game (as detailed in the 1933–1966 era above). In 1978, the NFL expanded its playoffs pool from 8 to 10 teams, requiring the addition of another round of playoffs. From 1978–1989, this round featured one game per conference between the two wild-card (non-division winners) and thus the name "Wild Card" round. In 1982, the league held a 16-team tournament due to the players strike, which reduced the regular season to just 9 games. The playoffs expanded to 12 teams for the 1990 season, and an additional game was added to this week.<br> Click

neg: 2015–16 NFL playoffs In a change from previous seasons, both AFC Wild Card games were played on the Saturday, and then both NFC Wild Card games were played on the Sunday (instead of having a game from each conference on the same day). All playoff games aired on network television. This was the NFL's standard policy through the end of the previous TV contract in 2013. After airing one game exclusively on cable on ESPN in 2014, the lone game which The Walt Disney Company owns the rights to will be broadcast on both ESPN and ABC, a broadcast network with a much

neg: 2007 New York Giants season XLII. There, they defeated the heavily favored and previously undefeated 18–0 New England Patriots and spoiled their perfect season. The 2007 New York Giants became the 9th wild card team in NFL history to reach the Super Bowl and the 5th wild card team to win the Super Bowl, and the very first NFC wild card to accomplish the feat. They were the third team in history to win three road playoff games en route to a Super Bowl and set a league record for most consecutive road wins in a single season (11), though the Super Bowl is played

neg: 2015–16 NFL playoffs 2001–02 included first-round games between two wild card teams). Kansas City, who started the season 1–5 before winning their next 10 games, forced five turnovers and held the Texans to 226 total yards as they earned their first postseason win since the 1993 season (a game also played at Houston, against the Oilers), and the first shutout victory in an NFL playoff game in 10 years. It is the first (and to date only) time the Texans have been shut out at home. Chiefs running back Knile Davis gave his team a 7–0 lead just 11 seconds into the game

neg: 2008–09 NHL season schedule guarantees that each team plays every other team at least once. In this new schedule, each team will play their divisional rivals six times for a total of 24 games; they will play all other conference teams four times for a total of 40 games, and will play every team in the opposite conference at least once for a total of 15 games. To obtain a total of 82 games there are an additional three-wild card games; for the Canadian teams, the three-wild card games are composed of playing the three Canadian teams in the opposite conference an additional

neg: Byron Boston Byron Boston Byron Boston is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) since the 1995 NFL season. He is a line judge and wears the uniform number 18. During his NFL officiating career, Boston was assigned Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000 and has worked two wild card playoff games (1999 and 2005), three divisional playoff games (1996, 2002, and 2003), and three conference championship games (1997, 1998, and 2005). Boston graduated from Austin College in Sherman, Texas with a bachelor's degree in Economics. He began his officiating career in 1977 in Dallas, Texas where he worked Texas

neg: 2013 NFL season regular season games were moved either by way of flexible scheduling, severe weather, or for other reasons: The wild card round of the playoffs featured the two wild card playoff qualifiers from each conference being hosted by the two lowest seeded divisional winners. The top two seeds in each conference — the Seahawks, Panthers, Broncos and Patriots — all had first-round byes. The games were played January 4–5, 2014. The weekend's first game on Saturday featured the Colts staging the second biggest comeback in playoff history to defeat the Chiefs by a score of 45–44. The 28-point second half deficit

neg: 2015–16 NFL playoffs larger audience. From Disney's purchase of ESPN and ABC in 1996 through 2005, ABC had aired all of Disney's playoff games (the network also aired Monday Night Football at the time). The last such broadcast was Super Bowl XL after the 2005 season. Disney did not own any playoff rights from 2006 through 2013. ABC and ESPN simulcast one AFC Wild Card game, while CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games. Coverage of the NFC Wild Card and Divisional rounds was split between NBC and Fox, with each network having coverage of one game in each of those

neg: 2014 NFL season following games were moved by way of flexible scheduling, severe weather, or for other reasons: The wild card round of the playoffs featured the two wild card playoff qualifiers from each conference being hosted by the two lowest seeded divisional winners. The top two seeds in each conference all have first-round byes. The games were played on January 3–4, 2015. Indianapolis cruised to a relatively easy 26–10 win over Cincinnati, handing Bengals' coach Marvin Lewis his sixth straight playoff loss with no wins. In the other AFC game, Baltimore executed a dominant defensive performance over Pittsburgh's high flying offense, winning

