Like Region 5 - the top seed in Region 6 comes from the 60s - the 1968 Baltimore Colts.
1. 1968 BALTIMORE COLTS v. 16. Play In Winner 1983 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS v. 1981 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
1. 1968 NFL CHAMPION BALTIMORE COLTS
Pythag: 13-1
Off: 2nd
Def: 1st
d. Vikes Div Rnd 24-14
d. Browns NFL Title 34-0
Lost Super Bowl Jets 16-7
HC: Don Shula
1st TM All Pro: QB E.Morrall (34) TE J.Mackey (27) LCB B.Boyd (31) LLB M.Curtis (25)
16. 1983 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Pythag: 11-5
Off: 4th
Def: 4th
d. Lions Div Rnd 24-23
Lost NFC Title Redskins 24-21
HC Bill Walsh DC George Seifert
1st TM All Pro: None
16. 1981 PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
Pythag: 12-4
Off: 5th
Def: 1st
Lost WC Giants 27-21
HC Dick Vermeil DC Marion Campbell
1st TM AP: NT Charlie Johnson (29)
The Colts bring their 13-1 Pythag into the tournament; they'll meet the winner of a play in game between early 80s Niners/Eagles squads that were top 5 in both offense and defense.
8. 2020 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS v. 9. 1964 BUFFALO BILLS
8. 2020 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Pythag: 11-5
Off: 5th
Def: 5th
d. Bears WC 21-9
Lost Bucs Div Rnd 30-20
HC Sean Payton OC Pete Carmichael DC Dennis Allen
1st Tm AP: None
9. 1964 AFL CHAMPION BUFFALO BILLS
Pythag 11-3
Off: 1st
Def: 1st
d. Chargers AFL Title 20-7
HC: Lou Saban
1st Tm AP: FB C.Gilchrist (29) LT S.Barber (25) RDT T.Sestak (28) RS G.Salmes (23) RLB M.Stratton (23)
5. 1952 DETROIT LIONS v. 12. 1982 MIAMI DOLPHINS
5. 1952 NFL CHAMPION DETROIT LIONS
Pythag: 10-2
Off: 2nd
Def: 1st
d. Rams Div Rnd 31-21
d. Browns NFL Title 17-7
HC Buddy Parker, DC Buster Ramsey
1st tm All P: QB B.Layne (26) RS J.Christiansen (24) LE C.Box (29) LDT T.McGraw (25) LT L.Creekmur (25)
12. 1982 AFC CHAMPION MIAMI DOLPHINS
Pythag: 7-2
Off: 10th
Def: 2nd
d. Patriots WC 28-13
d. Chargers Div Rnd 34-13
d. Jets AFC Title 14-0
Lost Super Bowl Redskins 27-17
HC Don Shula, DC Bill Arnsbarger
1st Tm AP: None
Shula's at the top of the Region with the '68 Colts; 14 years later he's the coach of the strike shortened AFC Champ Dolphins. Miami faces the Champs from '52, Detroit.
4. 1953 CLEVELAND BROWNS v. 13. 2008 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS/2021 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
4. 1953 CLEVELAND BROWNS
Pythag: 10-2
Off: 4th
Def: 1st
Lost NFL Title Lions 17-16
HC: Paul Brown
1st Tm All Pro: QB O.Graham (32) LT/K L.Groza (29) RLB T.Thompson (26) MG B.Willis (32)
13. 2008 INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Pythag: 10-6
Off: 13th
Def: 7th
Lost WC Chargers 23-17
HC Tony Dungy OC Tom Moore DC Ron Meeks
1st Tm All Pro: QB P.Manning (32)
A lesser Colts team for sure; there's not necessarily an evident reason why they're in the field, I'd like to see a team at least hit top 5 in either offense or defense if they didn't play for a title. Let's go back and look at the prior 5 regions...I'll be back in a second...in Regions 1-3 the only team not in a top 5 for either offense/defense is...wait for it....the '09 Colts. And they won the AFC. In Region 4...the 2021 Rams, but they, of course, won the whole thing. And that's it.
Okay - I'm knocking the Colts out of the field. I'm going to leave this here to remind myself that I've set this top 5 rule. I'll leave it for now as top 5/play for a title, as that's what intuitively makes sense to me; but I may tighten that up as events dictate.
