Opinon: 5 Teams That Cannot Afford To Lose In Week Two

Sep 7, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; A Dallas Cowboys flag carrier runs on the field before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at AT&T Stadium. San Francisco beat Dallas 28-17. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

It’s only week two in the 2014 NFL season, but a few teams are already in must-win situations. Alright, ‘must-win’ might be a bit extreme as it is only September, but these teams truly can’t afford to start the season 0-2. History says that beginning a year 0-2 puts a team at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to making the playoffs. In a study conducted by ESPN, teams that started the year 0-2 made the playoffs only 13.75 percent of the time between 1990-2009. That’s only 22 teams reaching the postseason out of 160 that began the year with two consecutive losses. You can bet that the fans of these five franchises all understand the urgency that their teams are facing in only the second week of the season.

The five teams on this list all had lofty expectations heading into the 2014 season, but since 1990 no more than three teams that started 0-2 made the playoffs in the same year. Obviously all of these teams want to avoid the fate that has doomed 86.25 percent of NFL teams that have started the year without a win in the first two weeks of the season from 1990-2009. Does an 0-2 start for any of these teams guarantee that they won’t make the playoffs? Of course not, but none of these fans want to play with the fire of a winless first two weeks.

Is your team one of the five that cannot afford to lose in week two?