neg: Wade Phillips Ron Rivera and former Cowboys quarterback Jason Garrett. In the 2007 NFL Playoffs, he led the Cowboys to another playoff loss, making his playoff record 0–5. The Cowboys failed to make the playoffs in 2008, as the season ended with a 44–6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, preventing a wild card playoff berth. Prior to the 2009 season, Phillips also took over as defensive coordinator, replacing the fired Brian Stewart. Phillips called defensive plays for the final 10 games of the 2008 season after Stewart was stripped of the responsibilities. In the 2009–10 playoffs, Phillips's Cowboys defeated the Eagles in

neg: 1984–85 NFL playoffs 1984–85 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1984 season began on December 22, 1984. The postseason tournament concluded with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX, 38–16, on January 20, 1985, at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. The two wild card games were held on different days because both venues were in the Pacific Standard Time Zone. The NFL did not schedule prime time playoff games on the east coast until 2002. Normally, playoff games started at either 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time/9:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time or 4 p.m. EST/1 p.m.

neg: 2005–06 NFL playoffs 2005–06 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2005 season began on January 7, 2006. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, 21–10, on February 5, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. After scrutiny in the Wild Card and Divisional rounds, the league reversed a three-year precedent, and returned to "all star" officiating crews for the Conference Championship games. Since the 2003–04 NFL playoffs, postseason officiating had been done by entire crews from the regular season. These playoffs marked the final season that ABC televised the first two Wild

neg: History of the Arizona Cardinals same Packers team the following week in a NFC Wild Card game at home. Both teams took a different strategy to the game. The Packers decided to play their starters through three quarters, while the Cardinals played most of their starters for only a few plays. With injuries being a factor the Cardinals started the NFC Wild Card game as a 2.5 point underdog at home on January 10, 2010. The Cardinals ended up beating the Green Bay Packers 51-45 in overtime in the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history, keeping alive the Packers-Cardinals rivalry which began on Nov.

neg: 2018–19 NFL playoffs 2018–19 NFL playoffs The 2018–19 NFL playoffs will begin on January 5, 2019, after the 2018 season, and conclude with Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Source: All playoff games will be broadcast nationally on network television. ABC and ESPN will simulcast 1 NFC Wild Card game, while CBS And NBC will broadcast two AFC playoff games and CBS having the rest of the AFC Playoffs. Coverage of the NFC Playoffs wil be seen on Fox with the Network having coverage of the other NFC Playoff Games. CBS has exclusive coverage of

neg: NFL Rush Zone Card – The Non Transformers Character who is the antagonist of Season 2 who wants to destroy the guardians and the NFL. He has a very short temper and hates losing more than anything. In the episode "The Mystery Guardian", it is revealed that Wild Card's true identity is Warren Zimmer, Richard Zimmer's (thus RZ's) son. He is finally defeated when his powers overloaded in the season 2 finale. He is no longer a threat, but is still in debt for all the damage he caused. However, this is not the end of Wild Card as he returns in season

neg: Doug Smith (offensive lineman) game by the legendary Chicago Bears defense of '85. In the 1986-87 NFL playoffs, the Rams lost a wild card game to the Redskins, as Smith, Harrah, and left guard Tom Newberry had a somewhat difficult time against their defensive line, rushing 41 times for 138 yards. In the 1988-89 NFL playoffs, the Rams lost a wild card game to the Minnesota Vikings. In the 1989-90 NFL playoffs, the Rams defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild card game and the Giants in the divisional round, but lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game. In the

neg: Wild card (sports) the #1 seed and #2 seed have home-field advantage in the divisional round. The NFL was the first league ever to use the wild-card format. The decision to implement a Wild Card coincided with the completion of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. Prior to the merger, the right to compete in the postseason for the NFL title was restricted to division/conference champions. Until 1967, a tiebreaker game was played to resolve a deadlock for first place in either of the two conferences. When the league expanded to 16 teams, it realigned into four divisions and expanded the playoffs to two

