luckadjusted
NFL Week 9 · 2026

2022 NFL season · final

The luckiest and unluckiest teams of 2022

The Vikings were the luckiest team of 2022: 13 wins from play that, replayed with the same day’s form, was worth 8.0. The Saints were the unluckiest: 7 wins from play worth 10.2.

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 Vikings 13–4 8.0 +5.0 11–0 8.7
2 Commanders 8–8–1 6.5 +2.0 5–3–1 6.1
3 Chargers 10–7 8.3 +1.7 7–5 7.4
4 Panthers 7–10 5.5 +1.5 3–5 7.5
5 Ravens 10–7 8.6 +1.4 6–5 8.8
6 Cowboys 12–5 10.6 +1.4 5–2 10.6
7 Lions 9–8 7.6 +1.4 4–5 8.6
8 49ers 13–4 11.7 +1.3 3–1 13.1
9 Steelers 9–8 7.7 +1.3 7–5 8.1
10 Eagles 14–3 12.9 +1.1 7–1 12.2
11 Texans 3–13–1 2.8 +0.7 3–6–1 2.7
12 Jets 7–10 6.5 +0.5 4–6 8.7
13 Chiefs 14–3 13.6 +0.4 7–3 14.0
14 Giants 9–7–1 9.1 +0.4 8–4–1 7.6
15 Bengals 12–4 11.7 +0.3 5–3 10.5
16 Dolphins 9–8 8.7 +0.3 6–5 10.0
17 Bills 13–3 12.9 +0.1 6–3 12.7
18 Colts 4–12–1 4.4 +0.1 4–6–1 4.3
19 Titans 7–10 7.0 0.0 5–6 9.2
20 Jaguars 9–8 10.0 −1.0 4–6 11.2
21 Buccaneers 8–9 9.1 −1.1 6–4 8.6
22 Rams 5–12 6.2 −1.2 3–4 5.2
23 Seahawks 9–8 10.2 −1.2 4–6 8.9
24 Packers 8–9 9.2 −1.2 4–5 8.5
25 Raiders 6–11 7.3 −1.3 4–9 6.5
26 Cardinals 4–13 5.3 −1.3 2–6 6.4
27 Bears 3–14 4.3 −1.3 1–7 4.3
28 Falcons 7–10 8.4 −1.4 5–8 7.1
29 Patriots 8–9 9.9 −1.9 4–4 8.3
30 Browns 7–10 9.2 −2.2 2–6 9.8
31 Broncos 5–12 7.7 −2.7 4–9 7.0
32 Saints 7–10 10.2 −3.2 5–6 8.4

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.

Team123456789101112131415161718WCDIVCONFSB
MIN 77 61 86 79 67
WAS 62 92 61 68
LAC 64 68 69
CAR 66 93
BAL 62 69 61 79 74
DAL 65 64
DET 65 63
SF 63
PIT 78 87 74
PHI
HOU 72 65 75
NYJ 99 61
KC 64 90
NYG 64 69 63 67
CIN 78 62
MIA 77
BUF 86
IND 90 97 86 62 75
TEN 64 62 65
JAX 72 86 64 79 64
TB 62 87 62 86
LA 65 69
SEA 65
GB 62 92 65
LV 69 72
ARI 86
CHI 62 62
ATL 69 66 68
NE 62 61 79 72
CLE 99 61 62
DEN 65 97 68 64
NO 86 63 86 93

The adjusted standings, 2022

The standings adjusted for luck: every kick, fumble bounce, drop, conversion and referee call re-rolled, everything else as played. Four division winners and three wild cards a conference make the playoffs (no tiebreakers). Move the sliders to decide how much of each counts as luck; the link keeps your settings.

How much of each is luck?

0% treats it as skill, 100% as pure luck. The tick is our fit.

What counts

None by default: our tests measured no carryover after a lucky break, and counting some doesn’t make these standings forecast the rest of a season any better. Slide it up to count a break for more than its own swing. Why

Order by Group by

AFC

Adjusted for luck, the Browns and the Titans would make the playoffs instead of the Ravens and the Chargers.

AdjustedNowTeamRecordAdjusted winsLuckSeed
11Chiefs14–314.00.01
22Bills13–312.6+0.42
3▲36Jaguars9–811.2−2.23
4▼13Bengals12–410.5+1.54
5▲27Dolphins9–810.1−1.15
6▲410Browns7–109.8−2.86
7▲512Titans7–109.2−2.27
8▼44Ravens10–78.9+1.1out
9▲211Jets7–108.6−1.6
10▼19Patriots8–98.4−0.4
11▼38Steelers9–88.1+0.9
12▼75Chargers10–77.4+2.6out
13▲114Broncos5–127.0−2.0
14▼113Raiders6–116.5−0.5
1515Colts4–12–14.2+0.3
1616Texans3–13–12.7+0.8

NFC

Adjusted for luck, the Lions would make the playoffs instead of the Giants.

