Apparently, the University of Harvard is dabbling in science fiction. The renowned school put out the results of a study conducted by its Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective about the 2015 NFL season on Thursday, and the results were predictable in some quarters, stunning in others, per CBS Sports.
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Harvard believes the Seattle Seahawks have the best chance of reaching the postseason at 95 percent, while the Green Bay Packers rank second at 93 percent. Nothing crazy there, considering both were in the NFC title game last season. However, the next two teams are the Miami Dolphins (77 percent) and Kansas City Chiefs (66 percent), a pair of clubs who have not won their divisions since 2008 and 2010, respectively.
Miami and Kansas City both improved in the offseason and could certainly be in the postseason, but it is tough to call them favorites. While the New England Patriots will be without quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of the year if his DeflateGate suspension holds up, they are still the class of the East.
In the AFC West, things are a little more murky. The Denver Broncos have won the division four years running, but quarterback Peyton Manning is 39 years old and played horribly down the stretch of 2014. It is conceivable the Chiefs could beat out Denver, although Kansas City has not beaten the Broncos since Manning arrived in 2012.
As for some other shockers, the New York Giants are picked to win the NFC East over the heavily-favored Dallas Cowboys. New York has a 42 percent chance of making the playoffs, while the Philadelphia Eagles are locked in at 35 percent and the Dallas Cowboys are at 23 percent.
The New York Jets are also ranked a spot ahead of the Indianapolis Colts, something that comes across as impossible when you compare the quarterbacks.
The team with the least chance of a playoff berth? The Oakland Raiders, at one percent.