neg: Major League Baseball Wild Card Game 2014 postseason featured the first Series sweeps involving Wild Card Game winners, but they were both in favor of the AL Wild Card Kansas City Royals who swept both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Baltimore Orioles en route to the second World Series featuring both NL and AL Wild Card Game winners, with the San Francisco Giants defeating the Royals in seven games. The first all Wild Card World Series also involved the Giants, but they were on the losing end, losing the 2002 World Series to the then Anaheim Angels in seven games. The one-game, win-or-go-home

neg: Bill Vinovich games, including two conference championship games (2002 and 2015), four divisional playoff games (2003, 2012, 2014 and 2017), and two wild card playoff games (2006 and 2013). Vinovich's 2018 NFL officiating crew consists of umpire Bruce Stritesky, down judge Phil McKinnely, line judge Mark Perlman, field judge Mearl Robinson, side judge Gary Cavaletto, and back judge Steve Patrick. Outside his officiating career, Vinovich works as a certified public accountant. Bill Vinovich Bill Vinovich III is an American football official in the National Football League (NFL) from 2001 to 2006 and since 2012, as well as a college basketball official. He

neg: Indianapolis Colts games starting with the 2015 NFL season (WXIN will carry a minimum of two home games against NFC opponents under the NFL on Fox deal, along with flex-scheduled Sunday games no matter the division matchup), with the team's Wild Card playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 4, 2015 on WTTV rather than new CW affiliate WISH. Also as of the 2015 season, WTTV and WXIN became the official Colts stations and air the team's preseason games, along with official team programming and coach's shows, and have a signage presence along the fascia of Lucas Oil Stadium. Before the

neg: Lowball (poker) wild card): 7-5-4-Joker-A, for example, the joker plays as a 2. This can cause some interesting effects for high-low split games. Let's say that Alice has 6-5-4-3-2 (called a "straight six")--a reasonably good hand for both high and low. Burt has Joker-6-5-4-3. By applying the rule for wild cards in straights, Burt's joker plays as a 7 for high, giving him a seven-high straight to defeat Alice's six-high straight. For low, the joker plays as an ace—the lowest card not in Burt's hand—and his hand also defeats Alice for low, because his low hand is 6-5-4-3-A, lower than her straight

neg: Playoffs four divisions under the two conferences, which led to the institution of a larger playoff tournament. After the AFL-NFL merger brought the American Football League into the NFL, the NFL began to use three divisions and a single wild card team in each conference for its playoffs, in order to produce eight contenders out of six divisions; this was later expanded in 1978 & 1990 so that more wild card teams could participate. In 2002 the NFL added its 32nd team, the Houston Texans, and significantly reshuffled its divisional alignment. The league went from 6 division winners and 6 wild

neg: Anti-siphoning law games on NFL Network, are only televised nationally on pay television. In these cases, NFL rules require simulcasts of the games to be syndicated to television stations within the home markets of the teams that are participating. This ensures that the games are still available on broadcast TV in the local markets, whilst maintaining cable exclusivity for the games outside of the market. Beginning in 2014, ESPN has also held rights to a post-season wild card game; in the first year of this arrangement, the game was only simulcast in the markets of the teams involved, as with its other

neg: 2011–12 NFL playoffs on September 22, 1974, which resulted in a 35–35 tie. After the season, this "modified sudden death" overtime system was applied to all preseason and regular season games. In the United States, NBC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games and Super Bowl XLVI. CBS telecast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Fox the rest of the NFC games. In the 1st playoff game in Reliant Stadium (and the first NFL playoff game played in Houston since 1993), Houston's defense forced four sacks and intercepted three passes, while their offense racked up 188 rushing yards en route

neg: National Football Conference teams in the conference proceed into the playoffs. These teams consist of the four division winners and the top two wild card teams. The NFC playoffs culminate in the NFC Championship Game with the winner receiving the George Halas Trophy. The NFC Champion then plays the AFC Champion in the Super Bowl. Both the AFC and NFC were created after the NFL merged with the American Football League (AFL) in 1970. When the AFL began play in 1960 with eight teams, the NFL consisted of 13 clubs. By 1969, the AFL had expanded to ten teams and the NFL to

neg: 2001–02 NFL playoffs intercepted a pass intended for Freddie Mitchell and the Rams held the ball for the rest of the game. 2001–02 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2001 season began on January 12, 2002. The postseason tournament concluded with the New England Patriots defeating the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, 20–17, on February 3, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. For the first time, the NFL scheduled prime time playoff games for the first two rounds in an attempt to attract more television viewers. Saturday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from

