Top AFC seeds rarely get big trophy

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2008 | by Larry Weisman

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The New England Patriots arrived Sunday with twin but intertwined tasks ahead.

A victory in Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants would achieve the primary goal of winning a championship. It would also allow the Patriots to finish 19-0, unprecedented in NFL annals.

In defying the odds against perfection -- the only NFL team to finish unbeaten was the 17-0 Miami Dolphins in 1972 -- they must perform another feat that's perhaps more difficult than it seems. They have to win as the AFC's No. 1 seed.

Only twice since 1990, when the NFL adopted the 12-team playoff format, has that conference's top seed won the Super Bowl: the 1998 Denver Broncos and 2003 Patriots. Seven of 18 No.1s in the AFC didn't make it through the...