AdjustedNowTeamRecordAdjusted winsLuckSeed
1▲1249ers13–413.00.01
2▼11Eagles14–312.2+1.82
3▲14Cowboys12–510.6+1.45
4▲37Seahawks9–88.9+0.16
5▼23Vikings13–48.7+4.33
66Lions9–88.7+0.37
7▲310Buccaneers8–98.6−0.64
8▲19Packers8–98.4−0.4
9▲211Saints7–108.4−1.4
10▼55Giants9–7–17.6+1.9out
11▲213Panthers7–107.5−0.5
1212Falcons7–107.1−0.1
13▲215Cardinals4–136.4−2.4
14▼68Commanders8–8–16.1+2.4
15▼114Rams5–125.2−0.2
1616Bears3–144.3−1.3

Adjusted wins: every kick, fumble bounce, drop, conversion and referee call re-rolled at your settings, everything else as played. Seed: playoff seed in the adjusted standings; 5 in only in the adjusted standings (luck kept them out), out made the playoffs only thanks to luck. Adjusted: rank in the conference by adjusted wins, ▲ places up because luck cost them, ▼ down because luck helped. Now: rank by record.

2022, week by week

WeekDatesWinners behind in replaysBiggest heist
Super Bowl Feb 12, 2023 0 of 1 Chiefs 38–35 Eagles · won 83% of replays
Conference championships Jan 29, 2023 0 of 2 Chiefs 23–20 Bengals · won 83% of replays
Divisional round Jan 21, 2023–Jan 22, 2023 0 of 4 Bengals 27–10 Bills · won 76% of replays
Wild Card Jan 14, 2023–Jan 16, 2023 0 of 6 Bengals 24–17 Ravens · won 57% of replays
Week 18 Jan 7, 2023–Jan 8, 2023 2 of 16 Panthers 10–7 Saints · won 7% of replays
Week 17 Dec 29, 2022–Jan 1, 2023 0 of 15 Falcons 20–19 Cardinals · won 43% of replays
Week 16 Dec 22, 2022–Dec 26, 2022 2 of 16 Vikings 27–24 Giants · won 33% of replays
Week 15 Dec 15, 2022–Dec 19, 2022 2 of 16 Raiders 30–24 Patriots · won 28% of replays
Week 14 Dec 8, 2022–Dec 12, 2022 2 of 13 Ravens 16–14 Steelers · won 26% of replays
Week 13 Dec 1, 2022–Dec 5, 2022 1 of 14 Buccaneers 17–16 Saints · won 14% of replays
Week 12 Nov 24, 2022–Nov 28, 2022 5 of 16 Jaguars 28–27 Ravens · won 21% of replays
Week 11 Nov 17, 2022–Nov 21, 2022 1 of 14 Lions 31–18 Giants · won 37% of replays
Week 10 Nov 10, 2022–Nov 14, 2022 2 of 14 Vikings 33–30 Bills · won 14% of replays
Week 9 Nov 3, 2022–Nov 7, 2022 3 of 13 Chargers 20–17 Falcons · won 31% of replays
Week 8 Oct 27, 2022–Oct 31, 2022 2 of 15 Broncos 21–17 Jaguars · won 37% of replays
Week 7 Oct 20, 2022–Oct 24, 2022 5 of 14 Commanders 23–21 Packers · won 8% of replays
Week 6 Oct 13, 2022–Oct 17, 2022 6 of 14 Steelers 20–18 Buccaneers · won 13% of replays
Week 5 Oct 6, 2022–Oct 10, 2022 4 of 16 Colts 12–9 Broncos · won 3% of replays
Week 4 Sep 29, 2022–Oct 3, 2022 0 of 16 Chiefs 41–31 Buccaneers · won 48% of replays
Week 3 Sep 22, 2022–Sep 26, 2022 2 of 16 Colts 20–17 Chiefs · won 10% of replays
Week 2 Sep 15, 2022–Sep 19, 2022 2 of 16 Jets 31–30 Browns · won 1% of replays
Week 1 Sep 8, 2022–Sep 12, 2022 3 of 15 Steelers 23–20 Bengals · won 22% of replays

Every upset of 2022

Questions

Who is the luckiest NFL team of 2022?

The Minnesota Vikings: 13–4, from play worth 8.0 wins (+5.0 wins of luck). The unluckiest: the New Orleans Saints, 7–10 from play worth 10.2 wins.

What is postgame win expectancy?

How often a team would win a game it just played if the game were played again with the way both teams actually played. Ours replays each team’s own plays from that game 4,000 times, with kicks, fumble bounces and turnovers at the rates you would expect. Added up over a season it gives the replay wins above, and wins minus replay wins is the luck.