neg: 2001–02 NFL playoffs 2001–02 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2001 season began on January 12, 2002. The postseason tournament concluded with the New England Patriots defeating the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, 20–17, on February 3, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. For the first time, the NFL scheduled prime time playoff games for the first two rounds in an attempt to attract more television viewers. Saturday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from 12:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST to 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., respectively. Thus, the league abandoned its practice

neg: National Football League Christmas games of that year, but the regular season was extended to Sunday, January 2, 1983 after the 57-day NFL players' strike reduced the season from 16 games to 9; the NFL compensated by extending the regular season one week and eliminating the off week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl. In and again in , the NFL split the first round Wild Card Playoffs between Saturday, December 24 and Monday, December 26 to avoid a Christmas game. Had the United States Football League survived to play its autumn 1986 season, it would have featured the first major professional football

neg: NFL on CBS Ravens' Super Bowl championships to date have been on CBS; the CBS-owned station in Baltimore, WJZ-TV, had been, as an ABC affiliate, one of the strongest TV stations for ABC Monday Night Football for most of the 1980s and early 1990s, due to Baltimore's previous NFL team, the Colts' move to Indianapolis. The 2001–02 NFL playoffs marked the first time that the league scheduled prime time playoff games for the first two rounds, in an attempt to attract more viewers. Saturday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from 12:30 and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time to 4:30 and 8:00

neg: Playoffs of four match-ups in each conference, based on the seedings division-wise (# 1 vs. # 4, and # 2 vs. # 3). The division winner with the best record in the conference plays the lowest wild-card seed, while the other division winner plays the top wild-card seed (wild-card teams, who are de facto 4th seeds, may cross over to another division within the conference). In the Conference Semifinals, the four remaining teams in the conference face each other. In the third round, the Conference Finals, the two surviving teams play each other, with the conference champions proceeding to the Stanley

neg: Lesley Visser handle the Super Bowl Trophy presentation. After CBS lost television rights to NFL games in 1993, Visser went to ABC Sports and ESPN. In 1995, she became the first woman ever to report from the sidelines during a Super Bowl when she covered Super Bowl XXIX for ABC. In 1998, she became the first woman ever assigned to "Monday Night Football". She also covered Super Bowl XXXIV for ABC in 2000. While at ABC Sports, Visser served as a reporter for college football bowl games and the NFL playoffs games during "Wild Card Saturday". She also contributed to horse racing

neg: 2018–19 NFL playoffs the AFC Championship Game. Fox has exclusive coverage of the NFC Championship Game. CBS will have exclusive coverage of Super Bowl LIII. 2018–19 NFL playoffs The 2018–19 NFL playoffs will begin on January 5, 2019, after the 2018 season, and conclude with Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Source: All playoff games will be broadcast nationally on network television. ABC and ESPN will simulcast 1 NFC Wild Card game, while CBS And NBC will broadcast two AFC playoff games and CBS having the rest of the AFC Playoffs. Coverage of the NFC

neg: NFL playoffs changes at this time due to the then-pending 2011 work stoppage, the proposals to extend the regular season from 16 to 18 games and how it will impact the postseason, and the simple fact that not enough teams have been seriously disadvantaged by the current format. In October 2013, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced plans to revisit the idea to expand the playoffs to 14 teams, with the increased revenue gained from the two additional postseason games being used to offset plans to shorten the preseason. The two extra Wild Card games could also be scheduled on the weekend, creating

neg: 1970 NFL season Football Conference "W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against" " – clinched wild card berth, – clinched division title" "Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings" The 1970 NFL Draft was held from January 27 to 28, 1970 at New York City's Belmont Plaza Hotel. With the first pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected quarterback Terry Bradshaw from Louisiana Tech University. 1970 NFL season The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the

neg: Games behind race. It included all teams from a league, with the exception of the division leaders, and games behind was calculated with respect to the team with the highest standing in the wild card race. In the 2012 MLB season, both leagues add a second wild card team. Now, games behind in the wild card race is calculated with respect to the team with "second highest" standing in the wild card race. MLB's website distinguishes this statistic as "wild card games behind", abbreviated WCGB. Assuming that teams are not tied for first place in the wild card race, this results in

