Ranking the NFL’s 0-2 teams by how hopeless (Broncos, yeesh) or hopeful they should feel

If you follow the NFL, you know this statistic. Starting 0-2 is effectively a death sentence to any team's playoff hopes. Since the league expanded to seven playoff teams in 2020, only two of the 32 squads that have started 0-2 eventually qualified for the postseason.

That is just above ... six percent, dearest readers. It's, uh, pretty grim.

Below is a snippet of all current 0-2 NFL teams in the 2024 season. I have ranked them by how hopeful or hopeless they should feel about turning their respective years around. My rationale considers their preseason expectations, what they've got cooking roster-wise, and the upcoming schedule.

Let's dive in and see which winless NFL teams should probably pack it up for 2025 and which should start steeling themselves for a winning streak.

All playoff odds courtesy of BetMGM.

9. Denver Broncos

Sean Payton hitched his wagon to a young quarterback who averages five yards per pass attempt and has an average depth of target of 7.6. In other words, Bo Nix doesn't even try to push the ball downfield in a way that stresses defenses. That's not how you win in 2024!

Factor in an AFC West division that features the two-time defending Super Bowl Kansas City Chiefs, Jim Harbaugh's resurgent Los Angeles Chargers, and the tough-nosed Las Vegas Raiders, and the Broncos have nowhere to go but down.

8. New York Giants 

According to RBDSM.com, Daniel Jones currently has the worst Expected Points Added (EPA) and Completion Percentage Over Expected (CPOE) composite in the NFL. The only two quarterbacks who are worse are Caleb Williams (a rookie) and the recently benched Bryce Young. Not only is Jones incapable of leading a functional, professional offense, but the Giants' defense also obviously misses former coordinator Wink Martindale.

It can't stop anyone.

At this point, head coach Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen should be hoping they leave the 2024 season with their jobs intact.

7. Carolina Panthers

For a ranking I imagine is surprising to some, I'm giving the Panthers and head coach Dave Canales some grace here. Why? Because I think the recently benched Bryce Young was indeed that bad. He dragged everyone down with him.

Andy Dalton isn't going to save the Panthers. This will still likely be one of the NFL's worst teams from top to bottom. But you will see him go through his reads and progressions more often than Young ever did, meaning Carolina won't be that pathetic anymore.

6. Jacksonville Jaguars 

The Jaguars are probably not as bad as their slow start suggests. But Trevor Lawrence of 2024 looks like a shell of the quarterback who took Jacksonville to the AFC divisional round two years ago. His confidence is clearly shaken, and there's no offensive bread and butter the Jaguars can lean on to help him.

Throw in a devastating hamstring injury to No. 1 cornerback Tyson Campbell, and it looks bleak in Northern Florida.

Oh, and the Jaguars' upcoming schedule over the next few games is brutal. They have a Monday night road date against the Buffalo Bills, followed by a road date with the rival Houston Texans. There's a realistic chance the Jaguars start 0-4 before they have a chance to take a breath.

5. Tennessee Titans

Will Levis might have a penchant for turning the ball over in the stupidest possible ways, but he hasn't otherwise been horrific to start 2024. It's more that his turnovers have deflated the Titans in dramatic fashion, which, well, isn't unprecedented for chaotic quarterbacks.

These Titans are average at best and middling at worst. If Levis can start to hem in his turnover issues (a big IF, I know), then a monstrous defensive line led by Jefferey Simmons and T'Vondre Sweat can start to win games by itself. And if DeAndre Hopkins can find himself again, then there are enough viable weapons in Tennessee's cupboard to consider it a sleeper AFC Wild Card contender.

4. Los Angeles Rams 

For the first time in the Sean McVay era, the Rams are 0-2 to start a season. It's uncharted territory for one of the NFL's best coaches, a veritable future Hall of Famer. It's not all his fault, though.

Injuries have decimated whatever hope the Rams had to start the season. Puka Nacua is on injured reserve. Cooper Kupp might join him there. And an offensive line already held together by rubber bands and paper clips is now in tatters. To make matters worse, the San Francisco 49ers are on deck, which might mean a 0-3 start is all but inevitable.

Despite the turmoil, I trust McVay and Matthew Stafford. If any team can dig out of a hole in the standings, it's these Rams with a top-five coach and a top-10 quarterback. Whether they successfully do so will depend on how deep that hole becomes.

3. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are asking Anthony Richardson to throw from the pocket while taking away designed runs because it's a more sustainable style of play. In the micro, this hurts the Colts' offense with stars like Jonathan Taylor because the young Richardson still has a lot of work to do as a passer but can probably gash most defenses on the ground. In the macro, if Richardson takes to Shane Steichen's tutelage, then Indy will be a force to be reckoned with.

Yes, even with what might be the NFL's worst rushing defense in years. We'll fix that later.

I'm willing to bet that as Richardson grows more comfortable, then the Colts will look a lot better later in the season, particularly as their schedule softens up with a bunch of softballs during the stretch run. It also helps that they reside in the AFC South, a glorified high school football junior varsity division. There's too much talent on this roster and otherwise good offensive coaching to expect Indianapolis to completely crater.

2. Baltimore Ravens 

The Ravens' offensive line can't block. Outside of Zay Flowers, they have no reliable receivers. Derrick Henry, while still good, looks like he has lost a step. The defense definitely misses ex-coordinator Mike Macdonald, who is now in Seattle. Now, the Ravens are 0-2 and staring at a road date with the Dallas Cowboys on what will likely be national television.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

I still think the Ravens are a Super Bowl-caliber team. Yes, they're finding their identity, but they have a two-time MVP quarterback and the second-longest tenured coach in the NFL for a reason. They are too good to wallow in the pits like this. Nonetheless, it is put up or shut up time. Baltimore faces Dallas, the Bills, and the Bengals over the next three weeks. Oof.

The margin for error is gone.

Anything less than two wins out of that slate probably perma-dooms the Ravens in 2024. I have a good hunch they'll stay above water.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

Haven't you people learned anything? The Joe Burrow Bengals do not play well in the month of September. For the third time in the last five seasons, the Bengals are 0-2 to start a year. So, I repeat. The month of September is basically a gaping maw of hell to these Bengals, and they can't leave it soon enough. I will never panic about them starting a season slow.

It's just what they do.

From here, Cincinnati's schedule significantly softens up, too. At the time of this writing, the Bengals do not face a team with a winning record until mid-November. They have the woeful Washington Commanders, Panthers, and Giants on their slate in three of the next four weeks.

We're about to witness another Cincinnati surge up the AFC standings because, of course we are.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Ranking the NFL’s 0-2 teams by how hopeless (Broncos, yeesh) or hopeful they should feel