Ranking 0-2 teams in terms of their playoff chances

In the 25 years that have passed since the NFL playoffs expanded in 1990, 24 teams have qualified for the postseason despite starting 0-2. That means there’s a decent chance at least one of the league’s nine 0-2 starters will wind up in the playoffs come January. Here, we rank them from most to least likely to recover and make it through.

1. Indianapolis Colts: They started 0-2 last year and still wound up with 11 wins, and there’s plenty of room for error in the terrible AFC South. Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston aren’t winning this division.

2. Seattle Seahawks: The Rams and Cardinals are threats, but Seattle is so much more talented than both of those teams and should get back on track after a nightmarish schedule out of the gates. Remember, they’ve yet to play a home game. And wins are pretty much automatic for the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.

3. Baltimore Ravens: Tough road losses to the Broncos and Raiders, but they still have a full eight-game home schedule ahead of them, and they’re very good in Baltimore. Plus, expect the Bengals and Steelers to beat up on each other, allowing Baltimore to move back into contention.

4. New York Giants: Never count the Giants out, especially in the NFC East. They could have just as easily started 2-0, and they’ll get Victor Cruz back eventually.

5. Philadelphia Eagles: The NFC East is wide open with what’s happening with Dallas, New York and the Redskins. The Eagles are probably a better all-around team than the G-Men, but I worry about Sam Bradford’s ability to stay healthy. But both of those teams are basically playoff toss-ups.

6. New Orleans Saints: You never want to count out a future Hall of Fame quarterback, especially in a division as weak as the NFC South. That said, the Falcons appear to be back and the Saints look horrendous.

7. Detroit Lions: They have the personnel to make a run but might be about to dig a huge hole with Denver, Seattle and Arizona looming in the next three weeks.

8. Chicago Bears: They’re the least talented team in the NFC North and now Jay Cutler is “hurt.” Forget it, especially with the Seahawks on deck.

9. Houston Texans: Even though they have the best defensive player in the game and they were a solid 9-7 last year, there’s little hope here because the Colts should run away with the division and they lack a quarterback as well as Arian Foster and Andre Johnson.

About Brad Gagnon

Brad Gagnon has been passionate about both sports and mass media since he was in diapers -- a passion that won't die until he's in them again. Based in Toronto, he's worked as a national NFL blog editor at theScore.com (covering Super Bowls XLIV, XLV and XLVI), a producer and writer at theScore Television Network and a host, reporter and play-by-play voice at Rogers TV. His work has also appeared at Deadspin, FoxSports.com, The Guardian, The Hockey News and elsewhere at Bloguin, but his day gig has him covering all things NFC East for Bleacher Report.

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