NFL: A Tally of 2-0 / 0-2 Season Starts

Post Highlights

• The Chicago Bears have had the most 2-0 starts to their season’s (33) in NFL history.  However the Dallas Cowboys have had the highest percentage (46.2%) of their seasons start with 2-0 records.

• The Arizona Cardinals have had the most 0-2 starts to their season’s (25) in NFL history.  However the Seattle Seahawks have had the highest percentage (44.4%) of their seasons start with 0-2 records.

• A little over 62% of all Super Bowl champions started their championship season’s with 2-0 records.

 

This year in the NFL there are seven teams that are starting their season’s with 2-0 records, while there are also seven teams that are starting their season’s with 0-2 records.  I thought it would be interesting to breakdown the number of times each NFL franchise has gotten off to a 2-0 start, as well as a 0-2 start.

Tally of 2-0 Starts by Team

Legend: 2-0 (# of 2-0 starts), % Yrs (% of seasons the team has started 2-0), % Yrs PS (% of seasons the team translated a 2-0 start to a postseason appearance; only includes applicable years from 1933-),  Since 2000 (# of 2-0 starts since 2000), Since 1970 (# of 2-0 starts since 1970), Last (last 2-0 start)

AFC East
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Bills	15	28.8%	64.3%	4	13	2011
Dolphins	18	39.1%	77.8%	3	18	2010
Jets	10	19.2%	33.3%	4	8	2011
Patriots	11	21.2%	50.0%	6	10	2011
AFC North
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Bengals	11	25.0%	45.5%	3	10	2006
Browns	17	25.8%	64.7%	0	6	1993
Ravens	4	25.0%	100.0%	4	4	2009
Steelers	17	21.5%	58.8%	4	13	2010
AFC South
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Colts	16	27.1%	62.5%	6	9	2009
Jaguars	6	35.3%	50.0%	3	6	2006
Texans	3	30.0%	0.0%	3	3	2011
Titans	11	21.2%	45.5%	1	8	2008
AFC West
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Broncos	20	38.5%	45.0%	6	17	2009
Chargers	16	30.8%	50.0%	3	10	2006
Chiefs	14	26.9%	57.1%	3	10	2010
Raiders	16	30.8%	81.3%	2	12	2002
NFC East
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Cowboys	24	46.2%	83.3%	2	18	2008
Eagles	13	16.5%	53.8%	1	6	2004
Giants	19	21.8%	68.8%	4	9	2009
Redskins	16	20.0%	66.7%	4	12	2011
NFC North
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Bears	33	35.9%	62.1%	3	16	2010
Lions	27	32.9%	25.0%	4	11	2011
Packers	25	27.5%	63.2%	5	9	2011
Vikings	14	27.5%	78.6%	4	13	2009
NFC South
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Buccaneers	7	19.4%	57.1%	3	7	2010
Falcons	7	15.2%	28.6%	3	7	2009
Panthers	4	23.5%	75.0%	3	4	2008
Saints	7	15.6%	57.1%	4	7	2010
NFC West
Team	2-0	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
49ers	20	30.3%	45.0%	2	12	2009
Cardinals	16	17.4%	25.0%	1	7	2008
Rams	22	29.3%	72.7%	2	13	2001
Seahawks	9	25.0%	55.6%	3	9	2006

 

The Chicago Bears have had the most 2-0 starts to their season’s (33) in NFL history.  However the Dallas Cowboys have had the highest percentage (46.2%) of their seasons start with 2-0 records.  Check out the list below.

Highest / Lowest % of Seasons Starting 2-0

Best %					Worst %
Rk	Team	% Yrs	2-0		Rk	Team	% Yrs	2-0
1	Cowboys	46.2%	24		32	Falcons	15.2%	7
2	Dolphins	39.1%	18		31	Saints	15.6%	7
3	Broncos	38.5%	20		30	Eagles	16.5%	13
4	Bears	35.9%	33		29	Cardinals	17.4%	16
5	Jaguars	35.3%	6		28	Jets	19.2%	10
6	Lions	32.9%	27		27	Buccaneers	19.4%	7
7t	Chargers	30.8%	16		26	Redskins	20.0%	16
7t	Raiders	30.8%	16		24t	Patriots	21.2%	11
9	49ers	30.3%	20		24t	Titans	21.2%	11
10	Texans	30.0%	3		23	Steelers	21.5%	17

From 1965 to 1973, the Dallas Cowboys started nine consecutive seasons with 2-0 records.  It’s the most consecutive 2-0 starts in NFL history.

