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While results of the NFL preseason don’t mean much, a pattern has developed in the last decade between preseason play and winning the Super Bowl.
For the past 11 years, no Super Bowl champion has finished the preseason with a losing record.
Preseason record of past 11 Super Bowl champions:
2018: Patriots (3-1)
2017: Eagles (2-2)
2016: Patriots (3-1)
2015: Broncos (3-1)
2014: Patriots (2-2)
2013: Seahawks (4-0)
2012: Ravens (2-2)
2011: Giants (2-2)
2010: Packers (2-2)
2009: Saints (3-1)
2008: Steelers (3-1)
The 2007-2008 New York Giants were the last Super Bowl-winning team with a losing preseason record. The Giants had a 1-3 preseason record that year.
The season before, the Indianapolis Colts also won the Super Bowl with a 1-3 preseason record.
Going undefeated in the preseason doesn’t ensure a team's success in the regular season either. Both the 2017 Cleveland Browns and the 2008 Detroit Lions finished 0-16 in the regular season despite having 4-0 preseason records.
In the last 50 years, the 1982 Washington Redskins are the only one team that has won the Super Bowl after going 0-4 in the preseason.
The 1990 Buffalo Bills and 2000 New York Giants went winless in the preseason, went to the Super Bowl and ultimately lost in the big game.
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