An 0-2 start will not completely end an NFL team’s playoff chances, but it can be a deep hole to dig out of depending on the division it plays in and how difficult its remaining schedule is. So let’s take a look at some teams that lost their Week 1 game and can least afford an 0-2 start.
Not only do the Patriots need to avoid an 0-2 start given the depth of the AFC and the fact that they are going to be in a season-long fight with the Buffalo Bills for the top spot in the AFC East, but also because they are playing without wide receiver A.J. Brown for at least three more weeks and face a really tough early-season schedule.
After playing Pittsburgh on Sunday, their next two opponents are both on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Bills. If they drop Sunday’s game at home, that not only means a 0-2 start, but it puts them into a situation where they might have to beat two 2025 playoff teams, on the road, in back-to-back weeks to avoid what could grow into a 1-3 or even 0-4 start.
Sunday is the most winnable of those games on paper, and they can not miss that opportunity.
They also need to show that they can consistently beat top teams after getting every possible scheduling break a year ago.
No team in the NFL had a worse Week 1 loss than the Chargers, getting embarrassed at home against a Cardinals team that is supposed to be one of the worst in the NFL this season.
It was another example of the Chargers being unable to escape their reputation as a perpetual disappointment.
The issue with starting 0-2 for the Chargers is that they are playing in one of the NFL’s best divisions (the AFC West), while it would also mean dropping games to two of the worst teams in the NFL. If they can not beat the Cardinals and Raiders, both at home in back-to-back weeks to open the season, then what would that mean for the remaining 15 games on their schedule? Nothing promising, that is for sure.
Very similar to their cross-town rivals, this is all about the strength of the division and the competition still ahead. Especially having already lost one game in the division.
The Rams entered the season as one of the top Super Bowl contenders in the NFL, especially after acquiring Myles Garrett and bringing Aaron Donald out of retirement.
But after a sloppy Week 1 loss, an injury to Garrett that is going to sideline him for a few weeks, and some uncertainty as to how much Donald still has in the tank, there might be some cracks forming in the foundation here. This is a great team on paper, but a lot of their key players are getting a little long in the tooth.
Coming back from 0-2 might not be impossible for this roster, but it could be a big problem in a highly competitive NFC West.
