Factoid
The preseason is coming to a close, and the New England Patriots are smiling. There are only three teams that have averaged under 12 points per game in these exhibition contests, and they’re the other three teams in the AFC East – Jets (7 points per game), Bills (9) and Dolphins (10).
Does that matter? Are teams even trying? Or are they just messing around?
The numbers below show there is some correlation between what we see in August and what happens in the regular season.
In the last 10 years, 23 teams have averaged under 12 points per game in the preseason. Of that group, 14 finished outside the top 20 in the regular season. Only two finished in the top 10, and reader Shaun Hawkins astutely points out those were established veteran teams that were clearly just coasting along – the 2004 Patriots and Packers.
Of those 23 low-scoring teams, 15 of them finished with losing records. Only 6 finished with winning records.
LOWEST-SCORING PRESEASON TEAMS IN LAST 10 YEARS
The number in bold is average points in preseason. That's followed by regular-season record, regular-season scoring and rank:
Pts W-L Pts Rank Year
6.8 5-11 19.2 (20th) 2006 Washington
8.0 4-12 14.1 (31st) 2007 Kansas City
8.3 2-14 12.3 (32nd) 2010 Carolina
9.0 10-6 26.5 (5th) 2004 Green Bay
9.0 4-12 16.9 (27th) 2003 Oakland
9.5 5-11 15.9 (28th) 2003 Houston
10.0 9-7 20.7 (15th) 2006 Kansas City
10.3 4-12 18.6 (22nd) 2005 Green Bay
10.3 7-9 22.2 (16th) 2002 Seattle
10.3 7-9 19.8 (24th) 2002 Baltimore
10.5 7-9 13.3 (31st) 2011 Kansas City
10.5 4-12 18.4 (23rd) 2009 Kansas City
10.8 8-8 22.1 (13th) 2006 Pittsburgh
11.0 8-8 22.4 (16th) 2011 Oakland
11.0 7-9 16.7 (27th) 2007 Carolina
11.0 14-2 27.3 (4th) 2004 New England
11.0 4-12 13.3 (32nd) 2002 Houston
11.5 11-5 20.9 (21st) 2010 Chicago
11.5 3-13 16.4 (28th) 2007 St. Louis
11.5 4-12 17.2 (28th) 2004 Miami
11.8 9-7 21.5 (18th) 2011 Cincinnati
11.8 13-3 23.8 (11th) 2011 San Francisco
11.8 7-9 19.3 (21st) 2004 Houston
—Ian Allan
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