Preseason scores can be deceptive for a number of reasons. It is interesting to note that the only two teams to lose all their regular season games this century, the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns, both won all four of their preseason games in the same season they went winless.
Preseason results can also be misleading by final scores alone.
This past weekend of preseason play saw the Las Vegas Raiders open with a win over the Houston Texans and end on Sunday evening with the Tennessee Titans upsetting the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks.
Perhaps clues that the Raiders and Titans are going to be better this year?
Not necessarily. While Las Vegas and Tennessee won their games against highly regarded opponents by scores of 22-20 and 19-16 respectively, they did it with second half comebacks. In the first quarter of each game the Raiders fell behind 17-0 and the Titans were down 16-3. Those scores were built while both teams were playing more of their regulars and it wasn’t until the teams were playing a number of athletes that won’t be on their opening day rosters that Las Vegas and Tennessee turned the scores in their favor.
This week, the Titans, who were favored over the Seahawks in their Sunday night win, and the Raiders, who opened and closed as a favorite over the more talented Texans, are favored again to wrap up their preseasons. The Raiders opened as a 1½ point favorite over the San Francisco 49ers and the Titans by 1½ over the Chicago Bears.