The start of the 2019 season is still four months away, but projections and predictions have been making the rounds on the internet. Whether it’s win-loss projections, Super Bowl odds or each team’s chances of winning its division, there’s no lack of predictive content out there.
ESPN has joined the fray with its annual FPI projections for the season. FPI, or Football Power Index, uses simulations to come up with win totals and odds for each team to make the playoffs, win the division and take home the Lombardi Trophy in the Super Bowl.
The process includes a whopping 10,000 simulations of the 2019 season, so this wasn’t the work of one NFL analyst. After all the numbers were crunched, here’s what the model came up with for the Rams with their ranking relative to the rest of the NFL.
- Win total: 10.1 (3rd)
- Playoff odds: 76% (4th)
- Division odds: 62% (3rd)
- Super Bowl odds: 12% (3rd)
The Chiefs were given the best Super Bowl odds at 16%, while the Saints were close behind (15%). The Patriots were No. 1 in win total (10.5) and division odds (80%), which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when considering they play in the weak AFC East.
In the rest of the NFC West, the Seahawks’ win total was set at 8.4 with a 23% chance to win the division – the second-best mark, ahead of the 49ers (13%). The Cardinals had the lowest projected win total in the NFL (5.5) and were tied with the Dolphins for the worst odds to win their division (2%).
All of these marks seem very reasonable for the Rams. They’re certainly the front-runners in the NFC West and have a great chance to make the playoffs, it’s just a matter of whether they can knock off other contenders like the Saints, Bears, Eagles and Packers.
