Nine teams enter week 3 of the 2024 season still winless. Since the league expanded to a 17-game season, only two of the 21 teams to make the playoffs started 0–2. We’re going to look at all nine of this year’s 0-2 teams and decide if it’s just a slow start or is it already time to panic?

One of the two teams to make the playoffs after a 0-2 start is the 2022 Cincinnati Bengals (the other being the 2023 Texans) and as they also started last season 0-2, they are not in unknown territory here. After opening up with a surprise, and disappointing, loss to the Patriots, only a pass interference penalty from an over-zealous rookie and a last second field goal from Harrison Butker cost them a victory over the defending champions. A team that should have beaten the Chiefs at Arrowhead is clearly one that does not need to panic yet, especially as they are one that is notoriously slow to get going at the start of the season. Add in their wide receiver issues, with Ja’Marr Chase looking off the pace following his training camp holdout and Tee Higgins yet to play due to injury, and it is understandable that their offense isn’t firing on all cylinders yet. With the Commanders and Panthers next up for the Bengals, I expect them to be back at .500 in no time and for their Burrow-led offense to be back to its best going into a key week 5 matchup with divisional rivals the Ravens.

Verdict: No need to panic. The Bengals are always slow starters.

Talking of the Ravens, they have also lost their first two games of the season. Like the Bengals, they have a narrow victory to the Chiefs on their record, the length of Isaiah Likely’s toes stopping them beating the reigning champions in the season opener, and they have also suffered a shock defeat – I am still not sure how they gave up a 10-point 4th quarter lead to the Raiders. So, a start that could have easily begun 2-0 is now 0-2 and they are in the same position as their divisional rivals. Unlike the Bengals, their next two games aren’t the easiest, with the Cowboys and Bills next up, so they could easily have a losing record heading into their matchup with Cincinnati. Not a great deal needs to change with this team, though, to turn those loses into wins. The Ravens actually have the greatest number of offensive yards in the league, although they are only 14th in points scored. A more clinical edge in the redzone could have made the difference in those first two matches and I expect the Ravens to improve in this area as the season goes on.

Verdict: No need to panic. The Ravens are very close to being 2-0 instead and will still contend this year.

The Jaguars followed up a narrow defeat to the Miami Dolphins with a disappointing 18-13 defeat to the Cleveland Browns to start their season 0-2. The main reason for their sluggish start to 2024 is their misfiring offense. Only three teams, all three of which are on this list,

have scored less points that the Jaguars’ 30 this season, and 17 of those points came in the first two quarters against the Dolphins. They have to sort out their offense quickly, with tough games against the Bills and Texans coming up, but they do have the talent to do so. Trevor Lawrence is playing well below his ability so far this year and some of his biggest weapons haven’t showed up yet. Christian Kirk, who is not on the same wavelength as Lawrence at the moment, only has 29 receiving yards this season; Travis Etienne Jr. is only averaging 3.8 yards per carry; and after a disappointing first game of just 5 receiving yards, Evan Engram got injured in the warmup of the second game. One plus point of the first two games, though, has been rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. and if Lawrence, Kirk, Etienne and Engram can get back to their best, this Jaguars offence will soon get moving again.

Verdict – No need to panic quite yet. The Jaguars will be fine when their offense finally gets going. But they had better do so soon.

Despite losing their first game, optimism was high in Indianapolis after that thrilling 29-27 loss to the Texans. After missing most of his rookie season, Anthony Richardson lit up the field with two stunning, long touchdown passes, to go with a rushing touchdown, and the Colts offense was geared up for an exciting 2024 season. Then, the Colts faced a Packers team, led by Malik Willis after Jordan Love’s injury, and fell to an extremely disappointing 16-10 loss. The other side of Anthony Richardson raised its head with his three interceptions proving costly and these inconsistent performances look to define the Colts’ season. Richardson’s all or nothing style of play will be very exciting to watch this year but there is no telling how many wins it will translate into. More worryingly, the Colts currently have the worst rushing defense in the entire league, by quite a distance too, and this desperately needs to tighten up if they want to get some wins.

Verdict – No need to panic yet. This could be a season of extreme highs and frustrating lows. Just try and enjoy the ride.

The 2-0 Houston Texans are feeling pretty good right now with every other team in the AFC South winless. If it hadn’t been for two moments of insanity from quarterback Will Levis, the Titans could be sitting atop the AFC South with them. The mistakes haven’t just been limited to Levis though. Blocked punts in both games have resulted in points for the opposition and these errors have undoubtedly cost the Titans. It’s not all been bad, though. The offense, when not turning over the ball, have shown promising signs that they can be a force this season and the Titans currently have the best defense in terms of yards allowed. If they can only cut out the match changing errors and continue to grow this offense, then Tennessee could have a decent season ahead of them.

