luckadjusted

2023 NFL season · final

The luckiest and unluckiest teams of 2023

The Bengals were the luckiest team of 2023: 9 wins from play that, replayed with the same day’s form, was worth 6.2. The Commanders were the unluckiest: 4 wins from play worth 7.1.

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 Bengals 9–8 6.2 +2.8 5–4 8.0
2 Browns 11–6 8.2 +2.8 6–2 9.7
3 Steelers 10–7 7.4 +2.6 9–2 6.8
4 Giants 6–11 3.5 +2.5 4–4 6.7
5 Jets 7–10 5.3 +1.7 4–4 7.4
6 Seahawks 9–8 7.4 +1.6 6–4 7.6
7 Lions 12–5 10.5 +1.5 5–3 11.6
8 Texans 10–7 8.8 +1.2 7–3 9.0
9 Buccaneers 9–8 7.8 +1.2 3–4 7.7
10 Cowboys 12–5 11.0 +1.0 3–2 11.6
11 Eagles 11–6 10.3 +0.7 8–3 8.5
12 Colts 9–8 8.4 +0.6 6–3 8.9
13 Titans 6–11 5.6 +0.4 5–7 7.6
14 Packers 9–8 8.6 +0.4 6–5 7.4
15 Raiders 8–9 7.9 +0.1 5–5 7.1
16 Rams 10–7 10.0 0.0 6–4 8.7
17 Broncos 8–9 8.2 −0.2 5–4 7.0
18 Saints 9–8 9.2 −0.2 3–6 9.6
19 Bears 7–10 7.3 −0.3 2–6 8.9
20 Cardinals 4–13 4.5 −0.5 2–5 4.1
21 Patriots 4–13 4.5 −0.5 4–8 5.7
22 Jaguars 9–8 9.7 −0.7 3–4 8.1
23 Ravens 13–4 13.8 −0.8 4–4 14.7
24 Panthers 2–15 2.8 −0.8 2–6 3.4
25 Dolphins 11–6 12.3 −1.3 4–3 10.7
26 49ers 12–5 13.7 −1.7 1–3 13.6
27 Chiefs 11–6 12.7 −1.7 6–5 11.5
28 Chargers 5–12 6.8 −1.8 3–8 7.4
29 Falcons 7–10 9.4 −2.4 4–6 7.7
30 Vikings 7–10 9.5 −2.5 6–8 7.3
31 Bills 11–6 13.6 −2.6 6–6 13.8
32 Commanders 4–13 7.1 −3.1 4–6 4.3

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
CIN 86 84
CLE 82 89 86
PIT 83
NYG
NYJ 82 91 72
SEA 73 82
DET 90 61
HOU
TB 90 85
DAL
PHI 82 82
IND 89 66
TEN 95
GB 62 73
LV
LA 69 79 61
DEN 63 61
NO
CHI 66
ARI
NE 82 62
JAX 69 86 70
BAL 67 86 83
CAR
MIA 95
SF 82 86 84
KC 90 61 75 84
LAC 67
ATL 73 85
MIN 90 73 74
BUF 86 82 84 67
WAS 78 71 91

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