Perhaps in a season when the only constant has been inconsistency, history will fall victim to the hoodoo that has become a trademark of this 2002 campaign, and the seedings in the NFC playoffs will be as meaningless as the weekly power polls.

Then again, given recent results, most NFC teams still won't mind rolling the playoff dice from a perch atop the postseason bracket. In the last 12 years the road to the Super Bowl has always wound through the NFC precinct with home-field advantage and, even with the kind of unpredictability that has defined this season, it remains a good bet that the club with the best record will host the NFC title matchup on Jan. 19.

	“	There isn't a guy in our locker room who isn't aware of what it means to be playing at Lambeau (Field) for the playoffs. And there isn't a player on all of those other teams who wants to come here. It's a big psychological advantage for us, and that's hardly some top-secret deal, right? ”
		— Darren Sharper, Packers safety

And thus, home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs has become a sort of Holy Grail, every team aware of its significance. Earning a first-round bye is one thing. Not having to say goodbye to family and friends during the entire playoff run is monumental.

"To not have to travel at all during the playoffs, not have to pack your bags or get on a plane, it's a huge edge," agreed Philadelphia Eagles free safety Brian Dawkins. "It really gives you a leg up. We found that out last year, playing at St. Louis (in the championship game), what a difference it can make. One of our goals this year was to make sure we got that (homefield) advantage."

With victories in their last two games, at Dallas on Saturday and at the New York Giants Dec. 28, the Eagles will have accomplished their goal. And if history is any indicator, Philadelphia will host the NFC championship game, one last big moment before the club disposes of its Veterans Stadium hell hole.

Since the league adopted a 12-team playoff format in 1990, every NFC team that gained home-field advantage ended up hosting the conference championship contest. Eight times in those 12 years, and in each of the last three seasons, the home team advanced to the Super Bowl.

The eight home-field victors in that 12-year span had a generous winning margin of 17.1 points and the four home losers had an average deficit of just seven points.

Not since 1987, when San Francisco was upset by Minnesota in a divisional-round game, has the NFC team that held the home-field advantage failed to reach the conference championship game. In essence, owning the home-field advantage is the closest a franchise can ever come in the NFC to guaranteeing a Super Bowl berth.

Which is why even those teams which have already clinched playoff spots -- Philadelphia, Green Bay and Tampa Bay -- still have motivation to play hard in the final two weekends.

"There isn't a guy in our locker room," said Green Bay free safety Darren Sharper, "who isn't aware of what it means to be playing at Lambeau (Field) for the playoffs. And there isn't a player on all of those other teams who wants to come here. It's a big psychological advantage for us, and that's hardly some top-secret deal, right?"

Indeed, the prospects of playing in Green Bay at all in the playoffs is enough to produce goose-bumps, even in the heartiest soul. But the Packers' 7-0 record at Lambeau Field in postseason since the 1970 merger is even more significant than the fact that the average temperature in those games was a nippy 25 degrees.

In that stretch, the highest temperature at kickoff was 34 degrees, and the lowest 3 degrees.

That is hardly the kind of environment the Tampa Bay Bucs, who have become the equivalent of a hot-house tomato, care to have for the postseason. Tampa Bay is notorious for poor play on the road in the postseason, but moving north has been a chilling experience for the team, and Veterans Stadium has become a house of horrors.

Tampa Bay is the lone division leader not to have clinched a division title but the Bucs have secured a playoff spot and, like the Eagles and the Packers, share the league's best record at 11-3. It is virtually impossible for the Bucs not to win the title in the highly competitive NFC South. And with Philadelphia owning a perfect 10-0 mark in conference play, it will be difficult for either the Bucs or Packers to pass them for home-field advantage.

That doesn't mean, however, the two teams won't try.

"No matter what the record says, we feel we can play anywhere, and all that other stuff is ancient history," said Bucs defensive end Simeon Rice. "But do we play better at home? Hey, doesn't almost every team? We do feel like no one can come into our house and rob us. We won't let that happen."

The reality, though, is that the Bucs are arguably the NFC's worst equipped powerhouse team to win on the road. Even in the regular season, Tampa Bay has demonstrated it isn't the same team away from Raymond James Stadium. And since entering the league, the Bucs are a woeful 0-6 on the road in playoff games, no matter the temperature or the environs.

The irony in Philadelphia holding home-field advantage right now is that the Eagles have become the road warriors of the NFL. Over the past three seasons, Philadelphia is 17-5 on the road, the NFL's best record in that stretch. By comparison the Eagles have more losses at home, eight, since 2000.

But given the memories of their five-point loss at St. Louis in last year's conference championship game, the Eagles know keeping the home-field advantage through the playoffs is a key, and gives them a significant edge over every other legitimate contender.

Len Paquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.