After two weeks of the 2026 NFL season, one quarter of the league is winless. Fortunately for these eight teams, a 17-game schedule and 14-team playoff field mean this could merely be a speed bump on the way to the postseason rather than a moat that keeps them from reaching it.
However, not at 0-2 starts are created equally. Some have come thanks to a brutal early schedule. Others have come in spite of what looked like a comfortably easy one. Others have split the difference, leaving plenty of room for debate on weekday talk radio.
Who's in the most trouble, and does it change their preseason outlook on the season and their eventual goals? You can break these eight franchises into three primary categories, starting with...
Joke's on you, we knew this season wasn't going anywhere
Miami Dolphins, Atlanta
Falcons, Tennessee Titans
More than half the Dolphins' salary cap space is tied to players who are not on the roster in 2026. This year is about seeing whether Malik Willis is the future, or hoping he fails hard enough to select his replacement at the top of the 2027 NFL Draft.
The Falcons buttressed an injured Michael Penix Jr. with an injured Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. Young defensive stars Jalon Walker (injury) and James Pearce Jr. (suspension following a domestic violence arrest) are out for half or all the regular season. Penix's return should be a modest boost and the NFC South is perpetually winnable, but the early returns have not merited a regular viewership (despite entirely too many primetime games).
The Titans were supposed to be better in 2026, even if they weren't a playoff contender. Instead, Cam Ward has failed to generate a meaningful connection with new wideouts Wan'Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate. Tennessee has lost two winnable games and we're nearing an inflection point for Ward, the first pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Modest concern
Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts
The Jacksonville Jaguars' backslide in Denver means no one in the AFC South is more than a game off the division lead after two weeks. The Colts have fallen victim to a tough schedule (vs. the Baltimore Ravens, at the Kansas City Chiefs) and a long runway for Daniel Jones to return to 2025 form after suffering a torn Achilles that ended his renaissance season.
The defense has looked like a unit matched up against quarterbacks who've won multiple MVPs. Indianapolis allowed 0.202 expected points added (EPA) per snap against Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, third-worst in the NFL. No team has given up more points or more yards.
Houston is in a similar spot, having dropped games to Josh Allen and Joe Burrow. Despite fielding a top-two defense last season, the Texans' 0.90 EPA/snap allowed ranks just 25th in the NFL and they've allowed 7.5 yards per attempt through the air — 27th-best. There's too much talent here to remain that bad, though C.J. Stroud's continued malaise, a still-unfixed offensive line and a depleted receiving corps could mean DeMeco Ryans will once again need an elite defense to get to the postseason.
These teams play each other in Week 3. The warning bells will begin tolling for the loser.
Oh no
Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Justin Herbert is making the leap from underrated to overrated in real time, which sets the stage for an epic rally to get back to the former. So far, however, it hasn't been good. He's unable to be a rising tide for the offense around him, the blocking ahead of him is bad and his skill players somehow keep getting in each other's way.
It's not just a frustrating offense. Los Angeles has faced Jacoby Brissett and Kirk Cousins in its first two weeks and, remarkably, ranks 25th in passing EPA allowed. What was supposed to be a smooth runway into the teeth of the 2026 schedule has instead been a Connecticut highway loaded with holes and terrible driving. A brutal schedule awaits; five of the next seven games come against 2025 playoff teams. The two exceptions are the Chiefs and Ravens. Oooof.
The Commanders spent the offseason retooling one of the league's worst defenses and bringing new weapons to the lineup in hopes of restoring Jayden Daniels back to his rookie of the year form. He hadn't quite gotten then in his first six quarters, but he had improved. Now, a dislocated elbow means this is Marcus Mariota's show for a while, which puts the veteran backup in a tough situation where must-win games might come earlier than anyone would like.
Mariota will have a difficult time because Washington's defensive patches have yet to set in. The Commanders have yet to force a turnover and are allowing 30.5 points per game. Quarterbacks have thrown for seven total touchdowns against them.
Their 39.1 percent pressure rate is 11th best in the NFL, but comes at the expense of a 37.7 percent blitz rate — seventh highest and a strategy that puts extra pressure on an undermanned secondary that has struggled to keep up. Washington's 137.1 passer rating allowed is the highest among all teams and nearly 20 points worse than 31st-place Miami.
Tampa Bay lost to a resurgent Cincinnati Bengals team on the road, which is understandable. The Buccaneers also lost to the Cleveland Browns at home on a day when Deshaun Watson, formerly accused of more than 20 counts of sexual misconduct and what the NFL described as "predatory behavior," averaged 3.7 air yards per pass. That's not what this franchise wanted to see after signing Baker Mayfield to a three-year, $165 million contract extension. It's put head coach Todd Bowles firmly on the hot seat, where he has the shortest odds to be 2026's first firing.
Through two games, Mayfield is leading the league's 30th most effective passing attack, which is a real shame considering Bucky Irving is back at full strength and leading a top-five rush game. Tampa Bay has turned the ball over five times in two weeks and given up six different scoring drives of 43 yards or fewer. That should change, but whether Mayfield and his aerial excellence returns will determine whether the Bucs can tread water in the perpetually weird NFC South.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Which 0-2 teams should be most worried about their NFL playoff hopes?
