Every year, NFL teams play a lot of games, but the first one might be more important than we think when it comes to a Super Bowl. Let’s look at some interesting numbers and see why winning the first game matters.
Super Bowl Champs and Game 1
Out of 57 Super Bowl winners, 46 of them won their first game. So, winning the first game is a good sign for teams hoping to win the Super Bowl.
Winning game 1 since 2002
In 2002, the NFL got bigger, adding more teams. Since then:
- Out of 334 teams that won their first game, 176 made it to the playoffs. 17 of those even won their division.
- But of the 332 teams that lost the first game, only 82 got to the playoffs. 50 of them won their division.
In 2017, two teams, Minnesota and Tampa Bay, played their first game a bit late because of Hurricane Irma. But they still count.
2022 and the first game
In 2022, 14 teams got to the playoffs. 10 of them had won their first game.
Also, looking at past Super Bowl winners, most of them do well in their first game the next year. Since 2004, the last 19 champions played 18 times in the first game of the next season. They won 14 times and lost only 4.
So, what does this mean?
It’s simple. Winning the first game can help a team’s chances during the season. So, when the new NFL season starts, keep an eye on the first game. It might just tell us who has a good chance to go far that year.