The teams that begin play in the wild-card round are hoping that perception is reality.

Six days later, in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Dallas played the Eagles in a rematch of week 17.

Another aspect of being a wild card - at least since 1978, when the wild-card round was added to the playoffs - is that there are simply more games to play.

He was used extensively in a 23-0 victory against the Giants in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

He played on special teams against the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

German Masters in Berlin, Germany, wild-card round:

The real catalyst for the seeming parity came much earlier, in 1995, when a wild-card round of the playoffs took effect.

The season ended prematurely, as the Giants were shut out 23-0 to the Carolina Panthers in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

The next 16 highest-scoring teams, again, win or lose, played a wild-card round of 8 matches for the remaining 8 spots in the round of 16.

The new format is assembled so that the weakest seed to qualify out of the wild-card rounds will have to play the Supporters' Shield winner.