FanPost

Historical Analysis of Hall of Fame Game Participants

I was curious to find out if playing in the Hall of Fame Game and therefor having an extra preseason game benefited the teams that played in it over the course of the season or at the beginning of the season (during the first four games).

I looked up the season results for the participants of the last 10 Hall of Fame games (skipping 2011 because there was no Hall of Game that year) and here they are:

Listed is the year of the game, each teams record during that season as well as their record over the first four games of the season. The winning team is listed first.

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2013: Cowboys (8-8) (2-2) Dolphins (8-8) (2-2)
2012: Saints (7-9) (0-4) Cardinals (5-11) (4-0)*
2011: ---
2010: Cowboys (6-10) (1-3) Bengals (4-12) (2-2)
2009: Titans (8-8) (0-4) Bills (6-10) (1-3)
2008: Redskins (8-8) (3-1)* Colts (12-4) (2-2)*
2007: Steelers (10-6) (3-1) Saints (7-9) (2-2)
2006: Raiders (2-14) (0-4) Eagles (10-6) (3-1)
2005: Bears (11-5) (1-3) Dolphins (9-7) (2-2)
2004: Redskins (6-10) (1-3) Broncos (10-6) (3-1)
2003: Chiefs (13-3) (4-0) Packers (10-6) (2-2)

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Record Totals Season/First Four Games: (160-160, .500) / (33-47, .413)
Worst Record: (2-14, .125) 2006 Oakland Raiders
Best Record: (13-3, .813) 2003 Kansas City Chiefs
Winning Team Record: (79-81, .494)
Losing Team Record: (81-79, .506)

I realized during the process that there was a flaw in my logic: I can't conclude whether or not the fifth preseason game or the extra practice made any of these teams better or worse because we'll never know what their season results would have been had they not participated-for better of worse.

It's fair to say that whatever difference playing the extra game made, it wasn't very significant.

I would say that the data puts the notion of getting off to a fast start in doubt because the winning percentage of participating teams is actually lower during the first 4 games than it is during the entire season—still not apples to apples, but it tells me something. The exception being the 2012 Cardinals because they started hot (4-0) only to tank.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Just another great fan opinion shared on the pages of BuffaloRumblings.com.