Can The Patriots Break The Super Bowl Losers Curse?
February 22nd, 2008 . by Dell
One very interesting thing I’m looking forward to in the 2008 NFL season is to see if the New England Patriots can break the curse of the Super Bowl Loser. The Madden Curse may be the more popular superstition among NFL players and fans, but the Super Bowl curse actually has more stats to support it exists.
As you can see below, with the exception of the 2006 Seattle Seahawks, if you lose the Super Bowl you can kiss the playoffs goodbye the following season. Even though the Seahawks made the playoffs, they didn’t get past the first round eeked past the first round thanks to Tony Romo’s butterfingers. But were eliminated in the divisionals.
2000 New York Giants – Lost Super Bowl XXXV
2001 New York Giants – 7-9 record, no playoffs2001 St. Louis Rams – Lost Super Bowl XXXVI
2002 St. Louis Rams – 7-9 record, no playoffs2002 Oakland Raiders – Lost Super Bowl XXXVII
2003 Oakland Raiders – 4-12 record, no playoffs2003 Carolina Panthers – Lost Super Bowl XXXVIII
2004 Carolina Panthers – 7-9 record, no playoffs2004 Philadelphia Eagles – Lost Super Bowl XXXIX
2005 Philadelphia Eagles – 6-10 record, no playoffs2005 Seattle Seahawks – Lost Super Bowl XL
2006 Seattle Seahawks – 9-7 record (made playoffs, 1st round exit)2006 Chicago Bears – Lost Super Bowl XLI
2007 Chicago Bears – 7-9 record, no playoffs2007 New England Patriots – Lost Super Bowl XLII
2008 New England Patriots – ??????
Do you find it hard to fathom a team going undefeated one year, and not even making the playoffs the very next season?…. Me neither, but if you think about it, all the potential pieces for this to happen are there. The media is already making things a distraction, which could easily seep over into training camp.
- The lingering spygate fiasco. Will the organization be disciplined further? Will Bill Belichick be suspended?
- Will Randy Moss stay with the team?
- Will Asante Samuel stay with the team?
Seahawks were eliminated in the Second Round of playoffs in 2006 as they defeated the Cowboys in the first round.
Yeah you’re right, my bad. I looked at the wrong year when I was researching this. That win against the Cowboys was kinda bogus, with Tony Romo fumbling the snap, but it’s a win nonetheless.
A very important piece of info in the Pats favor: they play in the weak AFC East. That’s 6 W’s a season.
Well, Chicago went to the Super Bowl, and they were in the same divsion with the Green Bay Packers (who only won 3 or 4 games). The Vikings who havent been to the playoffs in 8 years, and the lowly detroit lions.
and we seen what happened the very next year.
The Patriots are the oldest team in the NFL with 17 players over 30. Each year these players’ biological clocks keep ticking and their bodies wither. Soon enough, most of their roster will retire.
Also, the Vikings made it four years ago, but that doesn’t really count as they beat a Packers team that was severely hampered by injuries and went on to get sodomized by the Eagles in the next round. But yes, as far as having a meaningful playoff experience, the Vikings have not had one in a long time. It also didn’t help that Mike Tice ran the organization right into the frickin’ ground.
damn, thats two times ive been corrected today. I don’t even remember the vikings making the playoffs recently.
it must have been that year Daunte Culpepper had an MVP type season.
Yep. And the Vikings still had a non-winning season.
The fact still remains the Fins are horrible, 2 Ws, the Bills, 2 Ws, and Jets which they will have to work to beat.
Well, the Pats’ weak secondary has gotten weaker now that Asante Samuel is hitting the market. Ellis Hobbs sucks (did you see him get burned in the Super Bowl?) and while Randall Gay(ness) is good, I don’t think he’ll be able to cover some of the league’s top receivers.
I’ll say the Patriots dynasti isn’t over yet, but will be fading the next couple of years.
Umm, what about Buffalo, they lost 3 years straight, therefore they should not have gone back each of the following 3 years…
sorry, meant to say, Buffalo lost 4 consecutive superbowls. Obviously to make it into the superbowl, they must have made it into the playoffs.
Denver Broncos have also been twice in a row, losing both times, as did the Minnesota Vikings.
Denver also made it twice in a row and won both times (against Packers and Falcons)
Well one thing I forgot to include in the post was my frame of reference, which was counting this decade (2000-2008). Thats why I mentioned the Madden curse, because each one started about the same year.
It would have taken all day to research super bowl losers from the last 30 years
Well, using that frame of reference, I can see a pattern… except of course for the Seahawks
[...] I know what you’re thinking, “isn’t that the point of free agency?”… Well…. no. Unless Randy Moss decides to sign a contract with Dallas, Indianapolis, or Green Bay, theres no better place to potentially get a championship ring than New England. Maybe Randy believes in the Super Bowl losers curse. [...]
[...] wrote a post in February about ‘The Curse Of The Super Bowl Losers’, which illustrated how the last seven teams who lost in the super bowl failed to make the playoffs [...]
[...] Bowl loss hangover. Since the Patriots started their consecutive streak of winning division championships, only one [...]
Yes, the trend continues
2000 New York Giants – Lost Super Bowl XXXV
2001 New York Giants – 7-9 record, no playoffs
2001 St. Louis Rams – Lost Super Bowl XXXVI
2002 St. Louis Rams – 7-9 record, no playoffs
2002 Oakland Raiders – Lost Super Bowl XXXVII
2003 Oakland Raiders – 4-12 record, no playoffs
2003 Carolina Panthers – Lost Super Bowl XXXVIII
2004 Carolina Panthers – 7-9 record, no playoffs
2004 Philadelphia Eagles – Lost Super Bowl XXXIX
2005 Philadelphia Eagles – 6-10 record, no playoffs
2005 Seattle Seahawks – Lost Super Bowl XL
2006 Seattle Seahawks – 9-7 record (made playoffs, 1st round exit)
2006 Chicago Bears – Lost Super Bowl XLI
2007 Chicago Bears – 7-9 record, no playoffs
2007 New England Patriots – Lost Super Bowl XLII
2008 New England Patriots – 11-5 record, no playoffs
[...] I blogged about this one year ago, when the 18-1 New England Patriots lost in the big game against New York. Although Randy Moss stayed on his best behavior, Tom Brady blew his knee out in week 1 and order was restored to the universe. If one of the most indestructible teams in NFL history couldn’t do it, does Arizona really stand a chance? I don’t think so. [...]