Since the wild card format began in 1970, only 10 teams have made it to the Super Bowl.

Once there, though, six have lifted the Lombardi Trophy. The odds are slim, even more so if the journey there is full of road games. But it’s not out of the question. These teams have proved that:


1975 Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl X


The Cowboys were 10-4 and finished second in the NFC East. The team that featured the “Dirty Dozen” rookie class went on the road to beat the Minnesota Vikings, 17-14 in the divisional playoff and followed that with a blowout over the Los Angeles Rams, 37-7, for the conference championship. In the Super Bowl, they ran into the “Steel Curtain” Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys held a late, 10-7 lead, but the Steelers and prolific receiver Lynn Swann pulled away for the 21-17 victory. Still, Dallas proved getting to the NFL championship was possible if a team got hot at the right time.


1980 Oakland Raiders
Super Bowl XV


The Raiders made history when they became the first Wild Card team to win the Super Bowl. It started with a win over the Houston Oilers in the Wild Card playoff, and included a narrow, 14-12 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders defeated the San Diego Chargers, 34-27, for the AFC Championship and faced the Eagles in the Super Bowl. After starting the year 2-3-0, things turned dim when starting QB Dan Pastorini sustained a broken leg. Jim Plunkett took over, and guided the improbable championship season.


1985 New England Patriots
Super Bowl XX


Of all the wild card teams to advance to the Super Bowl, the Patriots were the only ones to have finished third in their division with an 11-5 mark in the AFC East. Further, there were no home games to make the trip any easier. The wild card playoff was at the Jets, which the Pats won, 26-14. The divisional playoff game was at the Los Angeles Raiders, and the Patriots took that one, too, 27-20. The AFC championship was against conference rival, Miami and the Dolphins were out-classed, 31-14. That set them up against the Chicago Bears and their impenetrable defense. The Super Bowl Shuffle was in full effect and there was no way Mike Singletary, Walter Payton, Richard Dent would be denied.


1992 Buffalo Bills
Super Bowl XXVII


This was the third straight season Mark Levy and the Buffalo Bills had made it to the Super Bowl. It was the one in which they appeared to have the least chance of making it this far, too. The Oilers held a 35-3 lead but ended up losing in overtime in the wild card playoff. With that comeback thriller in the books, anything seemed possible. The Bills crushed the Steelers 24-3 and did the same to the Dolphins, 29-10, for the AFC crown. But they ran into a buzzsaw against the Dallas Cowboys, who ripped the Bills 52-17.


1997 Denver Broncos
Super Bowl XXXII


John Elway still had it in him. He’d led the Broncos to a 12-4 regular season record, good enough for second in the AFC West. He was surrounded by powerful running back Terrell Davis, Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe and stellar receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey. Oh, if that wasn’t enough, kicker Jason Elam was in the fold. It was a tough bunch to deal with, as the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers discovered. But the romp wasn’t complete until the Broncos pulled off that rare and spectacular feat of climbing from wild card post to championship podium with a 31-24 defeat of the Green Bay Packers.


1999 Tennessee Titans
Super Bowl XXXIV


At 13-3 in the regular season, there’s no question about the Titans being a legitimate threat after a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. But it was tough getting to the conference championship, whether they handled the Jaguars, 33-14. The Bills and Colts were both tough outs. Then came the Rams in the Super Bowl and one of the most dramatic finishes of all-time. The Titans and an outstretched Kevin Dyson came one yard short of the end zone in a 23-16 loss. Tennessee, led by Steve McNair and Eddie George, trailed 16-0 at halftime.


2000 Baltimore Ravens
Super Bowl XXXV


Getting through the playoffs as a wild-card is extremely difficult. Winning it all is nearly impossible. But the Ravens proved it could be done. After upsetting Peyton Manning’s Broncos, then the Titans and then the Raiders in the AFC Championship, they met the New York Giants in Tampa. Ray Lewis picked off four of Kerry Collins’ passes and the Ravens held the Giants to 152 yards of total offense in a 34-7 win.


2005 Pittsburgh Steelers
Super Bowl XL


Three road games—at Cincinnati (31-17), at Indianapolis (21-18) and at Denver (34-17) should have been enough to wear the Steelers flat out. But it pushed them, instead, into a Super Bowl filled with controversial calls. Matt Hasselback threw a touchdown to Darrell Jackson, but it was overturned for offensive pass interference. Ben Roethlisberger’s quarterback keeper was ruled a score, even though he might not have broken the plane. And a holding penalty was called that blew a potential scoring drive for the Seahawks. In the end, the Steelers prevailed.


2007 New York Giants
Super Bowl XLII


The Giants entered the playoffs with six losses, more than any of the previous wild-card teams that ever made it to the Super Bowl. Ask them today if it mattered. It didn’t. They beat the Buccaneers in the wild card playoff game, then the Cowboys for the divisional title. The Packers pushed the Giants into overtime, before falling 23-20 in the NFC Championship. That win set them up to meet Goliath, the New England Patriots. Eli Manning, for the second time, took down Tom Brady. After standing at 7-7 at midseason, the underdogs pulled off a huge upset.


2010 Green Bay Packers
Super Bowl XLV


Like the Giants in 2007, the Packers dropped six games in the regular season. They’d finished second in the NFC North, but it was hard to doubt them with Aaron Rodgers playing quarterback. They’d taken down the Eagles, rolled over the Falcons and gotten by the Bears in the NFC Championship. True to form, Rodgers was outstanding against the Steelers in the 31-25 Green Bay win.He threw three touchdowns in the Packers’ first NFL championship in 14 years. The longing for Brett Favre officially came to close.