Can an NFL team go from 0-2 to the playoffs? It’s a long shot, but these 9 teams did it

Nine NFL teams are still looking for their first win of the 2024 season after recording two consecutive losses to open their schedules.

Historically, starting 0-2 has meant the odds are stacked against you. The Athletic’s Austin Mock’s playoff odds reflect that. None of the current 0-2 teams have better than a 44 percent chance to make the playoffs or a 26 percent chance to win their division. Seven of the nine teams already have a less than 20 percent chance.

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But going from 0-2 to the playoffs isn’t impossible.

Nine teams over the past 10 seasons have reached the postseason after an 0-2 start, and two franchises have accomplished the feat multiple times.

Here’s a look at which teams overcame a tough start to advance to the playoffs and how they did it.

How they finished: 10-7, AFC South champions
Postseason result: Lost in divisional round

Houston started 2023 with losses to the Ravens and the Colts, but the Texans had a young roster that hadn’t hit its stride quite yet.

Once rookie QB C.J. Stroud settled in and the Texans solidified the offensive line that would protect him, they got the season back on track.

In Weeks 1 and 2, the Texans allowed Stroud to be sacked 11 times and pressured 44 times, both league highs, according to TruMedia. Houston would allow the ninth-fewest pressures (188) for the rest of the season.

One of the keys to the Texans’ improved pass protection was simply getting their best offensive linemen healthy. Of the six linemen who made the most starts in Weeks 3-18, including Pro Bowler Laremy Tunsil, only Shaq Mason and George Fant started both of the first two games.

Houston, like a few teams on this list, benefited from a weaker division. No other team in the AFC South won more than nine games.

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2022 Cincinnati Bengals

How they finished: 12-4
Postseason result: Lost in conference championship

Coming off a Super Bowl appearance in 2021, the Bengals began 2022 with losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers (in overtime) and Dallas Cowboys before winning four of their next six and closing out the regular season with an eight-game win streak. (Their Week 17 matchup against the Buffalo Bills was canceled after Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field.)

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had his two worst games of the season during the 0-2 start, throwing a career-high four interceptions in Week 1 and passing for a season-low 199 yards in Week 2. As Burrow improved, so did the Bengals. In weeks 3-18, Burrow led the NFL in passer rating (105.5) and completion percentage (69.1). He also ranked second in passing touchdowns (32) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (4) during that span.

2018 Houston Texans

How they finished: 11-5
Postseason result: Lost in wild-card round

Houston opened the 2018 season 0-3 with losses to the New England Patriots, Titans and Giants, but a pair of overtime victories in Weeks 4 and 5 turned the tide after the dismal start.

Including those OT wins over the Colts and Cowboys, the Texans pieced together a nine-game win streak buoyed by their ball-hawking. From Weeks 4-13, the Texans forced 19 turnovers, the second-most in the NFL during that span, and scored 74 points off of them, the third-most in the league. After failing to force a turnover in two of those first three losses, Houston forced at least one turnover in every game the rest of the season.

How they finished: 10-6
Postseason result: Lost in wild-card round

The Seahawks struggled to get an effective rushing attack going early in the 2018 season, but after consecutive close losses to the Broncos and Chicago Bears, Seattle sorted out its ground game.

In those two matchups, the Seahawks rushed for 64 and 74 yards and turned the ball over five times. Week 3 saw Seattle finally eclipse 100 yards on the ground in a victory over the Cowboys, and then it was off to the races.

Seattle rushed for more than 100 yards in all but one game the rest of the season and from Weeks 3-17 led the NFL with 173 rushing yards per game. The Seahawks also lost only six turnovers the rest of the season.

How they finished: 11-5
Postseason result: Lost in divisional round

After three straight 7-9 campaigns, the start of the Saints 2007 season appeared to foreshadow more of the same as New Orleans suffered losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Patriots. But stars would soon emerge during an eight-game win streak that followed.

Before the season, the Saints drafted both the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year in Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore, in addition to players like Ryan Ramczyk, Alex Anzalone and Trey Hendrickson, who’ve become starters in the NFL. The Saints also signed running back Adrian Peterson.

When New Orleans began to feature Kamara more, eventually trading Peterson, their offense, led by quarterback Drew Brees, became more explosive. In Weeks 3-17, the Saints led the NFL with 391.9 yards per game and ranked third in scoring with 26.8 offensive points per game, according to TruMedia.

Kamara led the NFL with 6.1 yards per carry and caught 81 passes for 826 yards. He was one of seven Saints named to the Pro Bowl that season.

How they finished: 10-6
Postseason result: Lost in wild-card round

The Dolphins snagged their first win of the 2016 slate in Week 3 with an overtime victory against the Cleveland Browns, but the turnaround wasn’t immediate as two more losses followed. With a 1-4 record heading into Week 6, Miami was trending down.

Then a crucial piece of the offense returned.

Jay Ajayi, a fifth-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, was inactive in Week 1 and saw limited touches in Weeks 2-5. In Week 6, he carried the ball 25 times for 204 yards and two touchdowns, leading Miami to a 30-15 win against the Steelers.

He followed that up with another 200-yard game against the Bills in Week 7. Ajayi finished the season with 1,272 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as Miami won nine out of 11 to close the season and clinch a wild-card playoff berth.

2015 Houston Texans

How they finished: 9-7
Postseason result: Lost in wild-card round

The Texans dropped their first two games en route to a 1-4 start to the season. Houston was 3-5 at its Week 9 bye, but closed out the season winning six of its last eight with three straight division wins to secure an AFC South championship and a playoff berth.

Houston went 5-1 in its division that season, despite starting four different quarterbacks.

How did the Texans do it? Houston’s defense ranked third in the NFL, allowing 310.2 yards per game. The strength of that unit kept the Texans in games despite the inconsistency at QB, whether due to poor play or injuries.

Houston seemed to get just enough out of their QBs, including Brandon Weeden, who was claimed by Houston after being released by the Cowboys, and T.J. Yates, who signed with the Texans just before their bye week. Both players started and played in games for Houston after its bye and helped the team win five out of the six games either played in.

2015 Seattle Seahawks

How they finished: 10-6
Postseason result: Lost in divisional round

The Seahawks opened the season 0-2 but were 4-4 by their Week 9 bye. Seattle finished the year winning six of its final eight to secure a wild-card playoff berth.

In each of those first four losses, the Seahawks held a fourth-quarter lead but were unable to close out the game. Once it kicked the habit of blowing leads, Seattle’s offense and staunch defense, which allowed the second-fewest yards per game that season, were able to propel the club back into the playoffs.

2014 Indianapolis Colts

How they finished: 11-5
Postseason result: Lost in conference championship

The Colts had the unfortunate luck of opening their 2014 campaign against two Super Bowl contenders. Despite hanging close in one-score games with the Broncos, who won 12 games and led the NFL in offensive points per game that season, and the Philadelphia Eagles, who finished the season with a top-five offense, Indianapolis still had to carry an 0-2 record into Week 3, when it demolished the Jacksonville Jaguars to jump-start its season.

The Colts would only lose three more times the rest of the year en route to an appearance in the AFC Championship Game.

(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)