Looking at the bottom half of the bracket, this will also knock out the 2016 Chiefs. So two new teams slot in the field. Here's the one that goes here.
13. 2021 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Pythag: 12-5
Off: 6th
Def: 2nd
Lost Bills WC 47-17
HC Bill Belichick OC Josh McDaniels
1st Tm All Pro: None
3. 1986 NEW YORK GIANTS v. 14. 1971 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
3. 1986 SUPER BOWL CHAMPION NEW YORK GIANTS
Pythag: 12-4
Off: 8th
Def: 2nd
d. Niners Div Rnd 49-3
d. Redskins NFC Title 17-0
d. Broncos Super Bowl 39-20
HC Bill Parcells OC Ron Erhardt DC Bill Belichick
1st TM AP: RB J.Morris (26) TE M.Bavaro (23) P S.Landeta (24) ROLB L.Taylor (27)
14. 1971 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
Pythag: 11-3
Off: 18th
Def: 1st
Lost Div Rnd Cowboys 20-12
HC Bud Grant OC Jerry Burns DC Neill Armstrong
1st TM AP: RDT A.Page (26) LDE C.Eller (29)
Bottom half of the region starts with the '86 Giants; Belichick is in the prior game as, of course, the Patriots HC and here as the DC under Parcells. It should be a defensive battle as New York faces the top defense in '71, the Purple People Eaters.
6. 1994 DALLAS COWBOYS v. 11. 1952 LOS ANGELES RAMS
6. 1994 DALLAS COWBOYS
Pythag: 12-4
Off: 2nd
Def: 3rd
d. Packers Div Rnd 35-9
Lost NFC Title Niners 38-28
HC Barry Switzer OC Ernie Zampese DC Butch Davis
1st TM AP: RB E.Smith (25) SS D.Woodson (25) RDE C.Haley (30)
11. 1952 LOS ANGELES RAMS
Pythag: 9-3
Off: 1st
Def: 6th
Lost Div Rnd 31-21
HC: Hampton Pool
1st TM AP: FB Dan Towler (24) MG S.West (26)
The '94 Cowboys fell short in a three-peat attempt; they host the top offense from 1952, Bob Waterfield/Norm Van Brocklin's time share from LA.
7. 2002 OAKLAND RAIDERS v. 10. 1961 HOUSTON OILERS
7. AFC CHAMPION 2002 OAKLAND RAIDERS
Pythag: 12-4
Off: 2nd
Def: 6th
d. Jets Div Rnd 30-10
d. Titans AFC Title 41-24
Lost Super Bowl Bucs 48-21
HC Bill Callhan, OC: Marc Trestman DC Chuck Bresnahan
1st TM AP: QB R.Gannon (37) FS R.Woodson (37) C B.Robbins (29) RT L.Kennedy (31)
10. 1961 AFL CHAMPION HOUSTON OILERS
Pythag: 12-2
Off: 1st
Def: 2nd
d. Chargers AFL Title 10-3
HC: Wally Lemm
1st TM AP: QB/K G.Blanda (34) RB B.Cannon (24) LE B.Groman (25) WR C.Hennigan (26) LCB T.Banfield (24)
34 year old George Blanda leads the Oilers, with the top offense in 1961, into his future home, Oakland, to face the Raiders with the 2nd best offense from 2002.
2. 2014 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS v. 15. 1986 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
2. 2014 SUPER BOWL CHAMPION NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Pythag: 12-4
Off: 4th
Def: 8th
d. Ravens Div Rnd 35-31
d. Colts AFC Title 45-7
d. Seahawks Super Bowl 28-24
HC: Bill Belichick OC Josh McDaniels DC Matt Patricia
1st TM AP: TE R.Gronkowski (25) LCB D.Revis (29)
15. 1986 SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Pythag: 12-4
Off: 7th
Def: 3rd
lost Div Rnd Giants 49-3
HC Bill Walsh, DC George Seifert
1st TM AP: WR J.Rice (24) FS R.Lott (27)
Region 6 starts with the Niners (possibly) against the top seeds and ends with the Niners against the second seed. We may get Belichick facing off against himself if seeding holds.
