Complete list of 0-4 teams that have made the playoffs in NFL history
It's never wise to overreact to the first few weeks of an NFL season, but history shows that early success is a dependable barometer. Teams that start too slow out of the gate almost always struggle to recover. Barring truly historic turnarounds, there will be several teams who, after just Week 4, are all but eliminated from the postseason picture.
We cannot mathematically eliminate a team at this stage, of course, but the weight of history is hard to shake in the sports world. When no team has ever accomplished a certain feat, it's unwise to bet on your team breaking that mold.
So, if your team is 0-4 through four weeks... tread carefully, and don't get your hopes up.
A trio of NFL teams entered this week winless.
Team | Record |
|---|---|
0-3 | |
0-3 | |
0-3 |
Point, NFC.
Anyhow, both Cincinnati and Jacksonville put up competitive efforts on Sunday afternoon, but only the Bengals actually came away with their first victory. The Titans will battle the wayward Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football, which has all-time stinker potential. Will Levis and Scoop Huntley, the QB matchup of the century!
When a team drops to 0-4, it is historically a killing blow. Only one team has ever come back from such a deficit to make the postseason.
How many 0-4 teams have made the NFL playoffs all time?
Team | Year | Record After Week 4 | Final Record |
|---|---|---|---|
1992 | 0-4 | 11-5 |
The 1992 Chargers went 11-1 over their final 12 games to end a nine-year postseason drought for the franchise. It was a legitimately historic and singular run for the team coached by Bobby Ross. San Diego won in the Wild Card round, 17-0 over the Chiefs, but ended up on the wrong end up a 31-0 blowout against the Dolphins in the Divisional Round
So, it has been more than 30 years since a team went 0-4 and made the playoffs. It has officially happened once in the course of NFL history, which encompasses a lot of unique teams and outcomes. Anything is possible, as Kevin Garnett once said, but coming back from 0-4 is as close to statistically impossible as it gets.
Jacksonville (and quite possibly Tennessee) are in dire straits right now. With all due respect to Trevor Lawrence and Doug Pederson, who won the Super Bowl not long ago in Philadelphia, this Jacksonville sqaud in particular does not smell like a season-defining underdog. It seems more likely that the Jags are just plain bad, and we probably need to start going through the roster with a fine-toothed comb.
The NFL is never predictable. There is always a slim chance that this is the season history is made. But, in all likelihood, if your team is 0-4, it's time to start thinking about ways to improve the squad for 2025 and beyond.
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