Eli Manning (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.

The New York Giants will begin defense of their Super Bowl championship on Wednesday September 5 with a home game against division rivals the Dallas Cowboys. What do the Giants and their fans have to look forward to after another Super Bowl? Here’s a look at how the previous 45 Super Bowl champions did the season following their title.

1. Only seven Super Bowl champs increased their win total the following year after their Super Bowl win. (The Packers increased their regular-season win total from 10 in 2010 when they won the Super Bowl to 15 last season.) Five teams had the same number of wins as their Super Bowl winning season. That means that 73 percent of the Super Bowl champions had fewer wins in the regular season the year after their Super Bowl win. Last Time: The last time a Super Bowl champ did not increase their win total after a Super Bowl title was in 2010 when the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints saw their win total decrease from 13 in 2009 to 11 in 2010.

2. Thirty of the 45 Super Bowl champs (66.7 percent) won 10 or more games the next season. (As mentioned above, the Packers won 15 games last year.) Last Time: The last time a Super Bowl champion did not win 10 or more games in the season after their title was in 2009 when the Pittsburgh Steelers won nine games.

3. Thirty-two of the 45 champs (71.1 percent) made the playoffs the following season after their Super Bowl victory. (The Packers made the playoffs last season, but they lost their first game to the eventual champs, the Giants.) Eight teams won back-to-back Super Bowls: Dallas (1992, 1993), Denver (1997, 1998), Green Bay (1966, 1967), Miami (1972, 1973), New England (2003, 2004), Pittsburgh (1974, 1975), Pittsburgh (1978, 1979) and San Francisco (1988, 1989). Last Time: The last time a Super Bowl champion did not make the playoffs the following season was in 2009 when the Steelers failed to reach the post-season that year.

4. Of those 32 teams that made the playoffs the season after their Super Bowl win, 21 (65.6 percent) won at least one playoff game. (The Packers did not win a playoff game last year.) Last Time: The last Super Bowl champion to not win a playoff game the following season were the aforementioned Packers last season.

5. Twenty-five of the previous 45 Super Bowl champs won their division the following year. (The Packers won the NFC North last year.) Nine finished second in their division; seven finished third; two finished fourth; two finished fifth. Last Time: The last Super Bowl champion that did not win their division the following season was the New Orleans Saints. They finished second in their division in 2010 after winning the title the previous year.

6. The previous 45 Super Bowl champs are 31-13-1 in their first game of the next season after winning the Super Bowl. The Packers defeated the New Orleans Saints 42-34 in their first game of the 2011 season.) Last Time: The last time a defending Super Bowl champion lost their first regular-season game of the following season was in 1999. The Denver Broncos won the ’98 title  and then lost their first game of the 1999 season 38-21 to Miami. The Broncos actually went on to lose their first four games that season.

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