The plan at the start of every NFL season is to win your division, get a postseason bye, and secure home-field advantage. Do those much-easier-said-than-done things and the road to the Super Bowl is a very realistic dream.
"I think that's what you're shooting for," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday via conference call ahead of his team's Sunday night home game against the Eagles. "For us, playing (at CenturyLink Field) is such a challenge (for the visiting team). It gives us the kind of edge you need. It's so difficult to make it to the final game, so that is the best path."
Carroll, of course, is speaking from experience. His Seahawks had the best record in the NFC in 2013 and 2014 and they cashed in each time with trips to the Super Bowl by beating San Francisco and Green Bay in tightly fought games at home.
"It's not the only way to get there, but it's the best way and it's worth fighting for," Carroll said.
History strongly supports Carroll's case. Since the NFL installed wild-card games and postseason byes in 1978, the league has staged 78 conference championship games. In 62 of them, the winner had at least a first-round bye in the playoffs. That's 79.5 percent of the time. Take out the 1982 playoffs, when there were no byes for any teams because of the strike-shortened season, and the number rises to 81.2 percent.
Carroll simplified the math.
"It's just one less game you have to play," Carroll said. "That's all. I don't think it has anything to do with rest or anything. It's because you only have to play a couple of games and you're there. The games are so hard, so it's the better pathway."
Home-field advantage also comes in handy at the conference championship game. Since 1978, the home team has won 63 of the 78 games played, an 80.1 percent success rate. Having the best record in your conference is less of a guarantee that you'll reach the Super Bowl. Only 65.4 percent of the teams that had or shared the best record in their conference reached the Super Bowl.
This is relevant to the Eagles because all of the above things are under their control as the NFL season heads into its stretch run. At 10-1, the Eagles have the best record in the entire league and hold a one-game lead over the Minnesota Vikings for home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
If there's a concern, it is that the most difficult part of the Eagles' schedule has arrived. They play Sunday night at CenturyLink Field against the 7-4 Seahawks and then the following week against the 8-3 Rams in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Three of the Eagles' final five games are on the road and the combined record of their final five opponents is 28-28.
While the next two games could be difficult, the good news for the Eagles is that the teams chasing them have even more difficult assignments ahead. Here's a look at the schedules for the teams that are a legitimate threat to the Eagles' quest to secure home-field advantage throughout the playoffs:
