The 13-3 Tennessee Titans posted the NFL’s best record in 2008, and they host the Baltimore Ravens in their playoff opener Saturday after a week off.

Obviously being a No. 1 seed is not a stamped ticket to the Super Bowl, and that has been especially true in the AFC of late. In the last four seasons, the AFC’s top dog has claimed the conference championship only once. That was a year ago, when the New England Patriots went 16-0 and won twice in the postseason before falling to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

In 2004, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished 15-1 and didn’t lose after Week 2 until they were upended by the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, 41-27. The Patriots went on to win their second of three Super Bowls in a four-year span.

The following season, the Indianapolis Colts topped the conference at 14-2, but the wild-card Steelers rebounded from their early playoff exit in 2004 to defeat the Colts in their first playoff game. The Steelers already had beaten Cincinnati on the road in the wild-card round, then won at Indianapolis and Denver before beating Seattle in the Super Bowl.

In 2006, the San Diego Chargers went 14-2 as the AFC’s No. 1 team, but lost their first playoff game to the 12-4 Patriots, 24-21, on a last-minute field goal by New England’s Stephen Gostkowski. Following the Steelers’ lead a year earlier, the AFC South champion Colts gained revenge for their quick exit in 2005 by defeating the Patriots and the Bears for the NFL championship.

The numbers may suggest that 2009 could be an even better year for the Titans, but they still stand a chance to ride home-field advantage to the Super Bowl this January. History doesn’t stand in Tennessee’s way. The question is whether the Titans are ready for win-or-go-home football after coasting into the playoffs. After winning their first 10 games of the season, they split their final six.

The Titans were allowing just 13.1 points per game when the New York Jets ended their perfect season with a 34-13 win in Week 12. Tennessee also lost a defensive struggle at Houston three weeks ago, 13-12, and was blanked in a meaningless season finale in Indianapolis, 23-0.

The one strong showing by the Titans in this stretch was a 31-14 victory over the second-seeded Steelers in Week 16, which secured home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

“This was not a statement game by no means,” Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher said after the win. “It was a momentum game. We needed to build momentum for the playoffs and the bye week by playing well and winning the game.”

If either team has momentum going its way on Sunday, it would have to be Baltimore. After a 2-3 start to the season, the Ravens have won nine of their final 11 games, outscoring opponents by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. They have allowed just 10.7 points per game over the last six weeks, during which the Ravens have won five of six. Then in last week’s wild-card matchup, they shut down the Miami Dolphins, winners of nine of their last 10 games, 27-9.

The Ravens’ strong finish draws comparisons to the 2000 team, which won its last seven regular-season games before marching on to the franchise’s only Super Bowl crown. In that postseason, the Ravens won a wild-card affair with Denver before moving on to Tennessee. It was the last time the Titans played a playoff game as the AFC’s No. 1 seed, and the Ravens came away with a 24-10 victory.