[moneyline]

... out of the 18 times a team has had the chance to do it, they've succeeded 11 times ... that's over a 60% clip. Would anybody here like to win over 60% of their bets consistently?

As Drew Bledsoe said when asked about this very fact, "it usually means one team is better than the other."

(ah, I gotta love those Steelers

[slacker00]

I've already been hearing this one on the radio going into the Ravens-Steelers game next weekend. Do the people saying this even know the stats? It is some kind of inside joke? Over the years, this statement has to be one of my biggest pet peeves. Here are the games:

2007: Giants 21 Cowboys 17 (Cowboys were 2-0)
2004: Rams 27 Seahawks 20 (Rams were 2-0)
2004: Vikings 31 Packers 17 (Packers were 2-0)
2002: Steelers 36 Browns 33 (Steelers were 2-0)
2000: Giants 20 Eagles 10 (Giants were 2-0)
1999: Titans 33 Jags 14 (Titans were 2-0)
1998: Cards 20 Cowboys 7 (Cowboys were 2-0)
1997: Packers 21 Bucs 7 (Packers were 2-0)
1997: Pats 17 Dolphins 3 (Pats were 2-0)

Here's the last 9 going backwards, the 2-0 team going 6-3 in the 3rd game. Not much data, except it flies in the face of the team not being able to beat a team 3 times in one season when given a chance.

[nick2060]

6-3 is is 66 percent, not that i really believe these has any merit on who will win this game, i havent been impressed at all with baltimore as a team and pittsburgh was pretty impressive against arguably the hottest team in football and the second best quarterback this year

[JoeSkolnik]

lol 1999 JAGUARS 14-0 against teams not titans

[losturmarbles]

6-3 is is 66 percent, not that i really believe these has any merit on who will win this game, i havent been impressed at all with baltimore as a team and pittsburgh was pretty impressive against arguably the hottest team in football and the second best quarterback this year

dont be fooled, sd has had a terrible defense all year, pitt just exposed them.

other than weddle, who is a pretty good safety, the rest of the secondary sucks really bad.

average dline, below average linebackers,

that being said, dont expect to see pitt move the ball the same way and keep possession an entire quarter against balt.

but i still think pitt wins.

[slacker00]

1994: Bears 35 Vikings 18 (Vikings were 2-0)
1994: Steelers 29 Browns 9 (Steelers were 2-0)
1993: Raiders 42 Broncos 24 (Raiders were 2-0)
1992: Chargers 17 Chiefs 0 (Chiefs were 2-0)
1991: Chiefs 10 Raiders 6 (Chiefs were 2-0)
1989: Steelers 26 Oilers 23 (Oilers were 2-0)
1986: Giants 17 Redskins 0 (Giants were 2-0)
1983: Raiders 30 Seahawks 14 (Seahawks were 2-0)
1982: Dolphins 14 Jets 0 (Dolphins were 2-0)


Here's more data, I went all the way back to the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. This brings the total up to 11 wins and 7 losses. This confirms what moneyline was saying in his first post.

[slacker00]

1965: Packers 13 Colts 10 (Packers were 2-0)

Here's an extra data point. This was an unusual situation. Packers & Colts tied for the division lead at 10-3-1, so they had a 1 game playoff to determine the division winner playoff berth. Back then, only one team from each division got a playoff bid. I don't know why they didn't just use a tiebreaker system like they do now days. The Packers should have won the tiebreaker due to the 2-0 head to head record. I guess the NFL got an extra game out of it, a good one at that judging by the score.

[slacker00]

1958: Giants 10 Browns 0 (Giants were 2-0)
1952: Lions 31 Rams 21 (Lions were 2-0)
1950: Browns 8 Giants 3 (Giants were 2-0)
1950: Rams 24 Bears 14 (Bears were 2-0)

I guess division tie playoff games weren't that uncommon. There was also a playoff game in 1957, but the teams had split 1-1 in the regular season.