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

Saint Spud said

That's fine.

The bottom line is that none of that tends to matter in the playoffs. Attrition sets in when you don't get the bye. You suffer more injuries, teams get to rest and game plan in advance for you.

Our chances of making the Super Bowl just dropped exponentially.

Click to expand...

As I said before, stats don't play ball. No present team is the same team that helped produce your stats. There are factors that can't be factored into stats. There are things that can't be accounted for. Garropolo could slip and fall down the stairs and change everything.

Bottom line is the game has to be played out. I'll guarantee you no coach is feeding his team Coco Puff stats because they do or don't have a bye. They're throwing red meat in that cage and prodding them with a stick.

This is football. "You >>play<< to win the game!" lol.