I'm always overly ambitious with tournaments; aside from a pandemic that shuts down all outside activities I struggle to finish. I'll look to really cut down on the time spent with each game with this one, at least until the Sweet 16.
Ive got 256 teams, 16 regions of 16 teams each. I started with an S Curve based on my most recent top 250 teams of all time list, then made some modifications: I set a cap of no more than one representative of an organization in each region (that meant six teams from the top 250, 4 49ers teams and 2 Patriots teams, got booted; I filled out their spots from my list of the top teams from the 40s (my top 250 is 1950-). I also kept two teams from the same season out of the same region and then power balanced each regions Super Bowl champions. Record is regular season+postseason.
REGION ONE
1. 2007 New England Patriots 18-1 AFC Champs
2. 1967 Oakland Raiders 14-2 AFL Champs
3. 2019 Baltimore Ravens 14-3 AFC North Champs
4. 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers 15-5 Super Bowl Champions
5. 1968 Kansas City Chiefs 12-3 AFL West Champs
6. 1954 Detroit Lions 9-3-1 NFL West Champs
7. 2004 Indianapolis Colts 13-5 AFC South Champs
8. 1963 New York Giants 11-4 NFL East Champs
9. 2015 Carolina Panthers 17-2 NFC Champs
10. 2020 Green Bay Packers 14-4 NFC North Champs
11. 1981 San Francisco 49ers 16-3 Super Bowl Champions
12. 2021 Los Angeles Rams 16-5 Super Bowl Champions
13. 2000 Tennessee Titans 13-4 AFC Central Champs
14. 1986 Washington Redskins 14-5 2nd NFC East
15. 2022 Philadelphia Eagles 16-4 NFC Champs
16. 1947 Chicago Bears 8-4 2nd NFL West
Round 1
1. 2007 PATRIOTS 26 16. 1947 BEARS 3
-4 Stephen Gostkowski field goals for the Pats; 30 year old Tom Brady went 16-21, 240 yards and a TD pass to Ben Watson. 5 catches for 111 yards for 30 year old Randy Moss. 31 year old Sid Luckman was 8-16 for 74 yards.
8. 1963 GIANTS 23 9. 2015 PANTHERS 17
-Overtime win in the 8/9 matchup, 26 year old Giants fullback Joe Morrison scoring his second TD of the game, a one yard plunge to give New York the win. The Giants had a 17-6 lead heading to the 4th quarter, the big play a second quarter 87 yard TD pass from 37 year old YA Tittle to 29 year old Del Shofner. Down 17-9 with under 2 minutes left in regulation, 26 year old Cam Newton led the Panthers 73 yards down the field, hitting Ted Ginn with a score and then tying the game with a two point conversion toss to Greg Olsen. 28 year old Jonathan Stewart had a big game for the Panthers, 23 carries, 147 yards. New York picked Newton off twice.
12. 2021 RAMS 32 5. 1968 CHIEFS 29
-The first upset of the region by the first Super Bowl Champion in the region. A wild 4th quarter, the Rams entered with a 23-16 lead, after 2 Matt Gay field goals (Gay hit 6 Field Goals on the day) LA led 29-16 with 5 minutes to play. 33 year old Len Dawson led the Chiefs on a 68 yard scoring drive, capped by a 21 yard end around by Frank Pitts for a score that made it 29-23 Rams. With under 2 minutes to play, 30 year old Johnny Robinson forced a Darrell Henderson fumble around midfield. 3 plays later The Chiefs had a 4th and 11 - Dawson hits Pitts with a 41 strike. The rookie fullback Robert Holmes scores on a 1 yard plunge to tie it up; the Chiefs needing just the PAT to advance - but 26 year old Jan Stenerud shockingly missed it. The Rams get the ball back with 40 seconds to go - 33 year old Matthew Stafford struggled on the day, 18-35, TD, INT, but he was able to move the Rams to the Chiefs 30 - and Gay's 6th FG was a 47 yarder that sent the Rams to the second round. Sony Michel had a big game for LA, 13 carries, 127 yards.
13. 2000 TITANS 16 4. 2005 STEELERS 0
-The Super Bowl Champion 2005 Steelers were the 4th seed in the region and they get shut out by the 2000 Titans. Tennessee holding Pittsburgh to 11 first downs. 27 year old Eddie George ran for 124 yards and the game's only TD. 2 sack game for 24 year old Jevon Kearse.
6. 1954 LIONS 17 11. 1981 49ERS 10
-Bottom half of the region opens with the elimination of another Super Bowl Champion; the Lions got scores at the end of the first half (a 53 yard Lew Carpenter TD run) and then the beginning of the second (28 year old Bobby Layne with a 34 yard strike to Bob Hoernschemeyer). The Niners had a shot, reaching the Lions 19 yard line with 47 seconds left - but 22 year old Joe Schmidt came up with a huge sack on Joe Montana and the Lions hold on.
14. 1986 REDSKINS 26 3. 2019 RAVENS 16
-Biggest upset so far, the 3rd seeded 2019 Ravens get bounced by their crosstown rival Redskins. 150 yards rushing for 28 year old George Rogers, 3 TD passes for 25 year old Jay Schroeder, the game was not this close, the Ravens scored a garbage time TD to get to 16; Redskins kicker Max Zendejas also missed three FGs.
