Which 0-2 NFL Team Will Still Make the Playoffs?

It’s a long time-honored tradition for NFL fans to overreact to the first couple weeks of the season. Remember when the Patriots were done? Or how the Vikings looked like a serious contender? That was just a week ago.

One annual tradition is writing off all the teams that lose their first couple games early — and for good reason, thanks to this reminder from ESPN’s Adam Schefter:

Twelve percent sounds pretty bad, but that’s 1-in-8 odds and there just happen to be eight 0-2 teams. One of them may still be playing in January. Last year Miami started 0-2 but made the playoffs. Seattle and Houston both did it in 2015, and Indianapolis and Carolina turned things around in 2014 and 2013. That’s four straight seasons an 0-2 team has made the NFL playoffs — and at a 15.6% success rate during that stretch, the odds may be going up.

So which 0-2 NFL team is being counted out but might actually still make the playoffs? We’ll need to use our imaginations. Is there a key player that could turn the team around? Does the team play in a weak division or have a schedule that opens up? Making the playoffs after an 0-2 start is not about what is but what could be.

Nope, No Way, Not Happening

8. Chicago

The Bears actually looked respectable in their home opener but that all went out the window against Tampa Bay. Mike Glennon has been miserable and Chicago’s receivers are the worst in the league. The one saving grace was supposed to be the run game but Jordan Howard has been M.I.A. with 59 yards in two games. The Bears play Pittsburgh and Green Bay next, then Minnesota, Baltimore, and Carolina. The only reason not to play Trubisky at this point is to let Glennon take the 0-7 hit and save Mitchell the beating. Turn your attention to the Cubbies, Chi-town.

7. New York Jets

The Jets weren’t supposed to be good and have lived up to their billing with two road losses in Buffalo and Oakland that were never close. The offense has done little outside of garbage time and the defense let the Raiders march up and down the field with impunity. The Jets do have the Dolphins, Jaguars, and Browns next so they could pick up a win soon. Expecting much more than that would be folly.

6. San Francisco

On the one hand, the 49ers had a fourth quarter lead in Seattle and were that close to being atop a bad NFC West. On the other hand, they’ve scored 12 points in two games without a touchdown and Brian Hoyer threw for double-digit passing yards yesterday. San Francisco’s defense is improved, stymieing Carolina and Seattle, and they have the Rams, Cards, and Colts next so there’s a world where San Francisco gets to 3-2. The schedule and division give some hope, but there’s not much on the roster to give any belief beyond that.

Looks like the Same Old Story

5. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers lost a pair of heart breakers to Denver and Miami. That leaves room for hope, but it leaves Chargers fans (Do those even exist? The pitiful StubHub Center crowd says otherwise) feeling deja vu all over again. Don’t the Chargers always blow things late? The real problem is a brutal upcoming schedule. Up next are two of the season’s early overachievers in Kansas City and Philadelphia followed by games against the Giants, Raiders, Broncos, and Patriots. Every other team in the division is 2-0, so the deficit is already large and about to grow. The talent may be there, but the path is not.

4. New Orleans

It’s easy to explain away both Saints losses. Week 1 was a road Monday Night Football game in front of a hyped crowd, and Week 2 they got a pissed off New England team with an extra four days of preparation. New Orleans still has Drew Brees and winnable games against the Rams, Bears, Lions, Jets, Bills, and Dolphins. But they also have six games against undefeated divisional foes that look dominant, and the Saints pass “defense” allowed 777 yards and six TDs against two opponents that had 434 pass yards and no TDs their other two games. New Orleans controls its own fate but hasn’t found a defense or a winning formula for years. No reason to believe they’ll start now.

Getting a Superstar Back Certainly Helps

3. Indianapolis

The Colts were always going to struggle without Andrew Luck. Games against the Rams and Cardinals should’ve been doable, but they got slaughtered by Los Angeles then threw one away against the David Johnson-less Cards. No team has a pair of worse losses. The Colts play Cleveland next before a road trip to Seattle. A win this week could get them to 1-3 with all six division games remaining. Could they bring back Luck and win eight of twelve to grab a weak division? It’s possible, but the Colts have looked really bad and one man can’t save a team, and the rest of the division looks improved early.

(1–3. New York Giants?)

If the Giants fall to 0-2 Monday night, it’s probably because Odell Beckham sat out or played very little, and getting OBJ back soon would make a huge difference. Add him to this high-powered defense, and you know you can never count out Eli Manning’s guys. They’re easily the most talented team on the list and also the most schizophrenic, always liable to run off six wins in a row when you least expect it, and the division looks up for grabs. If the Giants do lose to Detroit but show some potential in the run game or on defense, they may be the most likely 0-2 candidate to make the playoffs.

So You're Telling Me There's a Chance…

2. Cincinnati

Pittsburgh and Baltimore are 4-0 with stout defenses, but neither has impressed on offense and both are injury-prone at key positions, which could open the door. The Bengals have yet to score a touchdown in two home games and head to Green Bay. The Packers look vulnerable on the offensive line and in the secondary, and that matches Cincinnati’s strengths. The Bengals have an extra three days to prepare and this is a kitchen sink game for Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton playing for their jobs. If Cincinnati can spring the upset, they get the Browns and Bills next and could right the ship at 3-2 heading into the bye week. They still have seven games left against the NFC North and AFC South. Can Marvin Lewis survive again?

1. Cleveland

Cleveland is 0-2 with losses to Pittsburgh and Baltimore, but they’ve actually played well, each game winnable outside of three or four big plays. That’s pretty good for a team that went 1-15 last year and started a rookie QB. Cleveland’s next nine games are against the Colts, Bengals (x2), Jets, Texans, Titans, Vikings, Lions, and Jaguars. Is it crazy to think the Browns may be just as good as those teams? Couldn’t they win seven of those nine and get to 7-4 heading into December? The team has a strong offensive line and a vastly improved defense, and DeShone Kizer has given them a real spark. The Cavs and Indians are good now. Could the Browns be next?