luckadjusted

2020 NFL season · final

The luckiest and unluckiest teams of 2020

The Chiefs were the luckiest team of 2020: 14 wins from play that, replayed with the same day’s form, was worth 9.9. The 49ers were the unluckiest: 6 wins from play worth 9.7.

Luck here is wins minus replay wins: for each game, how often this team wins it when it’s replayed with the way both teams actually played, added up over the season. Regular season only. How the replay works

#TeamRecordReplay winsLuck in winsOne-scoreCoin-flip winsThrough the season
1 Chiefs 14–2 9.9 +4.1 8–1 11.5
2 Dolphins 10–6 6.7 +3.3 3–4 8.1
3 Bears 8–8 4.8 +3.2 6–5 6.7
4 Steelers 12–4 9.6 +2.4 7–2 9.5
5 Browns 11–5 8.8 +2.2 7–2 10.6
6 Seahawks 12–4 10.1 +1.9 8–3 10.3
7 Bills 13–3 11.2 +1.8 5–1 12.1
8 Saints 12–4 10.4 +1.6 5–3 13.4
9 Packers 13–3 11.5 +1.5 4–2 12.1
10 Titans 11–5 9.7 +1.3 7–2 10.3
11 Washington 7–9 6.0 +1.0 3–5 7.9
12 Bengals 4–11–1 3.6 +0.9 2–5–1 5.5
13 Ravens 11–5 10.2 +0.8 2–4 11.8
14 Colts 11–5 10.6 +0.4 5–2 11.5
15 Patriots 7–9 6.7 +0.3 3–4 7.1
16 Buccaneers 11–5 10.7 +0.3 3–3 10.4
17 Eagles 4–11–1 4.9 −0.4 3–5–1 3.4
18 Broncos 5–11 5.7 −0.7 4–6 4.6
19 Giants 6–10 6.8 −0.8 5–5 6.0
20 Cardinals 8–8 9.0 −1.0 4–5 9.3
21 Chargers 7–9 8.1 −1.1 5–7 6.8
22 Rams 10–6 11.2 −1.2 4–4 9.9
23 Jets 2–14 3.4 −1.4 2–4 3.2
24 Vikings 7–9 8.5 −1.5 6–4 7.8
25 Lions 5–11 6.6 −1.6 4–4 4.8
26 Cowboys 6–10 7.6 −1.6 4–4 6.6
27 Raiders 8–8 9.8 −1.8 5–4 6.0
28 Falcons 4–12 6.0 −2.0 2–8 5.9
29 Jaguars 1–15 3.3 −2.3 1–6 3.3
30 Texans 4–12 6.6 −2.6 2–8 5.6
31 Panthers 5–11 8.4 −3.4 3–8 6.8
32 49ers 6–10 9.7 −3.7 3–5 7.5

Replay wins: the sum, over every game, of how often the team wins a replay with the same day’s form. Coin-flip wins: the same with only kicks, bounces, drops, conversions and calls re-rolled; it is the number that best predicts the rest of a season (validation). One-score: games decided by 8 points or fewer.

Did luck add wins or take them away?

Each logo is a team. Across: the wins its play was worth (replay wins). Up: the wins it actually got. On the diagonal the two match; above it, luck added wins; below it, luck cost wins.

Game by game

The luck index of every game: 100 × (the result − how often they win the replay). A loss in a game they win 9 times in 10 scores −90. Teams sorted luckiest to unluckiest.

Team1234567891011121314151617WCDIVCONFSB
KC
MIA 95 91
CHI 82
PIT 72
CLE
SEA 86
BUF
NO 81 69
GB 70
TEN 91
WAS 70
CIN 91
BAL 63
IND 69
NE
TB
PHI 87
DEN 82 73
NYG 73 78
ARI 70 86 69 65
LAC 82 71
LA 75 95 79
NYJ
MIN 69 90
DET 74
DAL 66 82
LV 81 68 91
ATL 66 82 90 77
JAX
HOU 63
CAR 79 63 71
SF 74 87 64 70 82

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