2018 NFL Preseason: The Standings Are Lying to You
By Erik Lambert
The 2018 NFL preseason has reached the halfway point, and the results in the standings have been interesting. At least according to fans anyway.
There are many out there already proclaiming doom and gloom scenarios based on what their teams have done up to this point. Some Eagles fans are expressing deep concern over the defending champions falling to a 0-2 start while Cardinals fans can see playoffs after their team jumped out to 2-0. This proves more than anything how unbelievably tied to the win-loss column people can become when judging the quality of a roster and its players.
This is why one will find a lot of men in the Hall of Fame who are there less for their individual achievements and more for their team success. It’s a harsh truth of the business. That’s the only way to explain why people continue to care about the result of games that are repeatedly insisted over and over that they don’t matter. One can win them all by 50 or lose them all by 50. It won’t stop all the teams from starting 0-0 when the regular season kicks off.
Still having trouble accepting this? Here are some numbers from last year for an idea.
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2017 teams with best preseason records
- Cleveland Browns (4-0)
- Baltimore Ravens (4-0)
- Seattle Seahawks (4-0)
- Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1)
- Dallas Cowboys (3-1)
- Green Bay Packers (3-1)
2017 teams with worst preseason records
- Oakland Raiders (0-4)
- Atlanta Falcons (0-4)
- Buffalo Bills (1-3)
- New England Patriots (1-3)
- Cincinnati Bengals (1-3)
- Tennessee Titans (1-3)
- Los Angeles Chargers (1-3)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3)
Those lists pretty much tell the story. Of the six teams that finished with a top preseason record in 2017, only one managed to reach the playoffs. By contrast, four of the eight teams that finished with a bottom record ended up in the postseason. There can be no clearer indication of how meaningless the final results are for these games.
That’s why fans of teams who are currently 2-0 or 0-2 so far this 2018 preseason need to take a breath and settle down. The odds say that whatever team you’re watching right now is unlikely to be the same one that arrives in the regular season next month. Starters are playing at half speed in half the game. Coaches are coaching with less than half the playbook.
Perspective must be kept.