It's far too early in the season for concrete proclamations about which teams are or aren't contenders. A lot of 2-0 teams will falter by midseason, while on the other hand, plenty of 0-2 teams still have a decent shot at the playoffs. There's a lot of football left — 16 weeks of it, to be precise — and every NFL campaign has a few surprises up its sleeve. That's what makes this league so special.
That said, an 0-2 hole is no joke. It's not as simple as "oh, there's plenty of time left." The worst Wild Card teams each season typically win eight or nine games. That means a 2-0 team really only needs to win six or seven more games, compared to eight or nine for a team operating from a winless deficit. Just look as the Bengals last season: an explosive offense and an MVP-type season from Joe Burrow wasn't enough to recover from an 0-2 start. The NFL standings tend to take shape very quickly and there's little to disguise the pretenders from the contenders in this league.
There are ten 0-2 teams in the NFL right now. Some of them will invariably make a postseason push, while others will falter and fade in no time. Let's rank them by which teams have the best chance to salvage a sinking ship.
10. New Orleans Saints
We know the New Orleans Saints are in the market for ̷A̷r̷c̷h̷ ̷M̷a̷n̷n̷i̷n̷g̷ Garrett Nussmeier, so this should come as no surprise. Spencer Rattler actually looks pretty solid right now, and New Orleans has put up a worthy fight against Arizona and San Francisco, losing those games by seven and five points, respectively. But at the end of the day, this roster is just not built to contend. Kellen Moore is a first-time head coach, still learning the ropes, and the Saints' defense won't do near enough to prop up whatever offense Rattler and company can muster. The NFC South is a volatile division, which could help the Saints tack on a few extra wins, but New Orleans' postseason dreams are deferred until 2026 or later.
9. Carolina Panthers
Speaking of uninspiring NFC South teams, the Carolina Panthers are right back to square one after a brutal couple of weeks to open the season. Bryce Young isn't rookie year bad, but he still looks outmatched in almost every setting. The Panthers' wide receiver room is one of the weakest in the NFL and their purportedly improved defense has put up muted resistance against Arizona and Jacksonville. Dave Canales dug his own grave when he took the Panthers job. This organization, top to bottom, just cannot execute a succinct, successful team-building vision from start to finish. Carolina is on the path to nowhere yet again.
8. Tennessee Titans
Frankly, we should all be encouraged by what we have seen from No. 1 pick Cam Ward so far. Despite receiving very little help in that offense, he's smartly surveying the field and breaking out those wizardly off-script bombs when he needs to. Ward has significant talent and he will only get more comfortable as the season progresses. Unfortunately, the Tennesse Titans have basically placed him in a hollowed-out husk of an offense, with a defense that — while feisty — won't stifle the league's elite. The AFC South is pretty embarrassing right now, but Tennessee is still a year or two (and perhaps a coaching change) away from returning to contention.
7. New York Jets
The New York Jets' offense was alive in Week 1, just crackling with electricity, but their defense couldn't stop the aging husk of Aaron Rodgers en route to a 34-32 loss. In Week 2, the defense didn't look much better, but the offense fell off a cliff, as Justin Fields put together one of his worst performances as a professional before leaving the game early with a concussion. Methinks that Week 1 showcase against a flimsy Steelers defense was a mirage. Fields has never actually led a contender for a full season and the Jets are trying to incorporate a new head coach and two new playcallers, with a roster that is not all that different from last season's five-win team, aside from swapping one mediocre quarterback for another. Fade the Jets, as history tells us to.
6. Chicago Bears
Man, there was real optimism around the Chicago Bears coming into the season, but the early returns on the Ben Johnson era are troubling, to say the least. Caleb Williams can't seem to operate within a defined structure. He feels a compulsive need to scramble to the outfield and lob the football haphazardly into a sea of defenders. Johnson will make this offense better than it was by sheer force of ingenuity and aggression, but Williams hasn't fixed his fatal flaws from a year ago and the defense is much, much worse without Matt Eberflus. The irony! Unless something seismic shifts in the weeks ahead, Chicago is trending toward another last-place finish in a cutthroat division.
5. Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns got suplexed by the Ravens in Week 2, but such is life. The defense was far more encouraging in their razor-thin Week 1 loss to Cincinnati, and there's reason to believe Myles Garrett and company can at least keep the Browns competitive with opponents in the middle of the pack. That said, Joe Flacco simply does not have enough left in the tank to lead a contender, and Cleveland's offense as a whole lacks firepower. This team is still a quarterback and a couple wide receivers away from doing anything meaningful. We shall see what Dillon Gabriel has cooking in, like, Week 8.
4. New York Giants
The New York Giants lost an OT shootout with the Cowboys on Sunday, 40-37. It was a game they really should have won. Their loss to Washington in Week 1 was much uglier, but Russell Wilson turning back the clock for a 450-yard, three-touchdown performance was not on my bingo card, personally. The defense is a mess, the O-line is a joke, but New York has a few genuinely explosive playmakers and when the time comes, it feels like Jaxson Dart can deliver immediate results. This probably ends with another last-place finish and the firing of Brian Daboll, but the Giants made enough progress this offseason to at least feign competitive desires for a while longer.
3. Miami Dolphins
There isn't a more miserable franchise in the NFL right now, but the Miami Dolphins still have the makings of a top-five offense with Mike McDaniel, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and De'Von Achane. The blueprint is there, and Tagovailoa proved in Week 2 that he can still put up numbers when he's insulated in the pocket and clear-eyed in his approach. There's a better than ever chance that Miami falls apart by midseason — I'm not sure McDaniel survives 18 weeks — but just in terms of personnel and pedigree, the Dolphins demand a little bit of respect. Just a little bit! The Jets and Panthers are next up on the docket, so there's a decent chance we're talking about the 2-2 Miami Dolphins in a couple of weeks.
2. Houston Texans
The Houston Texans have dropped back-to-back games against quality opponents by less than a touchdown. This offense has been in sleep mode sine last season for reasons that defy conventional logic, but C.J. Stroud has led the Texans to the postseason twice by sheer force of will and he's still clearly one of the most talented quarterbacks in the NFL. Houston needs to figure out how to maximize the wealth of talent on its roster, but the personnel is there, and this defense has proven that it can slow down traditionally prolific opponents. So yeah, don't sell your Texans stock just yet, especially in such a weak and winnable division.
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Nobody really thinks the Kansas City Chiefs are going to miss the playoffs, right? This 0-2 start is uncharted territory for the Chiefs, but losing by six points to the Chargers and three points to the Eagles — after holding Philadelphia's mega-talented offense to only 226 total yards — is not exactly a reason to sound the alarm bell. The Chiefs are not the juggernaut of yore, and there are genuine concerns about the state of their offense, which looks slow and disjointed. But it's Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and Steve Spagnuolo. Kansas City has been to the Super Bowl five of the last six years. We can't count them out until it's mathematically impossible.