neg: WGNO were carried by ABC until the 2006 move of that package to ESPN. In the past it did carry Saints games that were produced as part of the NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football" package before that moved to a split between NBC and CBS. Thus currently, the only way the station would carry a Saints game is if they were a wild card or low division winner, and ESPN was chosen to broadcast that Wild Card Weekend game with ABC. WGNO presently broadcasts 22 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with four hours on weekdays, and one hour each

neg: 2014–15 NFL playoffs playoffs were televised mainly by Fox, which had rights to all NFC playoff games except for a single Wild Card game televised by ESPN. This marked the first time an NFL playoff game was aired on a cable channel. NBC exclusively televised Super Bowl XLIX. All games were broadcast on Westwood One radio. Carolina's defense forced three turnovers and held Arizona to an NFL playoff record low of 78 total yards as they advanced to their first postseason win since the 2005 season. Short punts by Drew Butler on Arizona's first two drives gave the Panthers excellent field position from

neg: 1970–71 NFL playoffs was named the "Divisional Playoffs", while the Conference Championship games were moved to the second playoff round and the Super Bowl became the league's championship game. However, the home teams in the playoffs were still decided based on a yearly divisional rotation, excluding the wild card teams, who would always play on the road. Also, a rule was made that two teams from the same division could not meet in the Divisional Playoffs. The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs finished the season 7–5–2, runner-up in the AFC West. The Bengals started out their first season as an NFL

neg: 1997–98 NFL playoffs the first two Wild Card playoff games, and Fox televised the rest of the NFC games. The 1997 playoffs were notable for featuring four teams from the NFC Central. At fourth place were the Vikings, who had started the year a promising 8-2 before losing five straight games and barely making the postseason with a 9-7 record. The Vikings had made the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, but had lost each time in the first round. This time, however, they managed to earn a win by scoring 10 points in the final 90 seconds of the game.

neg: Wild card (sports) division to each conference. The league decided not to change the number of playoff teams, and thus the number of wild card qualifiers was reduced to two per conference, with the two lowest ranked divisional winners not receiving byes. The term "Wild Card Round" continues to be used for the opening weekend of NFL playoffs, even though that weekend has involved both wild card and non-wild card teams since 1990. As of the start of the 2018 season, there has never been a meeting of two wild card teams in either conference's championship game or in the Super Bowl. By

neg: Major League Baseball Wild Card Game won both wild card games. Despite the road team's statistical advantage, 2 games have ended in walk-off fashion, the 2014 and 2016 AL wild card games. Major League Baseball Wild Card Game The Major League Baseball Wild Card Game is a play-in game which was added to the Major League Baseball postseason in 2012. The addition keeps the playoff format similar to the three-tiered postseason format used from 1995 through 2011, but adds a second wild-card team. Two wild-card teams in each league play each other in a single-game playoff after the end of the regular season. The winner of

neg: Mike Carey (American football) Johnny Grier in 1988. In addition to being selected as referee in Super Bowl XLII, he served as an alternate for Super Bowl XXXVI. In addition to the Super Bowl, he has officiated two conference championship games, four divisional playoffs, and eight wild card games throughout his career as of the conclusion of the 2007-08 NFL playoffs. In an interview in August 2014, it was revealed that Carey had requested that the NFL not assign him to games featuring the Washington Redskins. A search of game logs revealed Carey had not worked a preseason or regular season game involving the

neg: 2008–09 NFL playoffs 2008–09 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2008 season began on January 3, 2009. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, 27–23, on February 1, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. In the United States, NBC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games and Super Bowl XLIII (their first Super Bowl broadcast since Super Bowl XXXII at the end of the 1997–98 playoffs). CBS telecast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Fox the rest of the NFC games. Playing in their first playoff game

neg: 2007–08 NFL playoffs 2007–08 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2007 season began on January 5, 2008. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, 17–14, on February 3, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. In the United States, NBC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games, then CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games. Fox televised the rest of the NFC games and Super Bowl XLII. The Redskins rallied back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but Seattle responded by intercepting two

