blake bortles

Of all the games in the NFL Divisional Playoff round, none arrives with the intrigue of this game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jacksonville Jaguars. In Week 5 of the regular season, the Jags hammered the Steelers 30-9 right in Pittsburgh's Heinz Field. In 2007, Jacksonville won in Pittsburgh during the regular season and again in the divisional playoffs, and history does have a way of repeating itself.

A lot can happen in 18 years, and certainly much has evolved in the football world since 1999, the last season that the Buffalo Bills earned a place in the NFL postseason. In fact it was so long ago that Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Bruce Smith, heroes of Buffalo's four straight Super Bowl appearances in the early 1990s, were still part of the club's roster in 1999.

On paper, Sunday's match-up between the 10-3 New England Patriots and 11-2 Pittsburgh Steelers for top seed and the edge for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs looks like the game of the week on the NFL slate. In reality, unless the Steelers find a way to compete with the Patriots, recent history would suggest that it doesn't figure to be much of a game.

It’s second and goal on New England’s one yard line. There’s less than a minute to play and Seattle has one timeout left in Super Bowl XLIX. The clock is ticking. Instead of handing the ball off, the Seahawks try to catch the Patriots off guard and throw for a touchdown. It’s picked off. Seattle loses the championship. The play will now be remembered as one of the biggest interceptions in NFL history.