How many NFL teams have made the playoffs after starting 0-3?

Another week has come and gone in the NFL season and now we head into Week 4 already. After one or two games, it’s difficult to say which teams truly have a shot at making a playoff run. After three, however, it becomes a bit clearer.

And unfortunately for those who haven’t notched a W yet, the outlook does not look good.

History of 0-3 teams in the playoffs

When Week 3 started, there were nine teams looking for their first win of the season. Six of them found that. The Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants and Denver Broncos avoided the hole in the early window on Sunday, and the Baltimore Ravens and Carolina Panthers got their first wins in blowout fashion in the late window. The Los Angeles Rams also managed to escape the slump with a last-minute win over the San Francisco 49ers.

And then there were three, unfortunate teams at 0-3 to start the season: the Cincinnati Bengals, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Tennessee Titans.

Historically, this does not bode well for their postseason hopes. Since the league expanded to 12 teams in 1990, just 2.5% of teams that started 0-3 have made it to the playoffs. There have only been four teams to start 0-3 and then make the postseason since 1990: the 1992 San Diego Chargers, the 1995 Detroit Lions, the 1998 Buffalo Bills, and the 2018 Houston Texans. Only six have done it in NFL history - here’s how that turned out for them:

So even if the Bengals, Jaguars, and Titans were to make the playoffs this year, no NFL team in history that has gotten off to an 0-3 start has ever won the Super Bowl.