So here’s my breakdown of every curse, both my decision, Perna’s decision (“TGS”), and a weighted per-week score (“WGT”), plus a review of that team’s season of being cursed.
To clarify: the weighted per-week score calculates the win/loss of that week, particularly if multiple teams were cursed. So if Cursed Team A wins and Cursed Team B loses, that week’s weighted score is 0.5. I’ll then add up all the per-week scores and divide by 18 to get a final weighted score.
| Wk | T | My | TGS | WGT | Season Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bengals | L | W | 0.0 | I consider it a loss because the Cincinnati Bengals won outright that week, and Joe Burrow’s injury didn’t come until Week 2. That said, the Bengals absolutely performed worse all season due to their Week 1 curse. |
| 2 | Eagles | L | L | 0.0 | First unanimous L for the wheel; again, I chalked up Saquon Barkley’s low performance this season to the Madden Curse, which is a very real and legitimate curse. As of this writing the Eagles are still very much alive. |
| 3 | Packers | W | W | 1.0 | This might have been the first sign that the Packers were gonna be cooked this season. They couldn’t beat the Cleveland Browns this game, and ultimately lost five games in a row to end their season (two of them being against the Bears in dramatic fashion). |
| 4 | Colts | W | W | 1.0 | The first of four curses against the Indianapolis Colts, which ultimately doomed their season. |
| 5 | Seahawks | W | W | 1.0 | Despite the curse, the Seattle Seahawks have performed admirably this season, ultimately earning the #1 seed in the NFC. |
| 6 | Perna Lions | W/W | W | 1.0 | Perna’s chair exploded AND the Kansas City Chiefs won, so that’s a successful curse against him. Detroit Lions lost to the Chiefs this week in a heartbreak. In fact, it was around this time when the Lions’ fortunes turned for the worse, going from 4-1 (0.800) in Week 5 to 8-8 (0.500) by Week 17 and being eliminated from the postseason. |
| 7 | Giants | W | W | 1.0 | This was the game that propelled the Denver Broncos from fluke to serious contenders. This was also the game that broke the Giants’ positive momentum, with Giants RB Cam Skattebo having a season-ending injury in the next game against the Eagles, and Giants coach Brian Daboll being fired a month later. |
| 8 | Broncos | L | W | 0.333 | Although I consider this a loss for the Wheel since the Broncos won, Perna considers it a win because Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II was injured this game. Since the Wheel had cursed #6 and Broncos were ranked #666, I’ll give it a weighted power of 0.333. The Broncos still ultimately earned the #1 seed in the AFC. |
| 9 | Colts | W | W | 1.0 | It just gets worse and worse for the Colts. For what it’s worth, the Colts were still 7-2, with the only two losses coming from the Curse Wheel. |
| 10 | Steelers | W | W | 1.0 | The Pittsburg Steelers managed to cough up 25 unanswered points against the Los Angeles Chargers, with Steelrs QB Aaron Rodgers causing all three Steelers turnovers. The Steelers ultimately got to the top of the AFC North and made it to the postseason, but we’ll see how their season truly ends. |
| 11 | 49ers Packers Bears Steelers | L (x4) | L | 0.0 | This one was because Perna not only spun the wheel twice, but the second spin landed on a spot where he combined three teams on it. Ultimately everyone won their games, although the Green Bay Packers had the weakest game of the lot, almost losing to the New York Giants (who had fired Coach Brian Daboll a week prior). |
| 12 | Panthers | W | W | 1.0 | The Denver Broncos were selected first but had a bye week this week so their curse status remains inconclusive. Meanwhile the Carolina Panthers still managed to lose against the San Francisco 49ers despite their Defense playing crazy good (picking off 49ers QB Brock Purdy three times). The Panthers ultimately won the NFC South due to some wizardry tie-breaker bullshit and having an 8-9 record, but lost to the Los Angeles Rams during the Wild Card week. |
| 13 | Colts | W | W | 1.0 | Watching the Colts collapse in real time was painful. Who would’ve thought it would’ve gotten worse. In Week 12 Colts QB Daniel Jones was added to the injury report with a fibula injury. |
