Super Bowl Scoring Averages & Regular Season Rematches

The New England Patriots will meet the New York Giants on February 3 in Glendale, Arizona in Super Bowl XLII. In week 17, the Patriots made history by defeating the Giants 38-35 to finish the first 16-0 undefeated/untied regular season in NFL history. On February 3, the Patriots will be seeking not only to become the World Champions for the 4th time in 7 years, but to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated/untied NFL Champions and the only 19-0 team in league history.

Here is what history tells us about Super Bowl scoring and rematches between regular season opponents meeting in the Super Bowl.

The average score of a Super Bowl over the first 41 games is 30.6 - 15.2; rounded that is 31-15. There has never been a Super Bowl decided by that score; the closest to average was Super Bowl XI where the Raiders won over the Vikings 32-14.

In the history of the Super Bowl, there have been 10 rematches of a game earlier in the season. Super Bowl XLII will be the 11^th rematch of teams having played earlier in the season. In week 17, the Patriots eeked out a 38-35 victory over the New York Giants.

The history provides little guide as to whether or not having met previously is an indication of which team is likely to emerge victorious.

5 times the winner of the earlier game won the Super Bowl; 5 times the winner of the earlier game lost the Super Bowl. The Patriots have played in 2 of those Super Bowls: in 1985, the Bears laid down a 20-7 victory over the Patriots and went on to defeat them again in Super Bowl XX; in 2001, the Rams beat them 24-7, but the Pats went on to win Super Bowl XXXVI 20-17. The Giants have played in 2 of those Super Bowls as well: in 1990, the Bills defeated the Giants 17-13, but the Giants won Super Bowl XXV; in 1986 the Giants defeated the Broncos 19-16 and went on to win Super Bowl XXI 39-20.

Of the 5 games the eventual winner of the Super Bowl won, they won by an average of 13 points; of the 5 games the eventual loser of the Super Bowl won, they won by an average of 3. The Patriots defeated the Giants by 3 earlier in their earlier meeting. The most the eventual loser of the Super Bowl has ever won by in an earlier meeting was the 7 points by which the St. Louis Rams defeated the Patriots in 2001.

Drawing inferences from descriptive statistics will usually require other units of measure based on the actual numbers; these will further describe the distribution of the actual numbers. The median score of a Super Bowl is 30-16 - the median being the numbers in the middle of the distribution. The modal score is 27-10 - the mode being the most frequently occurring number; 27 is the most frequently occurring winning score (4 times), 10 is the most frequently occurring losing score (7 times). The most frequently occurring point differential: 3 (4 times).

Rematches

2001: Rams 24 - Patriots 17; Super Bowl XXXVI: Patriots 20 - Rams 17

1999: Titans 24 - Rams 21; Super Bowl XXXIV: Rams 23 - Titans 16

1994: 49ers 38 - Chargers 15; Super Bowl XXIX: 49ers 49 - Chargers 26

1990: Bills 17 - Giants 13; Super Bowl XXV: Giants 20 - Bills 19

1986: Giants 19 - Broncos 16; Super Bowl XXI: Giants 39 - Broncos 20

1985: Bears 20 - Patriots 7; Super Bowl XX: Bears 49 - Patriots 10

1983: Redskins 37 - Raiders 35; Super Bowl XVIII: Raiders 38 - Redskins 9

1981: 49ers 21 - Bengals 3; Super Bowl XVI: 49ers 26 - Bengals 21

1980: Eagles 10 - Raiders 7; Super Bowl XV: Raiders 27 - Eagles 10

1977: Cowboys 17 - Broncos 6; Super Bowl XII: Cowboys 27 - Broncos 10

Based on data from Pro-Football-Reference.com