It's been 7 years since a team made the Super Bowl without a 1st Round bye. And it gets worse.

No
They depended on not slipping against double digit dogs....at home

You're referring to the Falcons game? The same Falcons that beat the 49ers two weeks ago?

We lost that game and two more - one on the road to the Rams on the road when Brees went out for the game early, and the other to the 49ers. They won every other game - how much more do you realistically expect from your team under the circumstances they had to deal with this season?

I'm pointing out that 2 of those 3 losses came at home, and the road loss involved losing our starting QB during the game. We won every other road game.