No NFL team in the last three years has made the playoffs after beginning a season 0-2. It’s not that it’s impossible – 30 teams have done it in the last 32 years – but it’s highly improbable. In a league where literally every game matters, dropping two out the gate usually spells doom for how the rest of the season will go.
Overall, 265 teams have started 0-2 since 1990, according to Stathead. The 30 that made the playoffs represent just 11% of those teams. That number is down to 9% in the Super Bowl era (since 1966). Only three teams have ever gone on to win a Super Bowl after starting 0-2. The last of them was the New York Giants in 2007. Since then, the 11 teams to make the playoffs after an 0-2 start have gone a combined 5-11 in the postseason with just one reaching a conference championship game.
Teams that start 0-2 simply don’t make the playoffs, and if they do, they don’t go very far. After Thursday’s schedule release, here’s a look at the playoff hopefuls you may want to fade based on how big their risk is to start 0-2.
