Makes you wonder how much that bye is really worth. The Packers came out flat in SF after their regular season bye. Considering the last team to even make it to the Super Bowl without a first round bye was Baltimore seven years ago, it's huge. It is and it isn’t. In some years, the 1- and 2- seed teams might be clearly better than the other remaining teams and in other years, there could be less separation. The Packers (‘10), Giants (‘11), and Ravens (‘12) all won Super Bowls without byes prior to the seven-year streak you mentioned. I think byes are still valuable, but I also think good teams win primarily because they’re good.