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The National Football League playoffs for the 1973 season began on December 22, 1973. The postseason tournament concluded with the Miami Dolphins defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII, 24–7, on January 13, 1974, at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 74th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It was the 7th season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 15th and last under head coach Bill Cowher, as he retired on January 5, 2007. The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 2005 and also failed to defend their Super Bowl XL championship, Instead, they finished the season with an 8–8 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003. In the first half, the Steelers were 2-6. But, in the second half, they flipped those numbers.
The 2006 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 37th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 39th overall, and the fourth under head coach Marvin Lewis. It began with the team trying to improve on their 11–5 record in 2005, defending their AFC North Division Championship title, and progress further through the playoffs than they made in the 2005 season having lost to Pittsburgh in the 1st round after losing star quarterback Carson Palmer to injury on the second play of the game. However, the team failed to improve on their 11–5 record to finish at 8–8 and missing the playoffs just the year after they made it to the playoffs.
The 2007 season was the New Orleans Saints' 41st season in the National Football League (NFL), their 32nd playing home games at the Louisiana Superdome and their second under head coach Sean Payton. The team tried to improve upon its 10–6 record in 2006 and its third division title—the Saints' first in the NFC South. Their other two division titles were in the NFC West, prior to the league's 2002 realignment. After opening up the pre-season in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 5, 2007, the Saints ended with a 3–2 pre-season record. The Saints opened the regular season with a nationally televised game against the defending Super Bowl XLI champion Indianapolis Colts, but ultimately had a disappointing season, finishing 2007 with a 7–9 record and were officially eliminated from postseason contention for the first time since 2005. The Saints also had no player make the Pro Bowl for the first time since their 1–15 1980 season.
The 2006 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl featured the Troy Trojans and the Rice Owls. Rice was making its first bowl appearance since the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl.
The 2004 Wyndham New Orleans Bowl featured the North Texas Mean Green and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. It was North Texas's fourth consecutive New Orleans Bowl appearance.
The 2003 Wyndham New Orleans Bowl featured the North Texas Mean Green and the Memphis Tigers. It was North Texas's third consecutive New Orleans Bowl appearance.
The 2001 New Orleans Bowl featured the North Texas Mean Green and the Colorado State Rams. It was the inaugural playing of the bowl game. North Texas became the first team in NCAA college football history to play in a bowl after starting their season 0–5. They were the Sun Belt Conference co-champions, which gave them bowl eligibility despite having an overall losing record (5–6).
The 2003 Outback Bowl was a college football bowl game held on January 1, 2003, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Michigan Wolverines, third-place finishers in the Big Ten Conference, defeated the Florida Gators, who finished second the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), 38–30. Michigan running back Chris Perry was named the game's MVP.
The 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl was a college football bowl game. It featured the Navy Midshipmen, and the Boston College Eagles. The game was played on Saturday, December 30, 2006, at 1:00 PM EST.
The 2005 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 30, 2005, in El Paso, Texas. Sponsored by the Vitalis brand of hair tonic made by Bristol-Myers, the game was officially known as the Vitalis Sun Bowl. It was the 72nd Sun Bowl. It featured the UCLA Bruins, and the Northwestern Wildcats. UCLA overcame a 22–0 deficit to Northwestern in the first quarter to win 50–38. UCLA running backs Chris Markey and Kahlil Bell shared the most valuable player award, the first such shared award in Sun Bowl history. Defensive tackle Kevin Mims of Northwestern won the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Most Valuable Lineman award. This was the biggest comeback in UCLA football history, until the 2017 UCLA vs. Texas A & M game, in which the Bruins scored 34 points. It still stands as of 2021 as the largest comeback in Sun Bowl History. It also is the highest scoring Sun Bowl game.
The 2001 Alamo Bowl featured the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was a rematch of the 1996 Alamo Bowl.
The 2001 Wells Fargo Sun Bowl edition to the Sun Bowl featured the Washington State Cougars, and the Purdue Boilermakers.
The 2009 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 49th in the National Football League and their fourth under head coach Brad Childress. The Vikings improved upon their 10–6 record and defended their NFC North title from 2008, their first successful defense of a divisional title since they won six NFC Central titles in a row between 1973 and 1978. They beat the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Playoff at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, but lost the NFC Championship Game in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, missing out on what would have been their first Super Bowl since Super Bowl XI in 1976. This year's NFC Championship Game is also dubbed by many as the "Bountygate Game" that also resulted in several players and coaching staff receiving 12-month suspensions three years later. The Vikings had 10 Pro Bowlers and four All-Pros on their roster, both league-highs for the season.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2009 season began on January 9, 2010. The postseason tournament concluded with the New Orleans Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, 31–17, on February 7, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 78th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL), the eleventh season under the leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert, and the fourth under head coach Mike Tomlin.
The 2010 season was the New Orleans Saints' 44th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 35th playing home games in the Louisiana Superdome. From 2009, the Saints were coming off their first Super Bowl-winning season and the most successful in franchise history, having begun undefeated for 13 consecutive games only to lose their three final regular season encounters to finish 13–3. The Saints also attempted to win the NFC South Division title for the third time in history, earn their first consecutive postseason berths since 1991, and successfully defend their conference and league championships. The Saints failed to improve on their 13–3 record, finishing 11–5 and qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card team. The Saints were eliminated in the first round by the Seattle Seahawks, who were the first team with a losing record (7–9) to qualify for the playoffs and/or win a division title in a full season. Sean Payton served his fifth year as head coach.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2011 season began on January 7, 2012. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, 21–17, on February 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The National Football League playoffs for the 2013 season began on January 4, 2014. The postseason tournament concluded with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, 43–8, on February 2, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.