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Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog that is published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
The 2012 NFL season begins September 5 with a Wednesday game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. It is the first Wednesday game in the NFL since 1948.
Over the past several years the NFL has given fans a steady diet of games on days other than Sunday as Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday contests are now a regular staple of the regular season schedule.
This season, of the 256 regular-season games on the schedule, 34 (13.3 percent) will be played on days other than Sundays.
Following is a look at how well each of the NFL teams have done on non-Sunday games since 2000.
Team, Record in non-Sunday games since 2000 (win pct)
Pittsburgh: 22-6 .786
New England: 24-7 .774
Indianapolis: 19-6 .760
Philadelphia: 20-12 .625
Dallas: 23-15 .605
San Francisco: 15-10 .600
Green Bay: 20-14 .588
Tennessee: 13-10 .565
Seattle: 9-7 .563
Denver: 18-15 .545
Kansas City: 11-10 .524
New Orleans: 11-10 .524
New York Giants: 15-14 .517
Chicago: 9-9 .500
St. Louis: 9-9 .500
San Diego: 9-10 .474
Minnesota: 12-14 .462
Baltimore: 10-12 .455
Atlanta: 8-10 .444
New York Jets: 10-13 .435
Tampa Bay: 8-12 .400
Carolina: 5-8 .385
Buffalo: 4-7 .364
Cincinnati: 4-7 .364
Miami: 9-18 .333
Detroit: 6-12 .333
Oakland: 8-17 .320
Washington: 7-18 .280
Arizona: 3-8 .273
Cleveland: 3-8 .273
Houston: 2-6 .250
Jacksonville: 4-13 .235
For the record, six teams have winning percentages of .600 or better on Sunday games since 2000. They are: New England (.714), Indianapolis (.647), Pittsburgh (.643), Philadelphia (.638), Green Bay (.633), Baltimore (.624). Four teams have a winning percentage under .400 in Sunday games since 2000. They are: Detroit (.299), Cleveland (.348), Arizona (.398), Buffalo (.398).
Since 2000, a few teams have shown a marked difference in success on Sundays versus non-Sunday games and vice versa. For example, the Jacksonville Jaguars have a winning percentage of .486 in Sunday games and a winning percentage of only .235 on non-Sunday contests, a difference of .251 percentage points. On the other end of the list are the San Francisco 49ers who have a .431 winning percentage on Sundays and a .600 winning percentage in non-Sunday games, a difference of .169.
Following are the teams that have a more than .100 winning percentage difference in games played on Sundays and those played on non-Sundays.
Team, Sunday win pct/Non-Sunday win pct (Difference)
Jacksonville: .486/.235 (.251)
Miami: .503/.333 (.180)
Baltimore: .624/.455 (.169)
Houston: .414/.250 (.164)
Washington: .443/.280 (.163)
Arizona: .398/.273 (.125)
Team, Non-Sunday win pct/Sunday win pct (Difference)
San Francisco: .600/.431 (.169)
Pittsburgh: .786/.643 (.143)
Dallas: .605/.474 (.131)
Indianapolis: .760/.647 (.113)
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A huge part of this statistic is how close together the games are. Having a Sunday game and then a Thursday games makes a huge difference in the amount of prep and rest a team gets. This fatigue is amplified if they are both away games.