Sports is similar to chess in that with both, you have to set up your game plan early, execute it throughout the game, and finish on a high note…hopefully to checkmate. Aside from an individual game plan, the sports seasons also have tiers, whether it is a 162-game baseball season or a 17-game football season.
In baseball, GMs like to look at the season in blocks of 50 games, with the first 50 games mixing and matching to put the best team together and see what you need. The middle 50 games are to pursue those needs for the stretch run. And the final 50 games are to put it all together in pursuit of the playoffs. Although football only plays about one-tenth of the games, the strategy is very similar.
Now more than ever, with only three preseason games, the first few games are often treated as extended preseason. But the season is entering week 6, and teams have a solid handle on what they have. Teams are starting to get their bye weeks, and injuries are beginning to pile up. The moves that some of these teams make now may determine whether or not they go to the playoffs.
The Patriots benched Jacoby Brissett for rookie Drake Maye, and the Jets have fired Robert Saleh. It probably won’t change the fate of the Patriots, but the shakeup in New York could help get the Jets into the postseason. And apparently, nothing that happens to the Chiefs matters…they just keep winning regardless of who gets injured, and who comes in to replace them.
They are still no.1 on this list:
Kansas City Chiefs
Minnesota Vikings
Baltimore Ravens
Houston Texans
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Washington Commanders
Buffalo Bills
Dallas Cowboys
Atlanta Falcons
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Fransisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Philadelphia Eagles
Denver Broncos
Chicago Bears
Los Angeles Chargers
New York Jets
Indianapolis Colts
Cincinnati Bengals
New Orleans Saints
Miami Dolphins
Los Angeles Rams
Tennessee Titans
Las Vegas Raiders
Jacksonville Jaguars
New York Giants
Arizona Cardinals
Cleveland Browns
Carolina Panthers
New England Patriots