Big divide between Super Bowl winners and losers

If the Giants want to do well in the future, they should probably win the Super Bowl on Sunday.

No, this isn't being guest-written by Captain Obvious today (we have him booked for later this spring). The truth is, the benefits of winning the big game go beyond a confetti-filled parade, guest appearances on late-night talk shows and the confidence it instills in a team for the following season. Teams that go to the Super Bowl and win do significantly better the following season than their opponents.

Historically, any team that reaches the Super Bowl has about the same odds of making the playoffs the following season. Of the 45 Super Bowl winners, 32 have made the playoffs the following season. Losing teams have returned to the playoffs 31 times.

However, seven of the past 11 Super Bowl losers have failed to qualify for the postseason the next season.

But aside from merely making the playoffs, the winners have tended to have an easier time advancing throughout the postseason.

Fourteen Super Bowl winners have reached at least the conference championship the following season, while eight have gone on to repeat as Super Bowl winners. Eight losers have made it back to the conference championship, but only two have gone on to win the Super Bowl the next season, and that happened in back-to-back years when Dallas won Super Bowl VI and Miami won Super Bowl VII. It's been over three decades since a team that lost the Super Bowl won it the following season.

Matter of fact, the last team to make it back to the Super Bowl after losing the previous season was Buffalo, which famously lost four straight from 1991-1994.

Of the 45 winners, only six have finished under .500 the following season, while 10 losers have failed to break even the next year.

But while future success has tended to favor Super Bowl winners, the Giants seem to be the exception to the rule.

After the Giants beat Denver in Super Bowl XXI, they went 6-9 and missed the playoffs. After beating the Bills in Super Bowl XXV, they went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Following their loss to Baltimore in Super Bowl XXXV, they went 7-9 and didn't make the postseason. After beating New England in Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLII, they went 12-4 and lost in the divisional round.

Ouch.

Cody Derespina's "The Numbers Game" is a Newsday app-only exclusive.