A 25-year-old record will fall on Sunday, and a losing team will be the one that breaks it.
The 1999 Tennessee Titans posted a 13-3 record, earned a wild-card playoff spot and made a run to the Super Bowl, where they were defeated by the St. Louis Rams 23-16.
Until this season, those Titans held the distinction of having the most wins of any wild-card team in the Super Bowl era. They finished second in the AFC Central division behind the 14-2 Jacksonville Jaguars. Ironically, both of the Jaguars’ regular-season losses were to the Titans, who also beat Jacksonville in the AFC Championship Game.
But the Titans’ wild-card regular-season wins record will fall this season. The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions play for the NFC’s No. 1 seed on Sunday night, with the loser getting a wild-card spot. They each already have 14 wins.
Another NFC North team will join the division rivals in the postseason — the Green Bay Packers, who also pushed the Titans’ mark but can only get to 12 wins with one on Sunday.
Here’s a look at the wild-card teams with the most regular-season wins since those 1999 Titans. This does not include division winners who played in the wild-card round.
Record: 12-5. That Cowboys team finished behind the 14-3 Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East. Their playoff run ended with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
Record: 12-4. The Chargers finished the regular season with the same number of wins as their AFC West rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Chiefs had the better division win percentage. Los Angeles won its wild-card matchup against the Baltimore Ravens but lost to that season’s Super Bowl champion, the New England Patriots, in the divisional round.
Record: 12-4. The Raiders had the same record as that year’s AFC West champ, the Chiefs, but Kansas City held the head-to-head advantage. Oakland didn’t make it past the wild-card round, losing to the Houston Texans 27-14.
Record: 12-4. The 49ers made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game, where they lost to that year’s Super Bowl winner, the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks won the NFC West at 13-3, tied with the Broncos for the best record in the NFL that season.
Record: 12-4. The Steelers lost their wild-card round matchup against the Broncos in overtime after Tim Tebow threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. That was a tough break for Pittsburgh, which finished second in the AFC North to Baltimore due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Record: 12-4. The Ravens finished second in the AFC North behind the Steelers, who had the same record but a better division win percentage. Pittsburgh eliminated the Ravens from the playoffs in the divisional round before losing to the Packers in the Super Bowl.
Record: 12-4. In the regular season, the Colts finished a game behind the AFC South champion Titans, who had the best record in the NFL that year. Indianapolis couldn’t get past the wild-card round, falling 23-17 to the Chargers.
Record: 12-4. The Jaguars finished second in the AFC South behind the 14-2 Colts. Jacksonville’s postseason run ended in the wild-card round with a loss to New England. Every team that made the playoffs in 2005 had at least 10 wins.
Record: 12-4. The Titans had the same overall record as the AFC South champion Colts, but Indianapolis had the head-to-head advantage. The Titans’ postseason run ended with a loss to the Patriots in the divisional round.
Record: 12-4. Both the Packers and 49ers earned wild-card berths and drew each other in the opening round. Green Bay beat San Francisco 25-15 before losing to the St. Louis Rams in the divisional round. The Rams went on to lose to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Record: 12-4. The Ravens finished second to the 13-3 Titans but certainly got the last laugh over their division rival. Baltimore beat the Broncos 21-3 in the wild-card round, then knocked off the Titans 24-10, beat the Raiders 16-3 in the AFC Championship Game and finished off its remarkable run with a 34-7 blowout of the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.
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