Is the NFL Regular Season Relevant Anymore?

By Derek Lofland

The Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers offer a lot of compelling matchups with just a few days away from Super Bowl XLIII.

You have Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm going against the team they built their reputations with as assistants in Pittsburgh.

Kurt Warner vs. Ben Roethlisberger is an interesting storyline at the quarterback spot.

Larry Fitzgerald trying to cap off the best postseason by a receiver in NFL history will also create some interest.

But one storyline that isn’t going to draw a lot of interest is a matchup between two dominant regular season teams.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were very dominant, going 12-4 and earning the second seed in the AFC playoff bracket.

However, the Arizona Cardinals were hardly dominant in the regular season. They become only the second 9-7 team to qualify for the Super Bowl, joining the 1979 Los Angeles Rams.

You have to understand the history of the NFL to understand the significance of this trend. The last few seasons have seen some bizarre teams qualify for the Super Bowl.

Below are five things to consider.

1) From 1990 to 2006, the No. 1 seed in the NFC was a perfect 17-0 in Divisional Round Games. The last two seasons the No. 1 seed is 0-2, with both teams losing to teams that were vastly inferior to them in the regular season.

The 13-3 Cowboys swept the 10-6 Giants in the regular season, but lost in the 2007 Divisional Round. The 12-4 Giants split with the 9-6-1 Eagles in the regular season, but lost in the 2008 Divisional Round.

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