An undefeated ledger in the NFL is always cause for celebration.
Through the first two weeks of the regular season, only a quarter of the league's franchises have yet to be dealt a loss. While a sterling start hardly guarantees a team success down the stretch, it should come as no surprise that an early advantage in the standings tends to augur well for any team's hopes.
Of the 52 teams that have gone 2-0 since 2020, when the league expanded the regular season to 17 games and its postseason field to 14 teams, 39 made it to the playoffs. Last year, however, the hit rate went down significantly, with just six of 10 such teams extending their seasons. Sizzling beginnings for the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave way to late-season
downturns, while the Arizona Cardinals unraveled entirely, winning just once more in their final 15 games.
Yet with the scheduling setup creating an uneven playing field, some 2-0 starts are far more meaningful than others. With that in mind, here is our ranking of the NFL's 2-0 teams from most to least legitimate:
1. Buffalo Bills
Starting the season off on the right foot is nothing new to Buffalo, which has enjoyed six 2-0 beginnings in Josh Allen's nine years at the helm. Still, there's something distinct about Joe Brady's maiden voyage as head coach.
Even relative to his 2024 NFL MVP form, Allen has reached a new level as the catalyst for the league's most aggressive and prolific offense. Maintaining this torrid pace over the course of a season will undoubtedly be a challenge, but last year's league-leading rushing attack and a stout offensive line should safeguard against much slippage. For the first time in Allen's career, however, it feels as though everything around the dynamic passer is in harmony, allowing him to tap into the full extent of his singular tools.
But can the Bills, who are just the third 2-0 team in NFL history to give up more than 30 points in each of their first two contests, expect to triumph in weekly shootouts? Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard admitted his unit is right now a "boom-or-bust" operation and on a trajectory he says is "not sustainable." But there's still room for this group to discover better down-to-down consistency as it finds its way through a fairly extensive schematic transition. And in a league defined by splash plays, edge rusher Greg Rousseau and defensive tackle Deone Walker are creating enough disruption up front to swing things in the Bills' favor.
2. Seattle Seahawks
The defending Super Bowl champions weren't widely seen as a leading threat to repeat, but the early season has served as a display of the team's almost singular ability to weather turbulence. Reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who leads the NFL with 277 receiving yards, has kept the offense on course by providing easy answers for backup quarterback Drew Lock. Meanwhile, Mike Macdonald's defense continues to shut down all roads to explosive plays while also allowing the fewest yards per play (3.8) of any unit. While other top defenses have wavered or shown vulnerabilities, Seattle looks fully capable of maintaining the elite standard it set during last year's title run.
With quarterback Sam Darnold having played all of one series before suffering a glute injury and do-it-all defensive back Nick Emmanwori seeing limited work in his Week 2 return, this has the makings of a team that could ascend higher with those key figures back at full health. Seattle's offensive alchemy under first-year coordinator Brian Fleury might be put to the test by a true contender, but such a challenge might not materialize until the Week 5 tilt with the rival 49ers.
3. San Francisco 49ers
The early season has affirmed much of what we've long known about Kyle Shanahan's crew. San Francisco's offense continues to have opponents out of sorts, no matter how far from full strength the unit might be. For a team that continues to see its receiving corps dwindle, any assurance of steady play figures to be vital.
Raheem Morris' defense, however, has been anything but the status quo. That's a welcome departure for a group that slipped considerably in the last two years and almost came fully unglued late last year amid a rash of injuries. Morris has done a commendable job of ramping up the pass rush without relying on the blitz and getting his defensive backs in prime position to contest any throw coming their way.
Yet the 49ers' story again might not come into focus until late in the year, with its staying power within the NFC West sure to be tested. For now, San Francisco has clearly asserted that it belongs in the same class as the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams. A Week 5 trip to Seattle could reveal whether the team is truly prepared to return to the conference's elite tier of contenders.
4. Kansas City Chiefs
In the season-opening romp over the Denver Broncos, Kansas City embraced a new facet of its offense as Kenneth Walker III provided an explosive element to the long-dormant ground game. Capitalizing on that newfound threat, Patrick Mahomes got back to his old ways by triggering a hyper-efficient passing attack.
Consider the rest of the AFC on notice. Mahomes might still bump his head against the ceiling of an offense that is saddled with several limitations, most notably in the weaponry afforded to him. But a more balanced approach is already leaving defenses with little recourse for keeping him in check the way they did when the threat of big plays in the run game fully evaporated.
Even with that potency, though, Kansas City required overtime to finish off an Indianapolis Colts group that was without top receiver Alec Pierce for most of the contest. The pass rush's disappearance should be unsettling to a group counting on a young secondary to hold down the fort.
5. Cincinnati Bengals
Two games might not be a sufficient sample size to declare the formerly dilapidated defense fully repaired. Yet it's clear that the bold moves Cincinnati made this offseason have already radically transformed the group for the better.
