It’s a sore spot for many football observers but a necessary part of preparing for an NFL campaign. So what is significant when it comes to the preseason?
To date, there have been a total of 49 NFL preseason contests and three full weeks of summertime games in 2018. There have been a few eye-opening performances and unfortunately, a couple of costly injuries. But as all 32 teams prepare to wrap up the league’s summertime schedule on Thursday, April 30, there are a few things to ponder.
First, here is a word of warning to the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins (who play each other on Thursday), as well as the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. They all stand 0-3 this summer. And simply put, you don’t want to lose this week.
For some unknown reason, it’s important that a team somehow gets a win in the preseason. And that’s because that in the 52-year history of the Super Bowl, the 1982 Washington Redskins are the only example of a team going winless during the summer and then following up that goose egg with a Lombardi Trophy.
On the other hand, eight teams have gone undefeated during the preseason and gone on to win the Super Bowl, the latest being the 2013 Seattle Seahawks (XLVIII). And for what it’s worth, the 2007 New York Giants (1-3) are the last club to suffer through a sub-.500 summer and then go on to win an NFL championship.
But wait, there’s more. From 1990-2017 and under the league’s current playoff format of 12 clubs, there were 61 examples of a team not losing a game during the summer. On 29 occasions, that team was able to reach the playoffs. But it’s also worth noting that a year ago, the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks all posted 4-0 preseason marks and none of those clubs advanced to the postseason.
On the other hand, the Atlanta Falcons followed up their 2016 NFC Championship campaign with a winless 2017 preseason. That means that there have now been 53 teams to go winless during the summer with only 11 clubs still managing to reach the playoffs. But it’s also worth noting that seven of those 11 examples have come since 2009.
Of course, there are not only the 2008 Detroit Lions, but the Cleveland Browns from a year ago that offer perhaps the greatest oddity. Both teams were a perfect 4-0 in the preseason and an unimaginable 0-16 when the games counted.
That’s a whole lot of numbers. Yes, playing time for cookies and reps for certain players and units are very important. But don’t put too much into a team’s preseason win-loss record. On the other hand, you might want to get at least one victory when it comes to these supposedly-meaningless games.