The first wild card team to play in a playoff game was the Detroit Lions who played the NFC East Division champion Dallas Cowboys on December 26, 1970. The Cowboys won the game 5-0. To this day (January 4, 2008) that game is the lowest scoring playoff game in NFL history.
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The wild card was introduced in 1995, with the team with the best record that did not win their division advancing to the playoffs. In 2012, another wild card was added with the top two teams playing a one-game playoff to advance to the next round.