Long time lurker, first time poster…
How often (if ever) has a dome team won an outdoor game in the NFL postseason? Of the two dome teams to get to the Super Bowl, one (St. Louis, both times) played at home throughout the playoffs, and the other (1998 Falcons) won the NFC championship in someone else’s dome (Minnesota).
Anyone know?
Lessee, Atlanta beat Green Bay at Green Bay last year, so it’s been done. I can find the teams that have won pretty easily on line, but it doesn’t tell me where they played, but I’ll keep looking. And for the record, the “dome” teams that I can think of:
Oilers, Colts, Saints, Vikings, Falcons, Rams, Texans (kinda), Seahawks… did I miss any?
:smack: Yeah, I meant to say “how often”… as a Packer fan I know better. But that’s the only one I can think of offhand.
The Houston Oilers won road games at Miami and New England in 1978 season before losing in the AFC championship game at Pittsburgh, 34-5. At the end of the 1979 season they beat San Diego 17-13, despite missing Earl Campbell and Dan Pastorini. Again they lost to Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game, this time 27-13. Then in 1988, they beat the Browns on a snowy Cleveland day 24-23 (this was the Wildcard game), before losing to Buffalo in the cold the following week. The next time they ventured to Buffalo (1992) it wasn’t as pretty, as they lost to the Bills 41-38, despite a 38-3 halftime lead. That was, I think, their final road playoff game.
The Minnesota Vikings defeated the 49ers at Candlestick, 36-24 following the 1987 regular season (and New Orleans at the Super Dome) before barely loosing to the Redskins at RFK. After that it was ten years later before they won another road playoff game (they also lost a lot at home), beating the 23-22 after coming back from a 16 point deficit. They lost the following week to the 49ers at Candlestick. (The website I got this from was incomplete so they may have omitted some road wins, but maybe not).
Shibboleth:
Don’t the Lions play in the Pontiac Silverdome?
Not anymore- it’s Ford Field in downtown Detroit, although also domed.
Yeah, I thought of that one after, but didn’t add them since I couldn’t find any record of them winning an outdoors (or even away) playoff game after they moved inside. I could well be mistaken. Maybe the Lions fan* on the Boards could help us on this one.
*I’m assuming there can’t possibly be more than one. 
I don’t know if you included the “Oliers” for discussion of whether they ever won a road game in the playoffs, but they don’t exist anymore. Oilers are now the Tenn. Titans, a non-dome team, and the Houston team is the semi-domed Texans. Plus the Falcons have not been a dome team forever. I forget how long they’ve been in the Georgia dome.
Colts beat the Chiefs in KC in '96 10-7 thanks in part to 3 missed FGs. They then lost, barely, to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship. Kordell caught a pass that should not have counted for a TD, though hard to tell how the game would have played out from there if it did not count. Colts also dropped a pass in the end zone on the last play of the game that would have won it on a Hail Mary. Oh, plus they beat Oakland the week before the KC game on the road. Almost had three straight road wins outdoors to go to the SB.The Detroit Lions have not won an outdoor playoff game since they moved to the Silverdome.
They lost at Washington in 1982
At San Francisco in 1983
At Washington in 1991
At Green Bay in 1994
At Philadelphia in 1995
At Tampa Bay in 1997
At Washington in 1999
The last outdoor playoff game the Lions won was the 1957 NFL Championship at Briggs Stadium against Cleveland.
The Indianapolis Colts won outdoor playoff games at San Diego and Kansas City in 1995
The Seattle Seahwaks won an outdoor playoff game at Miami in 1983.