The Houston Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series last night to clinch the first championship in their 58-year history. Bully for those guys.
With the Astros on top of baseball mountain and Deshaun Watson lighting it up for the Texans, these are quality fan times for a hurricane-ravaged city that was in desperate need of some good cheer. Sports can be cool like that.
With the Astros in mind, let's take a look at how some Lombardi-deficient NFL franchises are looking at the season's halfway point. There are 13 teams that have never won a Super Bowl. Of those teams, six are currently projected to qualify for the playoffs this season. Hey, that's pretty good!
Yup, the Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers would all be in the playoffs if the season ended today, according to NFL Media Research. The Jags have never even appeared in a Super Bowl, let alone won one, though their history only dates back to 1995. Blake Bortles as a postseason quarterback ... I'm just not ready.
Back to the Astros. This was a franchise lost at sea as recently as four years ago. The team had the worst record in baseball in 2011, 2012 and 2013, a level of ineptitude that gave them a first overall draft selection in each of those years. World Series MVP George Springer and All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa came out of those first two drafts, and a fierce rebuild was on.
To find an NFL team that correlates with the Astros -- at least, in theory -- look to the Cleveland Browns, who tied for the league's worst record in 2015, were an NFL-worst 1-15 last season, and are off to an 0-8 start in 2017. Following this nebulous logic, the Browns are primed for Super Bowl glory in the 2021 season.
You buy it? Probably not, but sports can be cool like that.