Most Consecutive 2-0 Starts

Rk	Team	2-0 Consecutive	From-To
1	Cowboys	9 seasons in a row	1965-1973
2	Bears	8 seasons in a row	1984-1991
3	Dolphins	6 seasons in a row	1994-1999
4t	Rams	5 seasons in a row	1966-1970
4t	Cowboys	5 seasons in a row	1975-1979

For the last two seasons the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans have started their season’s with 2-0 records; currently the longest active 2-0 season start streaks in the NFL.

The longest any NFL team has gone without starting a season 2-0, was 18 seasons.

2-0 Droughts

Rk	Team	2-0 Drought	From-To
1t	Steelers	18 seasons between	1955-1972
1t	Eagles	18 seasons between	1962-1979
1t	Colts	18 seasons between	1978-1995
4t	Steelers ¹	16 seasons between	1938-1953
4t	Cardinals	16 seasons between	1992-2007

¹ The 1943 PHI/PIT merged squad the “Steagles”, started the season 2-0.

Since 1993, the Cleveland Browns haven’t started a season 2-0.  It’s currently the longest 2-0 season start drought in the NFL (15 seasons between 2-0 starts).

Additional Facts

Both the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions are off to 2-0 starts this season.  However both teams have failed to turn their last three 2-0 starts into postseason appearances.

There are three teams in the AFC East that are starting their season’s off with 2-0 records.  It’s only the third time since 2002, that three teams from one division started the season with 2-0 records; 2002 AFC North, 2007 AFC East were the other occurrences.

A little over 62% of all Super Bowl champions started their championship season’s with 2-0 records.

A little under 89% (16/18) of all defending Super Bowl champions that start their season 2-0, have ended up in the playoffs.  Four of those teams won another Super Bowl.

Tally of 0-2 Starts by Team

Legend: 0-2 (# of 0-2 starts), % Yrs (% of seasons the team has started 0-2), % Yrs PS (% of seasons the team translated a 0-2 start to a postseason appearance; only includes applicable years from 1933-),  Since 2000 (# of 0-2 starts since 2000), Since 1970 (# of 0-2 starts since 1970), Last (last 0-2 start)

AFC East
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Bills	19	36.5%	15.8%	4	13	2010
Dolphins	10	21.7%	11.1%	6	7	2011
Jets	15	28.8%	13.3%	2	14	2007
Patriots	13	25.0%	23.1%	2	10	2001
AFC North
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Bengals	15	34.1%	0.0%	4	15	2008
Browns	12	18.2%	16.7%	5	11	2010
Ravens	3	18.8%	0.0%	2	3	2005
Steelers	19	24.1%	16.7%	2	7	2002
AFC South
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Colts	17	28.8%	6.3%	1	16	2011
Jaguars	4	23.5%	0.0%	3	4	2009
Texans	4	40.0%	0.0%	4	4	2008
Titans	10	19.2%	10.0%	3	10	2009
AFC West
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Broncos	7	13.5%	0.0%	0	2	1999
Chargers	11	21.2%	18.2%	4	10	2008
Chiefs	13	25.0%	8.3%	8	13	2011
Raiders	12	23.1%	0.0%	3	8	2007
NFC East
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Cowboys	7	13.5%	14.3%	3	5	2010
Eagles	20	25.3%	15.0%	2	12	2007
Giants	18	20.7%	12.5%	1	11	2007
Redskins	14	17.5%	7.1%	2	7	2006
NFC North
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Bears	18	19.6%	0.0%	2	8	2003
Lions	21	25.6%	4.8%	6	12	2010
Packers	17	18.7%	0.0%	3	9	2006
Vikings	10	19.6%	11.1%	5	7	2011
NFC South
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
Buccaneers	15	41.7%	6.7%	3	15	2009
Falcons	15	32.6%	13.3%	2	12	2007
Panthers	7	41.2%	0.0%	4	7	2011
Saints	18	40.0%	5.6%	1	16	2007
NFC West
Team	0-2	% Yrs	% Yrs PS	Since 2000	Since 1970	Last
49ers	13	19.7%	0.0%	3	8	2010
Cardinals	25	27.2%	4.3%	4	15	2005
Rams	19	25.3%	11.1%	6	11	2011
Seahawks	16	44.4%	0.0%	4	16	2011

 

The Arizona Cardinals have had the most 0-2 season starts to their season’s (25) in NFL history.  However the Seattle Seahawks have had the highest percentage (44.4%) of their seasons start with 0-2 records.  Check out the list below.

