NFL football is the greatest reality TV program of all time. The Giants and Colts made sure of that back in 1958. Each NFL fall weekend is a completely new and original experience for every player, fan and coach alike. New stories, new personalities, new winners and new losers. And new statistics.

Here are the most important, most intriguing and most bizarre statistics from the NFL Divisonal Playoff games:

The Seattle Seahawks bring their road show to the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons in an NFC Divisional Playoff showdown that kicks off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on FOX. In beating Washington 24-14 in last Sunday’s Wild Card matchup, the Seahawks have already accomplished something the Falcons haven’t since 2004 – win a postseason game. The Falcons, champions of the NFC South and who tied the Broncos with 13 wins in the regular season are no stranger to having success in the months of September through December.

None other than the great Dr. James Andrews has decided that Robert Griffin III will require total reconstructive surgery to repair the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and LCL (lateral collateral ligament) in his right knee. The roughly two-hour surgery took place on Wednesday, Jan. 9, and rehab for the Washington Redskins quarterback is expected to take anywhere between six-to-eight months.

Record-setting rookie quarterbacks will be on full display when the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins square off in Sunday’s NFC Wild Card matchup at 4:30 p.m. ET on FOX. The Seahawks (11-5) enter this contest on a five-game winning streak, while the Redskins (10-6) won their final seven games to capture the NFC East division title and first postseason berth since 2007.

A betting preview of each of every game (against the spread) on Wild Card Weekend in the NFL Playoffs.


Lock of the Week
Win or lose, this is Ray Lewis' last dance in front of the home crowd in Baltimore, expect the city's new team to soar past its former franchise.

NFL Playoffs previews and predictions for Wild Card Weekend:

The NFC West could be decided when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks at 8:20 p.m ET tonight on NBC. A win would clinch a second straight division title for the 49ers (10-3-1), while handing the Seahawks (9-5) their first home loss of the season. The Seahawks are currently seeded fifth in the NFC playoff bracket, but four teams are right behind them at 8-6, so they still have work to do to secure their postseason berth.

As 2012 comes to a close, Athlon will count down the top individual performances in each major sport from the year, culminating with a full list of the top 50 performances of the year.

It is important to remember that for the NFL, 2012 started with the end of the 2011 regular season and the playoffs, in addition to the first 15 weeks of the current season. That’s why Tom Brady’s record-tying performance against Denver in last season’s AFC Divisional Round comes in at No. 1 on this list, even though the game was played back in January.