The Houston Texans are 0-2 for the second straight season, but an early hole does not automatically end a playoff push. DeMeco Ryans’ team has already navigated a demanding opening stretch and now faces a thin margin for additional mistakes.
Houston stands as the most credible rebound candidate among the league’s winless teams entering the next phase of the schedule. Its recent experience is relevant: the Texans also began 0-2 last year before reaching the postseason.
Quick facts
- Three of 10 teams that opened last season at 0-2 reached the playoffs.
- The Chicago Bears, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers were the three postseason teams from that group.
- It was the second consecutive season in which three 0-2 clubs made the playoffs.
- Since 1990, 38 of 288 teams starting 0-2 have reached the postseason, a rate of 12.8%.
- Twenty-one of those teams won their division, while three went on to win the Super Bowl.
The expanded playoff field, 17-game schedule and league-wide parity have created more room for recovery than teams had in earlier eras. Still, the historical odds remain daunting: only 7% of 0-2 teams since 1990 captured a division crown.
Only three clubs from that sample finished with the Lombardi Trophy. The 1993 Dallas Cowboys recovered after Emmitt Smith ended his holdout, the 2001 New England Patriots turned to Tom Brady for his first career start in Week 3, and the 2007 New York Giants won six straight games before becoming the first NFC wild card to win a Super Bowl.
For the Texans, the immediate task is simpler than chasing those rare historical comparisons. They must stop the skid quickly, build on their experience from last season and avoid allowing a difficult start to become a lasting problem.
