NFL ‘Offs Rematch Notes

I believe 13 of the 16 NFL tilts in this the second week of the 2024 season, the league’s 105th involve clashes between teams that met in previous season playoff games.

One the Seattle Seahawks at New England Patriots tilt is a redux of the famed 2014 season Supe when Mal Butler’s interception saved New England and gave Brady/Belichick and “N.E.” a 4th crown, first after 10 years and 9 seasons sans one.

Seattle had won the ’13 title ripping Peyton Manning and Denver (Broncos).

Seven other tilts this week are “semis” rematches, 4 recalling conference title games in the NFC/AFC configuration that started in ’70 and the other with the Colts sojourning to Green Bay, in a redux of the unscheduled NFL “semi”/Western Conference playoff tilt of 1965, when “G.B.” prevailed in surely fortunate fashion, (13-10) in overtime en route to the first of three consecutive NFL crowns, a feat no team has ever matched by winning title tilts, a game first played in 1933.

The other 6: Buffalo ripped Miami thursday night past, Monday Atlanta at Philadelphia, and today Pittsburgh at Denver, N.Y./Jersey Giants at “Wash” D.C. team, Would you believe they are the Las Vegas Raiders and they visit the Baltimore Ravens and in the “Jim Nantz feature” (likely to be Cincy as a “dog,” but be careful) Cincinnati (Bengals) visits the two time defending champion K.C. Chiefs.

In ’97, ’86, and 2000 Pitts, the Giants and Ravens won those “semis”/conference title games and subsequently won the Super Bowl.

The Bengals (0-3) in Supes, losing by 3, 4 and 5 points not in that chronological order, lost to the Rams in the 2021 season Supe.

An already cited Supe winner in ’86, the Giants (4-1) in such games (they were (3-11) in NFL title games, which were played from ’33-’69), lost to the Ravens in the 2000 season game while the Broncos who won the ’97 semi at Pittsburgh and then upset the defending champion Packers (as cited the ’65 champions as they beat the team/franchise that really is the ancestor of the 2000 champion Ravens, namely the Cleveland Browns) were blitzed (39-20) by the Giants in the ’86 season Super Bowl.

Above depicts wind. The Giants “had the wind”in their favor and largely rode it and their great defense to a (17-0) win(d) in that ’86 “semi”/NFC Title tilt, enabling them to continue on a path to their first crown in 30 years.