We witnessed four teams go undefeated during 2016 preseason play. Philadelphia, Houston, Minnesota, and Baltimore all went unscathed. As a matter of fact, all four of those teams not only won all of their preseason games, they also covered on each of those occasions.
2016 Preseason Undefeated Teams Super Bowl Futures Odds
- Minnesota Vikings 25-1
- Houston Texas 40-1
- Baltimore Ravens 40-1
- Philadelphia Eagles 75:1
As you can see by the above numbers, teams finishing with a perfect preseason record have absolutely no influence on professional odds-makers. It further substantiates how insignificant preseason results truly are.
Note: These Super Bowl futures offs are courtesy of BoDog.com.
Does Momentum Follow to Regular Season?
From 2012 to 2015, there’s been five teams that finished their NFL preseason slate without sustaining a loss.
Philadelphia accomplished the feat in 2012, and subsequently finished 4-12 during the regular season. That marked the Eagles final year with Andy Reid as their head coach. Reid was fired immediately following that awful campaign.
Washington went a perfect 4-0 through their 2013 preseason schedule. That momentum certainly didn’t carry over to the regular season, evidenced by them finishing last in the NFC East with an abysmal 3-13 record. They also concluded that year on an 8-game losing streak. As a result, veteran head coach Mike Shanahan’s four-year tenure in Washington came to a merciful finality.
There were three teams that went unscathed in 2014. The New York Giants preceded to go onto a miserable 6-10 year, Minnesota ended up 7-9, and Baltimore turned in a very good 10-6 season. There were no teams in 2015 that came away with a spotless record.
Baltimore was the only team to compile a winning record over that four-year time span. The other four undefeated preseason teams went a combined 20-44 (.313) during regular season games.
In closing, over the previous four years, and with Baltimore being the lone exception, going undefeated throughout preseason play has been a curse rather than a blessing. Saying that preseason results are unequivocally meaningless would be a vast understatement. Wipe your memory banks clean, and let the real games begin.