neg: 1985–86 NFL playoffs 1985–86 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1985 season began on December 28, 1985. The postseason tournament concluded with the Chicago Bears defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX, 46–10, on January 26, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Because the Jets and Giants both used Giants Stadium as their home field, the two wild card playoff games were held on different days. In the United States, CBS televised the NFC playoff games, while NBC broadcast the AFC games and Super Bowl XX. In the NFL's first ever playoff game at Giants

neg: 2012–13 NFL playoffs 2012–13 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2012 season began on January 5, 2013. The postseason tournament concluded with the Baltimore Ravens defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, 34–31, on February 3, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. All teams in both conferences won at least 10 games, the first time since 2005. "Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Standard Time ()" In the United States, NBC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC

neg: 2004–05 NFL playoffs 2004–05 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2004 season began on January 8, 2005. The postseason tournament concluded with the New England Patriots defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, 24–21, on February 6, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games, then CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games. Fox televised the rest of the NFC games and Super Bowl XXXIX. Although the Rams barely made the playoffs with an 8–8 record, two of their regular season wins were against Seattle. And

neg: 1995–96 NFL playoffs but we're going back where we belong. I'm going to check the lease, make sure they cleaned up after themselves." 1995–96 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1995 season began on December 30, 1995. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, 27–17, on January 28, 1996, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXX.

neg: 1995–96 NFL playoffs 1995–96 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1995 season began on December 30, 1995. The postseason tournament concluded with the Dallas Cowboys defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, 27–17, on January 28, 1996, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. NBC broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXX. Although Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino completed 33 out of 64 passes for 422 yards, the Bills jumped to a 27–0

neg: Miami Dolphins with a career season for receiver O.J. McDuffie, but it was not enough to get past the New York Jets into first place in the division. The Dolphins beat the Bills in the Wild Card round, but lost in the next round to the eventual champion Denver Broncos. (The Broncos lost only two regular season games in 1998, one of which was to the Dolphins.) In 1999, the team advanced to the playoffs with a 9–7 record. After a close win at Seattle in the Wild Card round 20–17, they suffered the second-worst playoff loss in NFL history losing to

neg: Super Bowl XV the Raiders defeated the Houston Oilers 27–7, the Cleveland Browns 14–12 (on a play known as Red Right 88), and the San Diego Chargers 34–27. In doing so, Oakland became the third wild card team to advance to the Super Bowl, and the first wild card team to win three postseason rounds since the NFL expanded to a 10-team playoff format in 1978. Hayes had a spectacular performance in the playoffs, adding 5 more interceptions to give him a total of 18 picks in 19 games. In the days before the game, most sports writers were speculating over whether, if

neg: 2006–07 NFL playoffs 2006–07 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 2006 season began on January 6, 2007. The postseason tournament concluded with the Indianapolis Colts defeating the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI, 29–17, on February 4, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Under the new U.S. television broadcast contracts that took effect starting this season, NBC replaced ABC as the network televising the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XLI. Despite quarterback Peyton Manning's three interceptions, the

neg: 1994–95 NFL playoffs 1994–95 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1994 season began on December 31, 1994. The postseason tournament concluded with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX, 49–26, on January 29, 1995, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida. Under the new U.S. television broadcast contracts that took effect starting this season, Fox replaced CBS as the broadcaster of most of the NFC playoff games. ABC continued to broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. NBC televised the rest of the AFC games. ABC was then the broadcaster for Super Bowl

neg: History of the National Football League championship playoffs to twelve teams by adding a third wild-card team (a sixth seed) from each conference. The restrictions on intra-division playoff games during the Divisional Playoffs were removed. However, only the top two division winners in each conference (the 1 and 2 seeds) received byes and automatically advanced to the Divisional Playoffs as host teams. The 3 seed, the division winner with the worst regular season record in each conference, would then host the 6 seed in the Wild Card Playoffs. In , the NFL realigned into eight divisions, four per conference, to accommodate a 32nd team, the Houston Texans.

