When the Giants beat the Cowboys on the final night of the regular season in a game that would send the winner to the playoffs as the NFC East champion and the loser home with nothing, the Giants secured dibs over Dallas in another important category.
Before the game, both were tied at the top of the all-time list of playoff appearances with 30. After the game, the Giants had 31.
Yes, the sssslow times have forced me to go deep on the list of interesting nuggets to help fill the page, but page 310 of The Official NFL Record & Fact Book for 2011 has the team-by-team list of total playoff appearances entering last season.
Factoring in the 12 berths that became official on New Year’s Day, here’s the current ranking:
Giants: 31.
Cowboys: 30.
Rams: 27.
Packers: 27.
Steelers: 27.
Vikings: 26.
Bears: 25.
Browns: 24.
Colts: 24.
Eagles: 23.
49ers: 23.
Dolphins: 22.
Redskins: 22.
Raiders: 21.
Titans: 21.
Patriots: 19.
Broncos: 18.
Bills: 17.
Chargers: 17.
Chiefs: 16.
Lions: 15.
Jets: 14.
Seahawks: 11.
Falcons: 11.
Buccaneers: 10.
Bengals: 10.
Saints: 9.
Ravens: 8.
Cardinals: 8.
Jaguars: 6.
Panthers: 4.
Texans: 1.