Given the size of the United States and the spread of the National Football League’s franchises, it is unavoidable that some teams will travel much farther than others, and this has become even more pronounced with the addition of in-season games played in London, England. In most years, most of the teams that will amass the most air miles play in either the AFC or NFC West. This year was no different with the top three teams in distance traversed were West Coast teams. Iceland Air provided the data:
| Team | Mileage | Difference | Win PCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 31,732 | 16,137 | .250 |
| Seahawks | 29,068 | 13,473 | .625 |
| Chargers | 29,055 | 13,460 | .750 |
| Jaguars | 20,278 | 4,683 | .313 |
| Eagles | 20,262 | 4,667 | .563 |
| Rams | 19,594 | 3,999 | .813 |
| Dolphins | 18,532 | 2,937 | .438 |
| 49ers | 18,354 | 2,759 | .250 |
| Chiefs | 17,936 | 2,341 | .750 |
| Texans | 17,608 | 2,013 | .688 |
| Titans | 16,804 | 1,209 | .563 |
| Cowboys | 16,404 | 809 | .625 |
| Broncos | 16,134 | 539 | .375 |
| Cardinals | 15,724 | 129 | .188 |
| Giants | 15,054 | -541 | .313 |
| Lions | 14,486 | -1,109 | .375 |
| Vikings | 14,328 | -1,267 | .531 |
| Browns | 13,888 | -1,707 | .469 |
| Steelers | 13,180 | -2,415 | .594 |
| Redskins | 12,936 | -2,659 | .438 |
| Packers | 12,890 | -2,705 | .406 |
| Bears | 12,836 | -2,759 | .750 |
| Colts | 12,560 | -3,035 | .625 |
| Buccaneers | 11,908 | -3,687 | .313 |
| Saints | 11,834 | -3,761 | .813 |
| Ravens | 11,548 | -4,047 | .625 |
| Patriots | 11,042 | -4,553 | .688 |
| Bills | 10,222 | -5,373 | .375 |
| Jets | 9,358 | -6,237 | .250 |
| Bengals | 8,308 | -7,287 | .375 |
| Falcons | 8,250 | -7,345 | .438 |
| Panthers | 6,938 | -8,657 | .438 |
The Oakland Raiders topped the table and were also among the least talented and most poorly coached squads in The League. They, unsurprisingly, finished the season with one of the NFL’s worst records. The Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks both traveled nearly as far as the lowly Raiders, but they were able to overcome the challenges of travel in no small part thanks to not being coached by the likes of Jon Gruden but instead by Coach of the Year candidates in Anthony Lynn and Pete Carroll.
Though talented, well-coached teams are regularly able to succeed in spite of excessive travel, it does still seem to be less than fair that teams like the Chargers have to travel some 20,000 more miles than other teams in the same league. That is unlikely to change any time soon, though, so hopefully the Chargers will continue to find ways to make do.
from Bolts From The Blue - All Posts http://bit.ly/2DN35gY
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