neg: Los Angeles Rams After one game of the 1987 season was lost to the players' strike, the NFL employed substitutes, most of which were given derogatory nicknames (in this case the Los Angeles Shams). After a 2-1 record, the Rams' regulars returned, but the team only went 6-9 and did not qualify for the postseason. The Rams managed to return in 1988 with a 10-6 record, but then were defeated by Minnesota in the wild card round. Los Angeles won the first five games of 1989, including a sensational defeat of the defending champion 49ers. They beat the Eagles in the wild card

neg: John Holecek with a career game high of 21 tackles during game film review of the Miami Dolphins Wild Card playoff game. That season the Bills improved to the fifth-rated run defense in the NFL—up from 15th the year before. In 1999 Holecek tallied 116 combined tackles, including 63 unassisted, to go along with one sack, one interception, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles. Holecek's remarkable season also included a career-best 22-tackle outing in a Wild Card Playoff game played at Tennessee. His finest campaign came in 2000 when he started all 16 games and had a career-high 165 combined tackles.

neg: NFC Championship Game At the end of each regular season, a series of playoff games involving the top six teams in the NFC are conducted. In the current (since 2002–03 season) NFL playoff structure, this consists of the four division champions and two wild card teams (those clubs that possess the two best won-loss records after the regular season yet fail to win their division). The two teams remaining following the Wild Card round (first round) and the divisional round (second round) play in the NFC Championship game. Initially, the site of the game was determined on a rotating basis. Since the 1975–76

neg: NFL playoffs conference (for a total of eight teams) qualified for the playoffs each year. These four teams included the three division champions, and a fourth wild-card team. Originally, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation. From 1970 to 1974, the divisional playoff round rotated which of the three division champions would have home field advantage, with the wild-card teams and the teams they would face in the divisional playoff game would never have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Starting in 1970, the divisional playoff games consisted of the AFC Central champions and the NFC

neg: 1980 Oakland Raiders season starter, he completed eleven of fourteen passes with a touchdown and no interceptions, beginning one of the greatest comeback stories in the history of the sport. Plunkett guided Oakland to nine victories in eleven games and a playoff berth as a wild-card. Then, even more remarkably, rather than suffering an early defeat which marks the typical fate of NFL wild card teams, Plunkett led the Raiders to four playoff victories, including the Super Bowl, where they defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 27–10, in Super Bowl XV. Throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns, Plunkett was named the game's MVP. At wide

neg: Wild card (sports) the #4 vs #5 winner. When Major League Baseball expanded its playoffs to 10 teams in 2012, it also used this format, although teams in the same division could play each other in the Division Series. From 1970 through 1974, the NFL used a rotation to determine which teams would host conference semifinal and final games, and which teams would play which other teams (coincidentally, baseball also used a rotation when it began to have this number of teams, for both of the aforementioned purposes, from 1995–1997 before switching to the seeding method). The number of wild-card qualifiers was expanded

neg: 2000–01 NFL playoffs card weekend was held in December. The following year, the league pushed the start of the season back one week (to the weekend after Labor Day), which effectively pushed the start of playoffs one week later (into January). In the United States, ABC broadcast the first two Wild Card playoff games. Fox then televised the rest of the NFC games. CBS broadcast the rest of the AFC playoff games and Super Bowl XXXV (their first Super Bowl broadcast since Super Bowl XXVI at the end of the 1991–92 playoffs). The Dolphins overcame three first half turnovers as running back Lamar

neg: Uno (card game) is flipped over and set aside to begin the discard pile. The player to the dealer's left plays first unless the first card on the discard pile is an action or Wild card (see below). On a player's turn, they must do one of the following: Play proceeds clockwise around the table. Action and Wild cards have the following effects: A player who plays their next-to-last-card must call "Uno" as a warning to the other players. The first player to get rid of their last card ("going out") wins the hand and scores points for the cards held by the

neg: 1985 New York Giants season 1985 New York Giants season The 1985 New York Giants season was the 61st season for the club in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants entered the season looking to improve on their 9–7 record in 1984, which was enough to qualify the team for the playoffs as the second wild-card team, and to return to the playoffs for the second consecutive year under third-year head coach Bill Parcells. The Giants managed to do both, finishing with 10 victories for the first time since 1963 when the team won 11 games and finishing as the first wild-card team which

neg: NFL on Westwood One Sports announced on December 22, 2010 that Westwood One's contract has been extended through 2014. The two sides have since agreed to an extension through the 2017 season. Westwood One also served as the distributor for the Sports USA network's NFL games; as such, Westwood One employed Sports USA announcers for certain games covered by the former network, including Thanksgiving Day games, the opening Monday night doubleheader, and Wild Card Weekend, during the 2009 and 2010 seasons. This agreement was terminated in the 2011 offseason. Although Dial Global's broadcasts continued to carry CBS branding and personalities through 2012, it was initially

