Week Two has (mostly) come and gone, which means it’s time for those who cover the NFL to check the “not many 0-2 teams make the playoffs” box.
There’s usually a valid reason for that: Most of the teams who fall to 0-2 are 0-2 for a reason. And the reason is they stink.
This year, the Jets, Bengals, Browns, Colts, Chargers, Bears, Saints, and 49ers have slumped to a winless start, with the Giants possibly joining them tonight. For most of those -- the Jets, Browns, Colts, Bears, 49ers -- there’s no hope and there never really was. For the Chargers, 0-2 could have been 2-0, and without the presence of three 2-0 teams in their division the Chargers may have some hope. For the Saints, they had a fairly tough draw right out of the gates; the schedule will get easier.
The Bengals actually have some hope, given that they’ve made a coordinator change (and possibly will be making a quarterback change). With 14 games to go, they have the talent to turn it around.
Given the sheer volume of winless teams, someone will. Given that the first month of the regular season essentially has become the preseason, bad teams will get better, good teams will get worse, and surely one of these 0-2 teams will at least scratch and claw their way into contention.
But it’s nevertheless mandatory for those in the media business to give all 0-2 teams the business by pointing out the obvious. Teams that have lost two games to start the season are teetering close to being screwed.
As if anyone wouldn’t have realized that without it being pointed out.