NFL Playoff Standings: Ranking Biggest Home-Field Advantages in Divisional Round

You can break down the matchups. Compare the numbers of this passing offense versus that pass defense, this quarterback's numbers in January, that defense's sacks in the second half, and on and on we go. All valuable insights, surely. But not the sort of insights you'll find here.

No, here you'll find a more subjective look at a pretty simple inquiry—which team hosting a postseason game this weekend has the best home-field advantage? Which team has the sort of home environment that opposing players dread facing? 

Let's find out.

Matchups

Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	Watch
No. 6 Baltimore Ravens at No. 1 New England Patriots	Saturday, Jan. 10	4:35 p.m.	NBC
No. 4 Carolina Panthers at No. 1 Seattle Seahawks	Saturday, Jan. 10	8:15 p.m	Fox
No. 3 Dallas Cowboys at No. 2 Green Bay Packers	Sunday, Jan. 11	1:05 p.m.	Fox
No. 4 Indianapolis Colts at No. 2 Denver Broncos	Sunday, Jan. 11	4:40 p.m. ET	CBS

4. Denver Broncos

Putting the Denver Broncos at fourth on this list is like saying that Joe DiMaggio was the fourth-best hitter in New York Yankees history. It's not that DiMaggio wasn't amazing, it's simply that Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Mickey Mantle—at least in my opinion, but feel free to chime in down below in the comments—were better. 

Pretty good company to keep, in other words.

So it's not as though coming fourth on this list is some indictment of the Broncos' home advantage. They are 17-1 at home in the last two seasons, after all. But whereas the other teams have very distinct advantages you can point to—the weather in Foxboro in January, the majesty of Lambeau Field come the postseason, the wall of noise in Seattle—there isn't a real defining feature to the home crowd or environment in Denver. 

That's no knock on Denver's fans, who are great, but what you are really fearing in the postseason against Denver is facing Peyton Manning and his army of weapons, not an overly daunting home-field advantage. Andrew Luck may not lead the Indianapolis Colts to the upset, but it won't be the atmosphere that gets in his way. 

To be fair, given his career trajectory, very few atmospheres are going to bother Mr. Luck.

3. New England Patriots

The whipping winds and rabid fans. The bitter cold of a January in New England. The Patriots' 16-1 record at Gillette Stadium in the past two seasons. A bundled-up Tom Brady torching opposing defenses. Bill Belichick's defense bringing the heat on opposing quarterbacks. A running game built to break through icy bones. 

January in New England is not where you want to find yourself if you have a football game to win and you're wearing an opposing uniform. The one solace for Joe Flacco and company?

They won in Foxboro in the conference championship two years ago on their way to a Super Bowl title. They won't be bringing Ray Lewis with them this time, however.

2. Green Bay Packers

Lambeau Field is only No. 2? Seriously?

I can hear the complaints now. After all, the hallowed hall of Vince Lombardi, the playground of Brett Favre, the easel upon which Aaron Rodgers paints his most beautiful masterpieces should surely be No. 1, right?Surely, the stadium where the Packers went 8-0 this season—and 16-5 all-time in the postseason—should top this list, wouldn't you say?

Well, here's the thing. Home-field advantage isn't just about the "home field" part of the phrase, it's also about the "advantage." And it's hard to know just how much of an advantage being at home will be for the Packers against a Dallas team that went 8-0 on the road this season.

Some of those games were cupcake wins for Dallas, sure. Some weren't. The Cowboys were the only team to win in Seattle this year. With the NFC title hanging in the balance, they went to Philadelphia in Week 15 and beat the Eagles, a team that had blown them out two weeks prior. A team that was 6-1 at home at the time and won 10 games this season. 

So, no, Green Bay doesn't top this list. The "frozen tundra" just might serve them well again. But based on what Dallas has done away from home this year, it's hardly a guarantee that the legendary echoes of Lambeau Field will intimidate "America's Team."

1. Seattle Seahawks

It gets loud in Seattle, loud enough to cause an earthquake. Loud enough that Colin Kaepernick's ears are probably still ringing. Loud enough that up in Vancouver, they always know when those Americans are putting on a football game. 

In the past two seasons, the Seahawks have gone 16-2 at home, including two wins at their home digs on the way to last year's Super Bowl. They feed off of their home faithful. It would be hard not to. 

A Marshawn Lynch touchdown run causes a sonic boom. A Richard Sherman interception causes a roar from the fans that, to this point, is the only known sound capable of drowning out Richard Sherman's incessant chatter. Russell Wilson speaks softly, but Seattle's crowd carries a big stick. 

There is no better home advantage in football at the moment than what you'll find at CenturyLink Field. That's pretty scary news for a Carolina team that is 0-3 against Seattle in the past three years, with all three games being played in Carolina.

Things are about to get a whole lot noisier for Cam and company.