No team has ever played the Super Bowl in its home stadium.
With University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona the site of Super Bowl XLIX, the team in the crosshairs as the NFL playoffs begin on Saturday is the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have only appeared in the Super Bowl once before and haven’t won the league championship since 1947 (when they were based in Chicago).
The Cardinals got off to a 9-1 start but lost their top two quarterbacks along the way, so their path behind third-stringer Ryan Lindley will be tough indeed. Lindley is 1-5 as a starter.
How Wild-Card Weekend stacks up
SATURDAY
Arizona Cardinals (11-5) at Carolina Panthers (7-8-1): The Panthers get the home field by virtue of having won the miserable NFC South division. They are, however, the first team to win that division title in consecutive years and they’ve played well of late. They won their last four games and allowed only 44 points in those games.
Baltimore Ravens (10-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6): The Ravens are 0-3 in playoff games at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field. Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell (knee) is extremely questionable and the Steelers aren’t deep in the backfield. The Ravens get massive nose tackle Haloti Ngata back from a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
SUNDAY
Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) at Indianapolis Colts (11-5): The Bengals lack a pass rush. Their 20 sacks were the fewest in the NFL this season. The Colts beat the Bengals 27-0 in Indy in October, forcing 11 punts and holding the Bengals to 135 total yards.
Detroit Lions (11-5) at Dallas Cowboys (12-4): This matchup will feature two of the game’s top receivers, in Detroit’s Calvin Johnson and Dallas’ Dez Bryant. Dallas also has the NFL’s leading rusher in DeMarco Murray (a club-record 1,845 yards) and Tony Romo led the NFL in passer rating.
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .
Ice-Cream Shop Closure Stirs Economic Blame Game
-
The Bears got Claypool in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick. This week, the Pittsburgh Steelers cut a deal...
-
Belichick has cycled through several players in search of the right one. Recently, the New England Patriots have been...
-
The field needs new posts after overzealous fans dumped the old ones in the river. Over the weekend, the...
-
Hutchinson grew up idolizing the Patriots and Tom Brady. This Sunday, the Detroit Lions are scheduled to take on...
-
Judge has broken Babe Ruth’s record and tied with Roger Maris. Last week, New York Yankees center fielder and...
-
Judge is one homer away from beating the Bambino’s record. Babe Ruth, AKA The Great Bambino, AKA The Sultan...
-
Trout is one homer off from an MLB record. Last night, the Los Angeles Angels played the Cleveland Guardians....
-
Jones spoke about the new offense at their training camp. The New England Patriots are currently in the midst...
-
A fight broke out on the last day of joint practice. Thursday was the last day of joint practice...
-
Donaldson clinched the game for his team in extra innings. Wednesday night saw a major nail-biter game between the...
-
The Yankees have landed two impressive players from the Oakland Athletics. The New York Yankees, superstars of the American...
-
NFL+ offers game coverage for $4.99 a month. Following suit with other companies and brands establishing their own streaming...