Sweet 16? It'll Never Be Missed

Alexander Wolff

January 17, 1983

The early returns read more like the results of referenda on dumping Ed Garvey than NFL playoff scores. Washington 31-7. Green Bay 41-16. Miami 28-13. Los Angeles 27-10. This pro football playoff business—Super Bowl Tournament, Round of 16, conference quarterfinals, regional semifinals, Stanley Cup playoffs, whatever—didn't seem capable of producing a winning margin of less than two touchdowns. By throwing open its postseason party to a saccharine Sweet 16 that included two teams with losing records, the league was admitting that you simply can't do the requisite weeding out in a nine-game season. If the NFL really has parity, Saturday's results were parody. Every host team, every favorite won easily.