AFC Title Game Notes

When the nine point favorite, and defending AFC champion, New England Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens in the later title tilt on Sunday, it will mark the fourth time the same two franchises are playing for the AFC crown in a second straight year.

On the previous three occasions the team that won the first game won the second. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders in both the 1974 and 1975 AFC title games but did lose the 1976 AFC Title game to the Raiders. Neither Franco Harris nor Rocky Bleier, the Steelers’ starting running backs, played in the loss. That was a key reason the vastly overrated Oakland coach, and later “analyst,” John Madden ever won a title.

The Steelers also beat the Houston Oilers in consecutive AFC Title games in 1978 and 1979. All four Steelers’ victories and the Oakland victory were followed by Super Bowl wins.

In both 1986 and 1987, the Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns for the AFC Title. Both times the Broncos were devoured in the subsequent Super Bowl.

Last year the Patriots edged the Ravens for the AFC Title only to lose the Super Bowl to the (9-7), and just three point underdog, New York Giants. By the way was it necessary for Bill Belichick, as stated here a coach I truly admire (see September 12, 2012), to have kicked a field goal, up 10 points with seventy four seconds left vs the Houston Texans? Bad karma for the Patriots to have done so?