Unthinkable! Why We Could Have Two No. 6 Seeds in Super Bowl XLII

This season has been a historic one for the National Football League. We saw a team coming off a nearly undefeated season lose its division title to the team with the previous first overall pick.

We saw a collegiate formation wreak its havoc upon some of the league's top defenses. And we saw two rookie quarterbacks take the starting reins from day one and lead their teams to the playoffs.

But the remarkability may not yet be over. Both six seeds won their opening playoff games for the first time since 2006, and they both won in a strong fashion. We all watched as the Baltimore Ravens dismantled upstart Miami early Sunday afternoon and switched the channel to see the Philadelphia Eagles tear up the Minnesota Vikings.

Both of these teams are led by strong running games and hot defenses. In fact, some would call Baltimore's Rex Ryan and Philly's Jim Johnson the top two defensive coordinators in the NFL. But beyond JJ and RR, the Eagles and Ravens have strong personnel on the defensive side of the ball.

The Eagles are led by the best group of cornerbacks in the NFL, Pro Bowler Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown, and, everybody seems to be forgetting this year, Lito Sheppard is still there. Past Pro Bowler Trent Cole highlights the defensive line and the entire front seven.

The Ravens have even more talent on defense. Ed Reed has been playing better than anybody of late, intercepting six passes in his last three games. Reed has four games in the regular season with at least two interceptions. And even with Reed, the front seven is much stronger than the secondary.

Haloti Ngata has developed into one of the premier linemen in the NFL in his short career, and veterans Ray Lewis and Bart Scott headline a stellar linebacking corps.

When discussing the Eagles, nobody can leave out the name of one man: Brian Westbrook. Westbrook had 1,338 total yards this season, despite missing two games due to injury. When the Eagles use Westbrook the way they've been using him the past few weeks, their entire offense rolls.

The Ravens can also run the ball like nobody's business. Their three-headed monster tandem of Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, and Le'Ron McClain challenged the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers as top running attacks in the NFL.

The difference is, of course, that the Giants, Panthers, and the Tennessee Titans, who also have a very respectable running game with Chris Johnson and LenDale White, all have one of the top two seeds in their conferences.

The Ravens' upcoming game in Tennessee should be an exciting one. The teams played earlier in the year in Baltimore, the outcome being a 13-10 Titans win. In that game, Ravens QB Joe Flacco threw for only 153 yards and threw two interceptions. However, that game was back in Week Four of the season.

The Ravens have certainly heated up since then, particularly Flacco, who was at the time playing in only his third NFL game. If Ngata and his linemates, with a little help from Lewis, can shut down Johnson and White, the Ravens should have no trouble winning this game. After all, it's a given that Reed will be heckling Titans QB Kerry Collins all day from back deep.

The Eagles also have some experience playing their next opponent, their division rival New York Giants. The first time the teams played, in Philadelphia, the Eagles had a chance to win but the Giants defense stopped them short and the game ended with with a New York victory, 36-31.

Later in the season, though, the Eagles went into the Meadowlands and stunned the Giants on their home turf. Westbrook exploited a bad matchup to run (and catch) wild over a healthy Giants defense. The game ended only 20-14, but the Giants' 14 points did not come when they could have counted.

Only one sixth seed has ever even made it to the Super Bowl (2005 Pittsburgh Steelers, they defeated NFC No. 1 seed Seattle in the game itself) making the possibility of having two this year all the more extraordinary.

Although, I wouldn't go so far as to predict it this year, I certainly would not be surprised if we find the Eagles and the Ravens in playing for it all in Tampa this Feb. 1.