All four of the playoff games this weekend feature teams that met in the regular season, and in two cases the previous games were blowouts. The Patriots beat Houston 27-0 in Week 3, and Pittsburgh walloped Kansas City 43-14 a week later. What (if anything) can we learn from those earlier games?
I have checked the historical numbers, and in most years, there have been playoff games between teams that were involved in regular-season blowouts – with one team winning by 20-plus points. Those teams haven’t been as dominant in the follow-up games.
There have been 32 of these playoff games in the last 30 years (with one of the teams winning by 20-plus points in the regular season). On 10 of these games (almost a third) the team that lost in the regular season came back and won in the postseason. On another five games, the same team still won but needed overtime.
In only six of the 32 games did the team that won by 20-plus in the regular season come back and win again by 20-plus points.
On the chart I’ve thrown together, I’ve put in bold games where a different team won. I’ve put a black dot (•) by the teams that won both backs by 20-plus.
For divisional series, I used only the most recent games. That is, if a team beat an opponent 30-0 in September but then won a December rematch 27-21, that game wouldn’t be listed.
| BLOWOUT REMATCHES SINCE 1970 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Opponents | Regular Season | Playoffs |
| 1972 | S.F.-Dall. | 49ers 31-10 | Cowboys 30-28 |
| 1976 | N.E.-Oak. | Patriots 48-17 | Raiders 24-21 |
| 1977 | L.A.-Min. | Rams 35-3 | Vikings 14-7 |
| 1979 | Dall.-L.A. | Cowboys 30-6 | Rams 21-19 |
| 1980 | L.A.-Dall. | Rams 38-14 | Cowboys 34-13 |
| 1980 | Phil.-Min. | Eagles 42-7 | Eagles 31-16 |
| 1981 | Cin.-S.D. | Bengals 40-17 | • Bengals 27-7 |
| 1981 | S.F.-Dall. | 49ers 45-14 | 49ers 28-27 |
| 1983 | Was.-L.A. | Washington 42-20 | • Washington 51-7 |
| 1984 | L.A.-NYG | Rams 33-12 | Giants 16-13 |
| 1984 | Mia.-Pitt. | Dolphins 31-7 | Dolphins 45-28 |
| 1984 | S.F.-NYG | 49ers 31-10 | 49ers 21-10 |
| 1987 | Hou.-Den. | Oilers 40-10 | Broncos 34-10 |
| 1989 | L.A.-NYG | Rams 31-10 | Rams 19-13 (OT) |
| 1989 | Den.-Pitt. | Broncos 34-7 | Broncos 24-23 |
| 1990 | Cin.-Hou. | Bengals 40-20 | • Bengals 41-14 |
| 1991 | K.C.-Buff. | Chiefs 33-6 | Bills 37-14 |
| 1991 | Hou.-Den. | Oilers 42-14 | Broncos 26-24 |
| 1991 | Det.-Dall. | Lions 34-10 | • Lions 38-6 |
| 1991 | Was.-Det. | Washington 45-0 | • Washington 41-10 |
| 1991 | Was.-Atl. | Washington 56-17 | Washington 24-7 |
| 1992 | Hou.-Buff. | Oilers 27-3 | Bills 41-38 (OT) |
| 1993 | Hou.-K.C. | Oilers 30-0 | Chiefs 28-20 |
| 1993 | Dall.-G.B. | Cowboys 36-14 | Cowboys 27-17 |
| 1994 | S.F.-S.D. | 49ers 38-15 | • 49ers 49-26 |
| 1999 | Ten.-Jac. | Titans 41-14 | Titans 33-14 |
| 2002 | Oak.-Ten. | Raiders 52-25 | Raiders 41-24 |
| 2003 | G.B.-Sea. | Packers 35-13 | Packers 33-27 (OT) |
| 2006 | Chi.-Sea. | Bears 37-6 | Bears 27-24 (OT) |
| 2007 | G.B.-NYG | Packers 35-13 | Giants 23-20 (OT) |
| 2007 | N.E.-S.D. | Patriots 38-14 | Patriots 21-12 |
| 2008 | Phil.-Ariz. | Eagles 48-20 | Cardinals 32-25 |
| 2009 | G.B.-Ariz. | Packers 33-7 | Cardinals 51-45 (OT) |
| 2009 | Dall.-Phil. | Cowboys 24-0 | • Cowboys 34-14 |
| 2009 | NYJ-Cin. | Jets 37-0 | Jets 24-14 |
| 2010 | N.E.-NYJ | Patriots 45-3 | Jets 28-21 |
| 2012 | N.E.-Hou. | Patriots 42-14 | Patriots 41-28 |
| 2013 | Sea.-N.O. | Seahawks 34-7 | Seahawks 23-15 |
| 2014 | Pitt.-Balt. | Steelers 43-23 | Ravens 30-17 |
| 2014 | N.E.-Ind. | Patriots 42-20 | • Patriots 45-7 |
| 2014 | Ind.-Cin. | Colts 27-0 | Colts 26-10 |
| 2014 | Sea.-G.B. | Seahawks 36-16 | Seahawks 28-22 (OT) |
| 2015 | Ariz.-G.B. | Cardinals 38-8 | Cardinals 26-20 (OT) |
| 2015 | Sea.-Min. | Seahawks 38-7 | Seahawks 10-9 |
| 2016 | K.C.-Pitt. | Steelers 43-14 | ??? |
| 2016 | N.E.-Hou. | Patriots 27-0 | ??? |
—Ian Allan