Highest / Lowest % of Seasons Starting 0-2

Highest %					Lowest %
Rk	Team	% Yrs	0-2		Rk	Team	% Yrs	0-2
1	Seahawks	44.4%	16		31t	Broncos	13.5%	7
2	Buccaneers	41.7%	15		31t	Cowboys	13.5%	7
3	Panthers	41.2%	7		30	Redskins	17.5%	14
4t	Saints	40.0%	18		29	Browns	18.2%	12
4t	Texans	40.0%	4		28	Packers	18.7%	17
6	Bills	36.5%	19		27	Ravens	18.8%	3
7	Bengals	34.1%	15		26	Titans	19.2%	10
8	Falcons	32.6%	15		25	Bears	19.57%	18
9	Jets	28.85%	15		24	Vikings	19.61%	10
10	Colts	28.81%	17		23	49ers	19.7%	13

From 1985 to 1991, the Indianapolis Colts started seven consecutive seasons with 0-2 records.  It’s the most consecutive 0-2  starts in NFL history.

Most Consecutive 0-2 Starts

Rk	Team	0-2 Consecutive	From-To
1	Colts	7 seasons in a row	1985-1991
2	Saints	6 seasons in a row	1972-1977
3t	Bears	5 seasons in a row	1965-1969
3t	Buccaneers	5 seasons in a row	1982-1986
3t	Chargers	5 seasons in a row	1988-1992
3t	Rams	5 seasons in a row	1959-1963
3t	Rams	5 seasons in a row	2007-2011

 

For the fifth season in a row the St. Louis Rams have started their season 0-2.  It’s currently the longest active 0-2 season start streak in the NFL.

 

The longest any NFL team has gone without starting a season 0-2, was 25 seasons.

0-2 Droughts

Rk	Team	0-2 Drought	From-To
1t	Cowboys	25 seasons between	1964-1988
1t	Broncos	25 seasons between	1969-1993
3	Raiders	21 seasons between	1965-1985
4t	Packers	18 seasons between	1957-1974
4t	Dolphins	18 seasons between	1970-1987

Since 1999, the Denver Broncos haven’t started a season 0-2.  It’s currently the longest 0-2 season start drought in the NFL (12 seasons between 0-2 starts).

Additional Facts

The last time a team started the season 0-2 and made the playoffs was 2008.  Listed below are all the teams that made the playoffs (since 1990) despite a 0-2 start to their season’s.

Year	Team		Year	Team
1990	Eagles		2001	Patriots
1990	Oilers		2002	Falcons
1990	Saints		2002	Steelers
1991	Falcons		2003	Eagles
1992	Chargers		2006	Chiefs
1993	Cowboys		2007	Giants
1993	Steelers		2008	Chargers
1994	Patriots		2008	Dolphins
1995	Lions		2008	Vikings
1996	Patriots
1998	Bills
1998	Cardinals
1998	Jets

Only three teams have started a season 0-2, and have recovered to win the Super Bowl that year.  The 1993 Dallas Cowboys, 2001 New England Patriots, and the 2007 New York Giants. 

The Dallas Cowboys have started 24 seasons 2-0 and 7 seasons 0-2 (17+ difference from 2-0 starts to 0-2 starts).  The highest difference in the NFL.

2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts

Rk	Team	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
1	Cowboys	+17	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
2	Bears	+15	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
3	Broncos	+13	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
4t	Dolphins	+8	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
4t	Packers	+8	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
6	49ers	+7	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
7	Lions	+6	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
8t	Browns	+5	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
8t	Chargers	+5	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
10t	Raiders	+4	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
10t	Vikings	+4	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
12	Rams	+3	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
13t	Jaguars	+2	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
13t	Redskins	+2	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
15t	Chiefs	+1	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
15t	Giants	+1	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
15t	Ravens	+1	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
15t	Titans	+1	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
Rk	Team	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
19t	Colts	-1	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
19t	Texans	-1	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
21t	Patriots	-2	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
21t	Steelers	-2	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
23	Panthers	-3	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
24t	Bengals	-4	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
24t	Bills	-4	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
26	Jets	-5	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
27t	Eagles	-7	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
27t	Seahawks	-7	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
29t	Buccaneers	-8	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
29t	Falcons	-8	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
31	Cardinals	-9	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts
32	Saints	-11	2-0 Starts to 0-2 Starts

Reference: Pro-Football-Reference.com, ShrpSports NFL Standings