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Of the previous 59 Super Bowl champions, only seven did so as a wild card team. 

The 1980 Raiders became the first wild card team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy after disbanding the favored Eagles in Super Bowl XV. It would be another 17 years before another wild card team, the Broncos, won the Super Bowl after defeating the Packers in one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. 

Since Denver's upset, the 2000 Ravens, 2005 Steelers, 2007 Giants, 2010 Packers, and 2020 Buccaneers have also won the Super Bowl as a wild card team. Each of those teams possessed a Hall of Fame-caliber quarterback and defenses that consistently rose to the occasion. 

This year's playoff field features arguably the best group of wild card teams in NFL playoff history, a field that includes four teams that won 12 games during the regular season. This years wild card field also includes the 11-6 Chargers and a Packers team that is two years removed from pulling off a stunning upset win over the Cowboys in the wild card round. 

While each of them are capable of winning this weekend, here's one team from each conference that could go the distance while becoming the eighth wild card team to win it all. 

AFC: Buffalo Bills 

Despite being a wild card team, many feel that this may be Josh Allen and the Bills' best chance at winning it all, and for good reason. 

Let's start with the fact that Buffalo enters the playoffs with the NFL's top-ranked rushing attack that is led by James Cook, whose 1,621 rushing yards led the league and is the third-highest single-season total in franchise history. Cook and Allen combined to run for 2,200 yards and a whopping 26 touchdowns during the regular season. 

Buffalo's success on the ground played a key role in the Bills ranking fourth in the NFL in scoring and third-down efficiency during the regular season. Buffalo was also third in the league in red zone efficiency, which is a crucial component to having success in the playoffs. 

While a tad underwhelming, Buffalo's receiving corps is a deep group that's led by wideout Khalil Shakir and tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Four Bills have caught at least four touchdown passes, while 11 have caught at least one. 

The Bills' defense isn't an elite group, but made several big plays during the season. Cornerback Christian Benford, for example, scored touchdowns via fumble and interception returns in consecutive weeks in wins over the Steelers and Bengals. 

The Bills were a wretched 31st in run defense, but they were much better during the season's final six weeks sans a very rough outing in New England when the Patriots leaned heavily on the run while throwing for just 139 yards. In a close Week 17 loss to the Eagles, the Bills held Saquon Barkley to 68 yards on 19 carries. 

Buffalo's calling card on defense is its stinginess against the pass. The Bills allowed fewest passing yards in the NFL during the regular season and the sixth-fewest touchdown passes. In a pass-first league, having a stout pass defense is obviously a really good thing. The Bills will hope to parlay this strength into their first Super Bowl appearance since 1993. 

NFC: Los Angeles Rams 

Los Angeles was in the driver's seat to be the NFC's top-seeded team entering its Week 16 showdown with Seattle. The Rams not only lost that game after squandering a 16-point, fourth-quarter lead, they also lost the coveted top seed after being upset by the Falcons a week later. 

If there was a lesson to be learned in those losses, it was the significance of playing winning football for a full 60 minutes. The Rams started fast before fading in Seattle. It was the opposite situation a week later in Atlanta as Los Angeles nearly overcame a 21-0 deficit. 

It should be noted that the Rams played both games without Davante Adams, a future Hall of Famer who caught a league-best 14 touchdowns despite missing the season's last three games with a hamstring injury. Adams is expected to be back for the playoffs. 

"I know [being out] pissed him off pretty good because of the competitor that he is, but he's got that look in his eye that I know he's ready to go," Rams coach Sean McVay said of Adams' mindset heading into the playoffs. 

The Rams are also getting back starting safety Quentin Lake, who has missed the team's last seven games with an elbow injury. Lake, the son of former Steelers Pro Bowl defensive back Carnell Lake, is a versatile defender who is capable of making plays in the secondary and at the line of scrimmage. 

Lake is part of a defense that's led by coordinator Chris Shula, the grandson of legendary NFL coach Don Shula. This season, despite facing two of the league's most potent offenses (the 49ers and Seahawks) a combined four times, Shula's unit finished 10th in the NFL in points allowed. The secret to the Rams' defensive success is their ability to win the weighty downs. Los Angeles ranked seventh in the NFL in third-down efficiency and were No. 3 in red zone efficiency. 

The Rams' defense was able to have that success thanks to playmakers on all three levels, that include edge rushers Byron Young and Jared Verse. Verse showcased his playmaking skills on a blocked punt that he returned for a score against Atlanta. 

Oh, and have we mentioned the fact that the Rams' offense led the entire league in scoring during the regular season? At the forefront of that success was quarterback Matthew Stafford, who at age 37 had his greatest season to date, a season that may include him winning league MVP. 

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Stafford has been great, but he hasn't done it alone. He's gotten help from Adams and fellow wideout Puka Nacua, whose 129 catches this season is tied for the seventh-most in history for a single season. The Rams also possess a formidable running back duo in Kyren Williams and Blake Corum who rushed for a combined 1,998 yards this season while averaging nearly 5.0 yards per carry. 

Los Angeles also has an intangible advantage in the fact that Stafford and McVay know what it takes to win it all. They did so in 2021, and they're capable of doing it again now.