Back in 2000, the Ravens hosted only one playoff game on their way to a Super Bowl XXXV victory. They traveled to the very difficult venues of then Adelphia Coliseum to face the Titans and the infamous Black Hole in Oakland to take on Rich Gannon and the Raiders in the AFC Championship. We all vividly remember what happened on those two "business trips."
Fast forward to 2006… The Ravens were coming off a season that found them unsuccessful on all 8 of their business trips and they began the 2006 campaign seeking their first road win in nearly 22 months, losers of 11 straight away from The Vault. That win in Tampa to open the 2006 season set the stage and it jump started unprecedented success on the road for the Ravens, finishing the year with a 6-2 road record.
Many teams, especially those with playoff aspirations will tell you, "Win your home games and split on the road", all the while understanding that road victories in the NFL are hard to come by.
But really, how important is home field advantage in the NFL? To answer that question we went Behind The Numbers and discovered that It’s not as critical as you might think. Compared to last year, away teams are winning more during the regular season and home teams are losing more in the post season since 2000. Check out the numbers.
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Away teams winning Pct. regular season
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Year
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Record
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Win Pct. (%)
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2005
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104 – 152
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40.6%
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2006
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120 – 136
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46.9%
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Home teams winning Pct. post season
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Year
|
Record
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Win Pct. (%)
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2000
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8 – 2
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80%
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2001
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8 – 2
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80%
|
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2002
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8 – 2
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80%
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2003
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6 – 4
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60%
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2004
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6 – 4
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60%
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2005
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4 – 6
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40%
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TOTAL
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40 – 20
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67%
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