As a gravitational force in the middle of the defensive front, Dexter Lawrence has been everything the Bengals needed and more. Just two games into his tenure, the nose tackle helped a defense that last year allowed 5.2 yards per carry without him turn in one of the more dominant run-stuffing efforts in recent history,allowing just 18 yards on 14 carries to the Houston Texans' running backs. Beyond his own playmaking prowess, though, Lawrence's presence – along with the double teams it necessitates – has allowed other fresh faces in fellow defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, rookie edge rusher Cashius Howell and veteran defensive end Boye Mafe to become mainstays in opponents' backfields.
Given how Cincinnati has been stung by devastating injuries to Joe Burrow, the five sacks allowed on Sunday might create some unease. To be sure, the Bengals need to strike a better balance between finding opportunities for Ja'Marr Chase and leaving Burrow vulnerable to big hits in the pocket. But the offense should be more malleable and find its stride over time. Until then, having a defense that can actually prop Burrow up rather than be something for him to overcome should keep Cincinnati at the forefront of the AFC North chase.
6. Minnesota Vikings
As long as Brian Flores is creating chaos, the Vikings have a chance within the NFC North. That much has seemed clear since the defensive coordinator's arrival in 2023, but the dynamic has been reinforced by consecutive road wins over divisional foes. That sequence has highlighted both Minnesota's capacity and its lingering unknowns.
Flores has thrown caution to the wind in unleashing havoc, blitzing at an astronomical 75.3% rate for the second-highest pressure rate at 49.4%, according to Next Gen Stats. The aggression has unlocked two of the most smothering defensive performances of the season, with ace play-callers Matt LaFleur and Ben Johnson both failing to regroup units that typically reel off explosive plays with ease. Even if scaling back from their early hyperaggressive tendencies becomes a necessity, the Vikings don't necessarily have to expect a massive drop-off in pressure. Dallas Turner leads the NFL with 20 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, and his game-sealing sack against the Bears underscored how easily Flores can create favorable matchups for the breakout edge rusher.
Everything on the other side of the ball, however, remains an unknown. The reconfigured run game doesn't yet look capable of picking up any slack, and Kyler Murray's return from concussion protocol shouldn't be viewed as a panacea. Matchups with three 0-2 teams in the next four weeks could help Minnesota pad its lead in the NFC North. But things could go sideways by midseason if a clearer offensive identity doesn't emerge.
7. Philadelphia Eagles
The notion of "late-game heroics" shouldn't have been in play for the two-time defending NFC East champions, who should have been able to coast to a win against the outmatched Tennessee Titans. Nevertheless, Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith rescued Philadelphia with a late touchdown drive to maintain the team's perfect record.
The Eagles might be unblemished in the standings, but there are plenty of problems with the processes that got them here. Perhaps the most concerning early revelation: The offensive line might not be the stabilizing force it was for so many years under vaunted position coach Jeff Stoutland, who departed in February. With the rushing attack faltering, new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion's unit hasn't been able to come close to fulfilling his preseason vision, with Hurts instead being put in position to bail out the operation. Meanwhile, a defense that is one of only three in the league not to register a takeaway hasn't been as thoroughly overwhelming as many expected it to be.
Any grace period for Philadelphia is almost assuredly over. Though the Eagles will likely avoid facing Caleb Williams in a Week 3 "Monday Night Football" showdown with the Bears, tilts with the Rams and Jaguars the following two weeks will leave little margin for error.
8. Las Vegas Raiders
As a team that's on the verge of matching its 2025 win total in September, the Raiders are the clear outlier on this list. A good deal of skepticism naturally follows a team that enjoyed one of the more fortuitous setups to start the season. Yet while declaring that Las Vegas is finally ready to take off would be premature, there are several undeniable signs of progress.
With Maxx Crosby again leading the way, the Silver and Black are pacing the league in pressure rate (50%), per Next Gen Stats, while ranking second in sack rate (11.8%). But the defense's average time to pressure of 2.77 seconds, which stood eighth-highest after Sunday, suggests that the pass rush is getting plenty of support from the young secondary. Las Vegas also tops the league in EPA allowed per rush at -0.39, according to Next Gen Stats, with investments in Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker already paying off in fortifying the second level.
Is any of that sustainable for the defense? At those levels, almost certainly not. In facing the Dolphins and Los Angeles Chargers, the Raiders had the benefit of teeing off against teams that not only had massive protection problems but also a dearth of perimeter playmakers. That afforded both the Raiders' front and back end a good deal of leeway that it likely won't enjoy in future weeks against far more formidable attacks. Meanwhile, the offensive miscues that have tested first-year coach Klint Kubiak's patience are much more likely to compound when Kirk Cousins can't merely sling the offense out of trouble, as he did Sunday in throwing three touchdowns.
With its first 2-0 opening since 2021, Las Vegas should savor an emerging competence that has hardly been a given for its past regimes. But the October slate – which brings matchups with the Chiefs, Patriots, Bills and Rams – seems likely to reveal the team as a group that's still at least a year away from posing any sort of serious threat within the AFC West.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking NFL's 2-0 teams in 2026 from most to least legitimate
