We’ve played just two weeks of the 2024 NFL season, but there are already nine teams that are in trouble. Yes, nine NFL teams have started the new season with an 0-2 record. Head coaches know that teams that start with two losses have a difficult time ending up in the playoffs.
Since the NFL playoff expansion in 2020, only two of the 32 teams that qualified for the postseason started that season 0-2. The Bengals did it in 2022 and the Texans did it just last year. Since 2015, 74 teams have started a season 0-2. Eight have made the playoffs.
If you go back even farther, you’ll see that the future doesn’t look all that good for 0-2 teams. Take it all the way back to 1990 and you’ll find only 32 of 279 teams started a season 0-2 and then went on to the NFL postseason. Only three went on to win a Super Bowl.
Those are not great odds for our nine 2024 teams that head into Week 3 at 0-2. History tells us that most of these teams can start planning their offseason right now. At least one of the nine is probably going to make the postseason, but which one?
Plan the Offseason Vacation Now
Denver is starting a rookie quarterback in Bo Nix. He might be okay down the road, but so far he is 13-for-42 (31%) on passes of at least five yards down the field. That isn’t going to cut it. Plus, Denver still has road games against the Chiefs, Saints, Bucs, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, and Chargers.
The Giants offense was awful last year (30th in scoring in 2023). New York is off to another year of futility, averaging 12 points in two games thus far. There’s no more Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones still looks bad. The Giants have to play through the NFC East plus they’ve got games against the AFC North. New York has just one winning season in its last seven. Don’t expect another one in 2024.
Carolina benched Bryce Young and will go with veteran Andy Dalton at quarterback. It won’t matter. The Panthers haven’t won more than five games since 2018. Carolina’s playoff odds are up to +5000, but there aren’t a lot of winnable games on the schedule.
It’s Not Happening
The Rams are the only one of the nine 0-2 teams who lost both on the road. They have all of their home games left, which is a good thing. The problem for the Rams is that half of their roster is hurt.
Former three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald retired prior to the season leaving a hole in the defense. Now, WR Puka Nacua is on injured reserve with a knee injury. Former Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. He may be placed on injured reserve but has not been as of yet.
The offensive line is a mess. Two starters will be out long term as will a backup. In Week 2, the Los Angeles offense produced a measly 10 points. All the injuries leave the Rams’ offense extremely average with the San Francisco 49ers next up on the schedule. The history of 0-3 teams making the playoffs is even worse.
What about the Colts? Indy got lucky when Jordan Love went down and they took on backup Malik Willis. The Colts couldn’t take advantage though as Willis handed the ball off again and again and the Packers ran for 261 yards. Indy’s defense isn’t good and the Colts now have just a 13 percent chance to make the playoffs.
Jags or Titans?
Houston will win the AFC South, but will another team get into the postseason? If Indy is out, what about Jacksonville or Tennessee? What’s almost comical is that the Titans would be 2-0 if not for QB Will Levis giving games away. He had the pick-six against the Bears and then a couple turnovers that did the Titans in against the Jets.
The bigger problem for the Titans and Levis is the offensive line. That unit was the NFL’s worst in 2023. While they are improving, don’t expect miracles from Tennessee. The Titans also have a pretty tough schedule the rest of the way.
If you were going to trust an AFC South team, the Jags would be a better option. The Jags really should be 2-0. They blew a 14-point lead against Miami and lost by a score to Cleveland. The defense played well in both games and Trevor Lawrence is one of the better young quarterbacks in the league. Unfortunately for the Jags, their schedule is brutal. They’ve got the two-week trip to London and then games against the Eagles, Packers, Vikings and Lions.
Best Bets
In each of the last four seasons, the AFC North has put at least two teams in the playoffs. In two of the four seasons, three members of the division have landed in the postseason. That’s why both Baltimore (-134) and Cincinnati (-138) are solid bets to make the playoffs at SportsBetting.ag despite their 0-2 starts.
The Bengals will play Washington and Carolina next so they should get back on track. Tee Higgins has yet to play and the Bengals defense can only get better. It might be worth waiting to see how Cincy plays over the next few weeks.
The Ravens are a big toe and about nine and a half minutes from being 2-0. They were the No. 1 seed in the AFC last year and they’ve got a loaded roster. Baltimore might be the best 0-2 team since 2020. They have two tough games coming up against the Cowboys and Bills, but Baltimore is just too good to miss the postseason in 2024.