neg: Wild card (cards) Wild card (cards) A wild card in card games is one that may be used to represent any other playing card, sometimes with certain restrictions. These may be jokers, for example in Rummy games, or ordinary ranked and suited cards may be designated as wild cards ("deuces wild" in Poker is a common variant). A card which is not wild may be referred to as a natural card. In most cases, the wild card or cards must be agreed upon by all players before the cards are dealt and play commences. There are two common rules regarding wild cards: "fully

neg: NFL playoffs conference was added, expanding the playoffs to the current twelve teams. The lowest-seeded division winner was then "demoted" to the wild-card weekend. Also, the restrictions on intra-divisional games during the divisional playoffs were removed. The 2001 season became the first time that playoff games were played in prime time. Thus, the league no longer had the same restrictions like in 1984 as to when to schedule games in the Pacific Time Zone. The 1990 format continued until the 2002 expansion and reorganization into eight divisions. In this current format, as explained above, the 4 division winners and 2 wild cards

neg: 1978–79 NFL playoffs 1978–79 NFL playoffs The National Football League playoffs for the 1978 season began on December 24, 1978. The postseason tournament concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII, 35–31, on January 21, 1979, at the Orange Bowl in Miami. This was the first year that the playoffs expanded to a ten-team format, adding a second wild card team (a fifth seed) from each conference. The two wild card teams from each conference (the 4 and 5 seeds) would play each other in the first round, called the "Wild Card Playoffs." The division winners (seeds 1,

neg: 2002–03 NFL playoffs to the 2002–03 playoffs, a team could finish second in its division and host a playoff game by claiming the number 4 seed as a wild card team. The new rules meant that the number 4 seed would be awarded to a division champion and not a wild card team (non-division champion). Under the new system, a wild card team can host a playoff game only if the number 5 and number 6 seeds in one conference advance to a Conference Championship Game, in which case a number 5 seed would host the game. During the 2001–02 NFL playoffs, the

neg: 1993 Masters (snooker) the wild-card round against the winner of the qualifying event, Chris Small (ranked 75), and Ken Doherty (ranked 21), who was the wild-card selection. Nigel Bond, Darren Morgan and Chris Small were making their debuts in the Masters. In the preliminary round, the wild-card players plays the 15th and 16th seeds: Chris Small won the qualifying tournament, known as the 1992 Benson & Hedges Championship at the time. The event carried ranking points, but only ten percent of the usual tariff. Total: 11 Darren Morgan's century was scored in the wild-card round. 1993 Masters (snooker) The 1993 Benson & Hedges

neg: Wild card (sports) the San Francisco Giants were wild-card teams, as were the Giants and the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 World Series. The World Series champions in 1997, 2003, 2004, and 2011 were also wild-card teams. In the National Football League (NFL), each of the two conferences sends two wild-card teams along with four division champions to its postseason. The first round of the playoffs is called the "Wild Card Round". In this round, each conference's two best (by regular-season record) division champions are exempted from play and granted automatic berths in the "Divisional Round". The four division champions are seeded

neg: Julius Peppers the unit would be a key cog that would help the Panthers reach the Super Bowl. Peppers would finish the season with 37 solo tackles, 7 assisted tackles, 7 sacks, three forced fumbles, 3 passes defensed, 4 stuffs, and 1 blocked kick. In the wild card round playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys, Peppers would make a couple of extraordinary highlight reel plays. In the first quarter, Peppers would chase down Cowboys Receiver Joey Galloway who was one of the fastest players in NFL history, and run him out of bounds after a 28 yard gain. And then later in

neg: D. D. Lewis (linebacker, born 1945) in 12 NFC Divisional Contests, one NFC Wild Card Contest and nine NFC Championship Games. He made five Super Bowl appearances while winning Super Bowl VI and Super Bowl XII. During the 1980 season, he became along with Larry Cole, the first three-decade players in franchise history. Lewis played for 13 years and started 135 consecutive games (third in team history), until his retirement after the 1981 season. He was voted the "Most Popular Player" by the Cowboys fans and given the Bart Starr Meritorious Award in 1981. He is one of only eight NFL players who have played in