The 2021 NFL season has entered Week 3 – meaning it's officially time for the league's 0-2 teams to delve into a frenzied panic.
The numbers aren't pretty. Since 1990, when the NFL expanded its playoff field from 10 teams to 12, only 11.6% of those which lost their first two contests reached the postseason – and only half that sample won division titles. Just three in that span – the 1993 Dallas Cowboys, 2001 New England Patriots and 2007 New York Giants, which represent 1.2% – recovered to win a Super Bowl.
You'd think the margin for error would expand now that 14 teams qualify for postseason, but none of last year's entries endured an 0-2 start. Maybe adding a 17th game to the regular season will improve the odds going forward, though there's not much to like about the outlooks of this year's seven winless squads through two weeks.
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