Is the NFL preseason meaningless?

The final results are, of course, but the games themselves most definitely carry some meaning as the 90-man rosters are whittled down to the final (and fortunate) 53.

Still one question almost always arises: Does a winning preseason translate into regular-season success? And likewise, does a poor showing in August carry over into the games that count?

The most infamous example is the 2008 Detroit Lions, whose bright and shiny 4-0 preseason – the only perfect exhibition mark in the league that year – was followed by the first 0-16 regular season in NFL history.

How’s that for a correlative carry-over?

But what about when we shift the focus closer to home? Has there been anything in Denver Broncos’ preseason records past to indicate how the ensuing regular seasons will turn out?

Glad you asked.

Here are some quick notes on the Broncos’ preseason history before the Orange & Blue kick off their four-game exhibition slate Friday night in Seattle against the two-time defending NFC champs.

• In the 45 seasons since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, the Broncos have had 22 winning preseasons. They followed those 22 with a winning regular season 16 times.
• Conversely, the Broncos have had 28 winning regular seasons during that span. They finished above. 500 in the preseason in 18 of those years.
• The Broncos have had four uneaten preseasons — going 4-0 in 1982, 2000 and 2005. They were a combined 25-15 in those three ensuing regular seasons, notching winning records in two of the three.
• The franchise only has experienced nine sub-.500 preseasons – with none between 1974-90 – in the last 45 years. The Broncos then followed those up with four losing regular seasons, three winning ones and a pair of 8-8 campaigns.
• Since the merger, the Broncos have had eight regular seasons in which they’ve won six or fewer games. They had winning preseasons in half of those eight years.
• In the Broncos’ seven Super Bowl seasons, they’ve had four winning preseasons and finished at least .500 or better in all seven exhibition seasons, going a combined 20-12 overall.
• Finally, the Broncos’ 3-1 preseason mark a year ago snapped a seven-season drought without a winning exhibition record — easily the franchise’s longest drought since the merger.

So what does it all mean?

As you can see, not much. Good luck winnowing out any meaningful trends.

These games are, after all, unofficially labelled exhibitions for a reason.