A Statistic Behind Every Super Bowl Contender Kirby Lee/Reuters Peyton Manning will almost certainly be named the M.V.P. for the fifth time in his career. Each of the 12 teams in the N.F.L. playoffs has a big strength or a big weakness, and each has a statistic to tell the tale. Denver Broncos: Quarterback Curse Can Peyton Manning break the hex? Only four quarterbacks - Tom Brady (2007), Rich Gannon (2002), Kurt Warner (2001) and Dan Marino (1984) - have played in a Super Bowl in the season in which they won the passing yards title, with none of the four winning the game. Since 1950, only Johnny Unitas in 1959 and George Blanda in 1961 (in the American Football League) have led their league in passing yards and won a championship in the same season. Some quarterback will become the first player to pull off this feat at a Super Bowl, and Manning seems as strong a candidate as any: he broke the single-season record for passing yards, a record which is under league review. The last player to be named the N.F.L.'s most valuable player and win the Super Bowl in the same season was Warner, in 1999. Manning will almost certainly be named the M.V.P. for the fifth time in his career, which means he can end two streaks with one Super Bowl title. John Froschauer/Associated Press Players from the Seattle Seahawks huddled on the field during a game against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Seattle Seahawks: Allowing the Fewest Yards, Recording the Most Interceptions Seattle allowed 2,752 passing yards this season. Every other team allowed at least 3,100. The Seahawks also had 28 interceptions; no other team recorded more than 23 picks. Seattle is just the fourth team to lead the league in both of those categories. Two of the first three teams won championships that season (the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the 1963 Chicago Bears), while the third (the 1982 Miami Dolphins) lost in the Super Bowl. Seattle was just one touchdown pass away from leading the league in that statistic, too. The Seahawks allowed only 16 touchdown passes this year, second to Tennessee (15). What makes Seattle's 28 interceptions and 16 scoring passes allowed even more impressive is that, on average, the other 31 defenses this season averaged 15.3 interceptions and 25.4 touchdown passes allowed. The Seahawks" defense also finished first in yards per attempt, net yards per attempt, yards per completion and passer rating. The Seahawks are a Super Bowl favorite because of the most dominant pass defense in the N.F.L. since at least the 2002 Buccaneers. Philadelphia Eagles: A Bottom-Five Defense The Eagles finished the regular season ranking 29th in yards allowed. Only four teams have won the Super Bowl when ranked outside the top 20 in that statistic: the 2001 Patriots (24th), the 2006 Colts (21st), the 2009 Saints (25th) and the 2011 Giants (27th). Although no team with a bottom-five defense has won the Super Bowl, two of the last four teams to win the title had defenses that ranked in the bottom eight. So, what gives? Yards allowed is not a great way to measure a defense, and the Eagles" defense is not as bad as that statistic would indicate. Philadelphia faced 670 pass attempts this season, 20 more than any other team in N.F.L. history (a record previously held by the 1995 Falcons). Pass attempts gain more yards than rush attempts, so a team that faces a record number of pass plays is going to allow a lot of yards. The Houston Texans saw just 484 pass attempts this year and ranked seventh in yards allowed - and posted the worst record in the N.F.L. Philadelphia's pass defense is not good by any means, but the more important statistic is that the team ranked 22nd in net yards per pass allowed. The Eagles" defense was also 12th best in red zone touchdown percentage and fourth best in yards per carry allowed, and it forced the third most turnovers in the league. The defense is not going to carry the team to the Super Bowl, but it is not a bottom-five unit, either. Indianapolis Colts: Giant Killers Have Slain San Francisco, Denver and Seattle Only six teams have ever beaten three teams in the regular season that won 12 or more games. Two of those teams, the 1990 Bills and the 1999 Titans, went on to play in the Super Bowl, while another, the 2003 Patriots, won the Super Bowl. The 2011 Ravens team that lost in the final seconds of the A.F.C. championship game, to New England, is also on the list. The 2002 Saints are the only outlier on the list: New Orleans swept the eventual Super Bowl champion Buccaneers but missed the playoffs. Indianapolis, of course, is the sixth such team. Few teams run hot and cold like Indianapolis: countering those mammoth victories were embarrassing blowout losses to St. Louis, Arizona and Cincinnati. The Colts would be wise to put the game in Andrew Luck's hands and waste fewer carries on Trent Richardson, but Indianapolis will not lack confidence entering the playoffs. Green Bay Packers: Scored 417 points, Allowed 428 It would seem obvious that teams that are outscored in the regular season have no chance of winning the Super Bowl. But then the 2011 Giants happened. That season, the Giants were outscored by 6 points in the regular season, and they remain the only team even to make the Super Bowl after allowing more points than it scored. But in 2011 the Giants had the fourth hardest schedule, according to Football Outsiders" DVOA metrics, which makes being outscored less surprising. That is not the case with this season's Packers; Football Outsiders grades them as having the 24th toughest schedule. When Aaron Rodgers returned on Sunday, it felt as if Green Bay's Superman was back. But he cannot mask the fact that the offense is not as explosive as it used to be or patch the holes on defense. The other problem for the Packers is that the 49ers have been the team's Kryptonite. Over the last three seasons, Rodgers has a 32-8 record against the rest of the N.F.L. and an 0-3 mark against San Francisco. Cincinnati: Can Balance Rule the Day? Only two teams ranked in the top seven in both points scored and points allowed: Cincinnati and Kansas City. Only two teams this year ranked in the top 10 in points, points allowed, yards and yards allowed: the Bengals and the Saints.