Super Bowl Super Study Says Patriots, Broncos Built Like Champs

3. Start Strong and Finish Strong

Again, this seems like quite a simple concept. Teams that start the season with a poor record normally are simply bad teams, as evidenced with only three Super Bowl champions starting the season with a 0-2 record.

Meanwhile, teams need to play a good team when the season carries over the playoffs, as evidenced with only two Super Bowl champions entering the playoffs with a losing streak.

The chart below details each half of the regular season for every Super Bowl regular season. The chart examines the maximum amount of games under .500 each team totaled in each half.

However, the second half schedule analysis will go in reverse order to follow the “hottest team wins” theory. Teams that never a sub .500 record will be marked “over” or “even” to avoid any confusion.

Winners					Losers
SB	Team	Start (W-L)	End (W-L)			SB	Team	Start (W-L)	End (W-L)
I	66 Packers	Over	Over			I	66 Chiefs	Over	Over
II	67 Packers	Even	-2 (0-2)			II	67 Raiders	Over	Over
III	68 Jets	Over	Over			III	68 Colts	Over	Over
IV	69 Chiefs	Over	-1 (0-1)			IV	69 Vikings	-1 (0-1)	-1 (0-1)
V	70 Colts	Even	Over			V	70 Cowboys	Over	Over
VI	71 Cowboys	Over	Over			VI	71 Dolphins	Even	-1 (1-2)
VII	72 Dolphins	Over	Over			VII	72 Redskins	Over	-2 (0-2)
VIII	73 Dolphins	Even	Even			VIII	73 Vikings	Over	Over
IX	74 Steelers	Even	Over			IX	74 Vikings	Over	Over
X	75 Steelers	Even	-1 (0-1)			X	75 Cowboys	Over	Over
XI	76 Raiders	Over	Over			XI	76 Vikings	Over	Over
XII	77 Cowboys	Over	Over			XII	77 Broncos	Over	-1 (0-1)
XIII	78 Steelers	Over	Over			XIII	78 Cowboys	Over	Over
XIV	79 Steelers	Over	Even			XIV	79 Rams	-1 (0-1)	-1 (0-1)
XV	80 Raiders	-1 (2-3)	Over			XV	80 Eagles	Over	-2 (1-3)
XVI	81 49ers	-1 (1-2)	Over			XVI	81 Bengals	Over	Over
XVII	82 Redskins	Over	Over			XVII	82 Dolphins	Over	Over
XVIII	83 Raiders	Over	Even			XVIII	83 Redskins	-1 (0-1)	Over
XIX	84 49ers	Over	Over			XIX	84 Dolphins	Over	Over
XX	85 Bears	Over	Over			XX	85 Patriots	-1 (2-3)	Even
XXI	86 Giants	-1 (0-1)	Over			XXI	86 Broncos	Over	-1 (x4)
XXII	87 Redskins	Even	Even			XXII	87 Broncos	Even	Over
XXIII	88 49ers	Over	-1 (0-1)			XXIII	88 Bengals	Over	Even
XXIV	89 49ers	Over	Over			XXIV	89 Broncos	Over	-2 (1-3)
XXV	90 Giants	Over	Even			XXV	90 Bills	Over	-1 (0-1)
XXVI	91 Redskins	Over	-1 (0-1)			XXVI	91 Bills	Over	-1 (0-1)
XXVII	92 Cowboys	Over	Over			XXVII	92 Bills	Over	-1 (x2)
XXVIII	93 Cowboys	-2 (0-2)	Over			XXVIII	93 Bills	Over	Over
XXIX	94 49ers	Over	-1 (0-1)			XXIX	94 Chargers	Over	Even
XXX	95 Cowboys	Over	Even			XXX	95 Steelers	-1 (3-4)	-1 (0-1)
XXXI	96 Packers	Over	Over			XXXI	96 Patriots	-2 (0-2)	Even
XXXII	97 Broncos	Over	-1 (1-2)			XXXII	97 Packers	Even	Over
XXXIII	98 Broncos	Over	-1 (1-2)			XXXIII	98 Falcons	Over	Over
XXXIV	99 Rams	Over	-1 (0-1)			XXXIV	99 Titans	Over	Over
XXXV	00 Ravens	Over	Over			XXXV	00 Giants	Over	Over
XXXVI	01 Patriots	-2 (x2)	Over			XXXVI	01 Rams	Over	Over
XXXVII	02 Bucs	-1 (0-1)	Even			XXXVII	02 Raiders	Even	Over
XXXVIII	03 Patriots	-1 (0-1)	Over			XXXVIII	03 Panthers	Over	Even
XXXIX	04 Patriots	Over	Over			XXXIX	04 Eagles	Over	-2 (0-2)
XL	05 Steelers	Over	Over			XL	05 Seahawks	-1 (0-1)	-1 (0-1)
XLI	06 Colts	Over	-1 (x2)			XLI	06 Bears	Over	-1 (0-1)
XLII	07 Giants	-2 (0-2)	-1 (x2)			XLII	07 Patriots	Over	Over
XLIII	08 Steelers	Over	Even			XLIII	08 Cardinals	Even	-2 (2-4)
XLIV	09 Saints	Over	-3 (0-3)			XLIV	09 Colts	Over	-2 (0-2)
XLV	10 Packers	Even	Even			XLV	10 Steelers	Over	Over
XLVI	11 Giants	-1 (0-1)	-2 (3-5)			XLVI	11 Patriots	Over	Over

As you can see, the recent tear of unlikely Super Bowl combatants clouds the picture just a bit. Still, the evidence supports the theory that elite teams rarely or finish the regular season in poor fashion.

This looks like a bad sign for two teams. The 2012 Texans finished the regular season 1-3, limping after double-digit losses to the Patriots, Vikings and Colts. Meanwhile, the 2012 Ravens finished the regular season 1-4, as they opted to rest their starters of the Week 17 game against the Bengals. Both teams hope to rekindle recent magic of teams flipping the switch out of nowhere, but that seems unlikely.

As for the beginning of the season, note that the 2012 Bengals and 2012 Redskins owned a 3-5 record as the season’s midpoint. No team ever reached a Super Bowl with such a poor record through eight games.

 

 

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Read more: Adam Dobrowolski, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Bill Belichick, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Eli Manning, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, NFL, Patriots, Peyton Manning, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLVII, TBA, Tom Brady, Tom Coughlin, Washington Redskins