Verdict – Not panicking yet but Will Levis is starting to make me nervous.

When the Rams lost an overtime thriller to the Detroit Lions on the first Sunday Night Football of the season, things were looking positive for the team from LA. They were unfortunate to lose that game. Offensive line injuries and the loss of Puka Nacua mid-match affected what the Rams were able to do on offense, yet they may still have won if they had won the toss at overtime. The defense had a really good game and Cooper Kupp, after a couple of seasons hampered by injuries, showed he was back to his best with 14 receptions, 110 yards and a touchdown.

After the loss to the Cardinals, the feeling in LA is very different. First of all, there was the manner of the defeat, allowing 41 points to the Arizona Cardinals while scoring just 10. More worryingly, though, for this team going forward, is the length of their injury report. Cooper Kupp has joined Puka Nacua with a serious injury and could soon join him on IR. The offensive line has been further decimated with Joe Noteboom and Steve Avila on IR, Jonah Jackson expected to miss a “significant amount of time” with a shoulder injury, and Kevin Dotson playing through a foot injury. In the secondary, Darious Williams has gone onto IR, with Tre Tomlinson and Derion Kendrick already on season-ending IR, and John Johnson III is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a fractured scapula. This team is now lacking an offensive line, their two best receivers and most of their secondary. When this team is fully fit, it is good enough to challenge anybody in the league but, with the timescale for these injuries, the Rams could already be out of contention by the time they start getting players back.

Verdict – Starting to panic. The season could be over for the Rams by the time their starters return from injury.

The Broncos have opened the season with losses to the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The main story coming out of those losses is the struggles of rookie quarterback, Bo Nix. Nix has so far thrown 0 touchdowns to 4 interceptions (although, one of these was a Hail Mary against the Steelers) and he has looked out of his depth in the NFL. His struggles have led to the Broncos offense only putting up 22 points over its first two games and scoring only one touchdown. It’s not all on Nix, though. He is not blessed with many weapons to target, and he hasn’t been helped by the non-existent running game – Nix actually leads the team in rushing yards with 60, 20 more than the team’s leading running back Javonte Williams. Nix did show some signs of improvement against the Steelers, ending up with 246 passing yards, which included a lovely deep connection to Josh Reynolds, but a lot more improvement is needed out of him. If Nix cannot improve rapidly over the next few weeks and Sean Payton cannot start getting a lot more out of this offense, then the Broncos are going to continue to struggle to get wins.

Verdict – Some mild panic. Not time to give up on the rookie quarterback but improvement is needed from him and the entire offense.

There’s not been much joy for Giants fans so far this season. After a dismal performance in the opener against the Vikings, they somehow lost to divisional rivals the Commanders in their second game, despite scoring three touchdowns and conceding none. The Giants were unlucky. If Graham Gano had not got injured on the opening kick-off, the Commanders would have been too far behind to attempt a match-winning field goal in the dying seconds and the Giants wouldn’t be on this list. Instead, the talk in New York would have been purely on the performance of Malik Nabers, who broke out in this game having 10 receptions, 127 yards and a touchdown. The Giants did lose, though, and the pressure continues to mount on coach Brian Daboll and quarterback Daniel Jones. If wins don’t arrive soon in New York, the calls to replace both of these names will intensify, no matter the success of their star rookie wide receiver.

Verdict – Panicking. The Giants haven’t shown enough to make you think wins are coming soon, despite the emergence of Nabers.

In 2023, in order to trade up to first overall in the draft, the Carolina Panthers gave the Chicago Bears their ninth overall pick, a second-round pick, their 2024 first-round pick (which ended up being the first overall pick that the Bears took Caleb Williams with), their 2025 second-round pick and star receiver DJ Moore. They then selected quarterback Bryce Young first overall. In 2024, after 18 starts for the team, the Panthers have already decided to bench Young, possibly permanently ending his time as a starter in Carolina. On one hand, to give up on a young quarterback they paid so much for, so early in his career, is a baffling move but, on the other hand, he has been abysmal over the first two games of this season. Young has an average quarterback rating of 9.1 this year and has thrown for only 245 yards, 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. This Panthers team were going nowhere with Young at quarterback, only scoring 13 points over their first two games, and new head coach Dave Canales has decided that if the team wants to win some games, then veteran Andy Dalton gives them the best chance of that happening. In the short term, this is the correct decision but what this means for the franchise’s future is less certain. The Panthers gave up a lot for Bryce Young and now may find themselves having nothing to show for it.

Verdict – Full on panicking. Not just for this season but for beyond

Dan Rowe

0–2 – Which Teams Should Be Panicking?

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