7. 2004 COLTS 56 10. 2020 PACKERS 46
-28 year old Peyton Manning faces 37 year old Aaron Rodgers and the two squads combine for a hundred points. 3 TDs for 26 year old Edgerrin James, all coming in the second half; 2 for Dominic Rhodes. Manning was 21 of 23, just 2 incomplete passes on the day. For the Pack, Aaron Jones had 145 yards on the ground, Rodgers threw for 3 scores.
2. 1967 RAIDERS 27 15. 2022 EAGLES 8
-Round 1 ends with an easy win by the second ranked team in the region, the Raiders holding Philadelphia to just 6 first downs, shutting out the Eagles until late in the 4th. All 3 Raider TDs came via 30 year old Clem Daniels. Just 6 completions and under a hundred yards for Jalen Hurts.
Round 2
2007 Patriots v. 1963 Giants
2021 Rams v. 2000 Titans
1954 Lions v. 1986 Redskins
1967 Raiders v. 2004 Colts
'07 PATRIOTS 33 '63 GIANTS 21
-Another 4 FG day for Gostkowski; the Patriots had a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter and were never really threatened. 2 TD passes for Brady, the Patriots had nearly a 2:1 advantage in time of possession.
'00 TITANS 27 '21 RAMS 24
-Battle of double digit seeds and it's the 13th seeded Titans who go back on the road and knock off another Super Bowl Champion. The Rams had a 24-10 halftime lead, Darrell Henderson scoring two 2nd quarter TDs. The Titans tied it up with 2 third quarter scores, a 1 yard run by Eddie George and a 22 yard pass from Steve McNair to Erron Kinney. Al Del Greco kicked a FG with 10 minutes to play and that turned out to be the final score of the game, Matt Gay missing a potential game tying 54 yard FG late. 27 year old McNair was 17 for 21, 242 yards and 2 scores.
'86 REDSKINS 17 '54 LIONS 13
-The 14th seeded Skins keep it rolling; George Rogers scored twice in the first half and rushed for 140 yards in what was otherwise a defensive struggle.
'67 RAIDERS 41 '04 COLTS 35
-An overtime win for the second seeded Raiders finishes round 2. The Colts sprinted to a 17-0 lead on TD runs from Edgerrin James and Dominic Rhodes. It was 27-14 Colts heading to the 4th quarter, and when Peyton Manning hit Aaron Morehead with a 56 yard TD pass, the Colts had a 35-21 lead with 12 minutes to play. 26 year old Daryle Lamonica drove the Raiders down the field, Clem Daniels running it in with 6 minutes to play, cutting the deficit in half. With 4 minutes to play, a seemingly safe pass to Reggie Wayne turned into a fumble recovery for Oakland around midfield. Daniels scored again, his 5th TD of the tournament, and Oakland tied the game at the end of regulation. In overtime, Dan Conners intercepted a Manning pass - and when Daniels scored again - a 32 yard run - it sent the Oakland crowd into a frenzy and the Raiders onto the regional semi finals. 151 yards on the ground for Daniels to go with those 3 scores.
Regional Semi Final
'07 Patriots v. '00 Titans
'67 Raiders v. '86 Redskins
'07 PATRIOTS 33 '00 TITANS 10
-The tournament's top overall seed has reached the Region 1 Final game. Stephen Gostkowski kicks 4 more FGs, thats 12 in his 3 tournament games. This one was never in doubt, the Patriots had a 23-0 halftime lead and a 30-3 lead heading to the 4th quarter. Brady was 30-41, 351 yards and 3 scores.
'67 RAIDERS 25 '86 REDSKINS 14
-Seeding holds as the 2nd seeded Raiders join the top seeded Patriots in the Region 1 Final. The big play in this one - a 95 yard punt return for a score by Rodger Bird that broke the game open in the second quarter. Another hundred yard rushing day for Clem Daniels and it sets up the regional final between the two top seeds.
Region 1 Final
'07 Patriots v. '67 Raiders
Two teams that lost the Super Bowl; the '67 Raiders were first in AFL offense, second in defense, they went 13-1, only losing an early season game at the Jets. They blew out the Oilers 40-7 to win the AFL Title and then lost Super Bowl II to the Packers. John Rauch is the head coach, young John Madden coaches the linebackers. 6 All Pros, 5 future Hall of Famers (Upshaw, in his rookie season, Biletnikoff, Otto, Willie Brown, George Blanda). Two pretty easy wins to reach this game, beating the '22 Eagles and the '86 Redkins
And they head to New England to face the overall number one seed in the tournament, my top ranked team of all time, the '07 Patriots. First in offense, 4th in defense, the only 16-0 team in the history of the NFL. The Patriots beat the Jags and Chargers to win the AFC Title and then lost the Super Bowl in a monumental upset to the Giants. 5 First Team All Pros, 4 future Hall of Famers (Brady, Moss, Seau, Richard Seymour). Pretty easy road so far for Bill Belichick, defeating the '47 Bears and the '63 Giants.
We head to Foxborough for the Region 1 Final.
'07 PATRIOTS 28 '67 RAIDERS 0
They entered as the top seed in the region and they leave as Regional Champs; the 2007 Patriots will head to the Sweet Sixteen where they will face the Region 16 Champions. All the scoring was done in the first half. Brady to Moss, 6 yard TD in the first quarter; Brady to Donte Stallworth, 18 yard pass in the second quarter, followed by TD runs by Kevin Faulk and Laurence Maroney. 7 catches for 111 yards and the score for Moss. Brady goes 25-38, 294 yards and the two scores. Just 9 completions for Lamonica, the Patriots defense recovered 3 Oakland fumbles.
That's Region 1 - onto Region 2.