| 14 | Colts Texans | W/L | W | 0.5 | The Colts journey to the Dark Side was completed with this curse; in this game Colts QB Daniel Jones suffered a right Achilles tendon injury which ensured he would be out for the season. The Colts later dug up retired QB Philip Rivers to take over, but their season is now destined to be over. This was also when thousands of Colts fans learned about the Curse Wheel. Meanwhile the Texans had a crazy awesome game against the Kansas City Chiefs, where Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes had what was officially the worst game of his career. |
| 15 | Chiefs Steelers | L/W | W | 0.5 | This game was a true curse game for the Kansas City Chiefs: they went from a 85.5% win percentage in the 2nd Quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers, only for Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes to tear his ACL and ultimately lose 13-16. A month later, Mahomes’ alma mater, #4 Texas Tech, got shut out by #5 Oregon 23-0, forcing Mahomes to wear an Oregon jersey after losing a bet. The Pittsburg Steelers had a decisive win over the Miami Dolphins, although TJ Watt has a lung punctured during a dry needling attempt. I’m still considering this a loss for the Wheel against the Steelers. |
| 16 | Rams | W | W | 1.0 | Oh man if there was ever a cursed game, it would be this one. You can just read the entire story here. That said, the Rams still managed to get into the postseason with a 12-5 record and defeated the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card week. |
| 17 | Patriots | L | L | 0.0 | Another decisive loss for the Wheel. Even Perna recognized it. |
| 18 | Eagles Jauan Jennings Seahawks | W/W/L | W | 0.667 | The Philadelphia Eagles had the chance to earn the #2 seed, especially after the Chicago Bears were defeated by the Detroit Lions, but Eagles Coach Nich Sirianni decided to rest all his starters, allowing for the Washington Commanders to win. San Francisco 49ers WR Jauan Jennings had a really poor game, nuff said. The Seattle Seahawks, however, survived their curse against the San Francisco 49ers (maybe because Jennings’ curse affected the 49ers as well). This game secured the Seahawks’ #1 seed in the NFC. |
| TOTALS | 15/26 0.577 | 15/18 0.833 | 12/18 0.667 |
FINAL REGULAR SEASON BREAKDOWN: Perna rounded up on certain weeks despite some teams beating out the Wheel, like in Weeks 14 and 15. I feel that the Weighted value is a more accurate determination of the Curse Wheel’s power, so I might switch to that for next season. In any case, the Curse Wheel has at least a two-thirds rate of successful cursings.
Furthermore, the curses performed definitely had some long term consequences for many teams:
- The Cincinnati Bengals’ season was ruined by QB Joe Burrow’s turf toe injury.
- The Green Bay Packers went from destroying the Detroit Lions (the #1 NFC seed, 15-2 team from last season) in Week 1 to losing five in a row during the last weeks of the season. They would collapse twice against the Chicago Bears, who would become the eventual NFC North leaders. Green Bay Coach Matt LaFleur’s future with the Packers is now in question.
- The Detroit Lions started off with a 4-1 record only to be cursed and falling apart mid-season. They ended their 18 game “never lost two games in a row” record with a Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Vikings, ending up 4th place in the NFC North. As fate is a cruel mistress: the Lions would go 9-8 but miss the playoffs, only for the 8-9 Carolina Panthers to win the NFC South and get the #4 seed.
- The Indianapolis Colts went from 8-2 to 8-9, going from Super Bowl contenders to missing the postseason after losing seven games in a row and two of their quarterbacks to injury.
On the other hand:
- The Pittsburg Steelers got cursed three times but basically survived two of them, ultimately winning the AFC North in their final game against the Baltimore Ravens after Ravens kicker Tyler Loop shanked the game winning field goal that would’ve allowed the Ravens to win the AFC North instead. But we’ll see what happens to the Steelers.
- The Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks both got cursed twice each but split the difference, and are both in the postseason.
So knowing all this, I think a 2/3rds (0.667) Successful Curse rate is a fair conclusion for the Regular Season, don’t you think? Ultimately I feel like the insane hard-on the Curse Wheel had for destroying the Colts’ season was the ultimate proof of it’s powers.
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