NFL Week 3 schedule: 5 teams that can’t afford to lose

2. Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings might be the best 0-2 team in the league. While that may sound like some meaningless moral victory speech, it’s actually a point worth discussing.

The Vikings’ kicker curse brought a familiar feeling of disappointment to Minnesota as a missed extra point and field goal cost them a win last week in Arizona. Had Greg Joseph been able to do his only job when it really mattered, the Vikings could have topped a spectacular Cardinals team. And had a questionable fumble call been ruled in Minnesota’s favor Week 1, they could have edged past the Bengals and be sitting 2-0.

Instead, they are winless and facing a 1-1 Seahawks team who are looking for revenge after an overtime loss to Tennessee.

Seattle has been playing on the back of its high-powered offense. The Seahawks rank in the top 10 for scoring with 58 points on the season, and the chemistry between Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett has been impressive. For a struggling Viking’s secondary, that’s a problem. Their only hope has to be in getting to Wilson off the line and stopping the ball before it gets a chance to leave his hands.

The stats aren’t good when it comes to an 0-2 team making the playoffs, and they’re disastrous for the Vikings if they can’t avoid an 0-3 start at home on Sunday afternoon.