Hello again readers! The fantasy season is now wrapped up, so it’s time to move on to the playoffs. This gives me the opportunity to do something I rarely get to do: focus on real football outcomes and predict who will end the season on top. First, let’s take a look at our 12 remaining teams:
- Baltimore Ravens (14-2)
- San Francisco 49ers (13-3)
- Green Bay Packers (13-3)
- New Orleans Saints (13-3)
- Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)
- New England Patriots (12-4)
- Seattle Seahawks (11-5)
- Houston Texans (10-6)
- Buffalo Bills (10-6)
- Minnesota Vikings (10-6)
- Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)
- Tennessee Titans (8-8)
Strictly by record, it looks like Baltimore, San Francisco, Green Bay, and New Orleans should be our favorites. I don’t think it’s that easy though. Let’s dig a little deeper. I went back to the stats and examined every Super Bowl champ since 2000. What can past champions tell us about the likely victor in 2020?
Note: This preview attempts to use historical yardage stats as a predictive measure to narrow our search for a champion down to a few teams. From there, my personal bias took over. I understand that this is not a perfect predictive tool, but it’s my first time trying this–bear with me. Let me know in the comments what you think and feel free to share ideas on how I can improve for next year!
— Mike Miklius