[aeneas1]

super bowl era (1966-2020):

1,610 teams have taken the field to start the season
182 (11.3%) of these teams started the year at 5-1
32 (18%) of these 182 teams missed the postseason
150 (82%) of these 182 teams made the postseason
41 (27%) of these 150 teams reached the super bowl
22 (54%) of these 41 teams won the super bowl

41 (23%) of the 182 team that started the year at 5-1 reached the super bowl
22 (12%) of the 182 teams that started the year at 5-1 won the super bowl

---------------------------------------------------

super bowl winners
records through the first 6 games of the season:

14 (25%) - 6-0-0
22 (40%) - 5-1-0
2 (4%) - 4-1-1
14 (25%) 4-2-0
3 (5%) - 3-3-0

super bowl losers
records through the first 6 games of the season:

17 (27%) - 6-0-0
1 (2%) - 5-0-1
19 (35%) - 5-1-0
1 (2%) - 4-1-1
14 (25%) - 4-2-0
1 (2%) - 3-2-1
4 (7%) - 3-3-0

super bowl participants
records through the first 6 games of the season:

29 (53%) - 6-0-0
1 (2%) - 5-0-1
41 (75%) - 5-1-0
3 (5%) - 4-1-1
28 (51%) - 4-2-0
1 (2%) - 3-2-1
7 (13%) - 3-3-0

---------------------------------------------------

of the 56 seasons that make up the super bowl era, 2021 marks the just 5th time that the rams have started a season at 5-1, previous outcomes:

1975 - reached the conference championship round
1988 - reached the wildcard round
1989 - reached the conference championship round
1995 - missed the postseason

---------------------------------------------------

looking at last 21 season (2000-2020):

70 (10.4%) teams started the year at 5-1
12 (17%) of these 70 teams missed the playoffs
58 (83%) of these 70 teams made the playoffs
15 (26%) of these 58 teams were eliminated in the wildcard round
16 (28%) of these 58 teams were eliminated after the divisional round
16 (28%) of these 58 teams were eliminated after the conference championship round
11 (19%) of these 58 teams reached the super bowl
7 (12%) of these 58 teams won the super bowl

11 (16%) of the 70 teams that started the season at 5-1 reached the super bowl
7 (10%) of the 70 teams that started the season at 5-1 won the super bowl

[max]

Lots of positive stats there a1.

Bottom line for me is we gotta beat the Cards in AZ if we want to win the West and we don't deserve it if we get swept by them.

But as the Bucs showed last year, you can get swept by the division winner and still win the SB if you peak at the right time and stay healthy.

[aeneas1]

what jumps out to me the most when looking at the above numbers is just how tough it is to win the lombardi, even if you start a season 5-1 and look impressive in the process.

2000-2020 (last 21 seasons)
70 teams started the year 5-1

11 (16%) reached the super bowl
7 (10%) won the super bowl

59 (84%) didn't reach the super bowl
63 (90%) didn't win the super bowl

damn hard to get to the big show, let alone win it!

[max]

Everyone starts the year with 1/32 or 3% chance of winning the SB.

So getting to 5-1 only increases your chances by 7%.

Doesn’t seem like much.

[LoyalRam]

The Rams just need to stack win upon win. This team is talented enough to hoist the Lombardi at SoFi this year, but talent alone isn't enough. It has to have the tenacity to grind out wins when it gets hard during a long season, with no let up.

[snackdaddy]

When a team starts 5-1 they have good odds of making the playoffs. There's a reason for that. Most times a team that starts 5-1 is a pretty good team. Bad teams don't usually get off to a start like that.

[AvengerRam]

Of course, there have been two changes in the past two years that could impact those numbers:

1. Change to 7 playoff teams per conference: should increase the % likelihood of a 5-1 team ultimately making the playoffs.
2. Change to a 17 game season: could slightly decrease the likelihood that a 5-1 team would make the playoffs.

All that said... the Rams will make the playoffs this year.