The odds are heavily stacked against the Bengals making the playoffs after 0-2 start

The 2024 NFL season hasn't started the way the Cincinnati Bengals would have hoped. The Bengals followed up a season-opening loss to the New England Patriots with a heartbreaking L to the rival Kansas City Chiefs. So after two weeks the Bengals sit 0-2 for a third straight season.

That 0-2 start doesn't doom Cincinnati's playoff chances, but the odds are already heavily stacked against them making the postseason, as you'd probably expect.

Only 2 teams have made the playoffs after an 0-2 start since 2020

Since the NFL expanded the playoffs to include 14 teams in 2020, 32 different teams have started a season 0-2. Of those 32 teams, only two have gone on to make the playoffs. That equates to 6.25% of teams. Just five of those 32 teams have finished the season with a winning record after an 0-2 start. Those statistics come courtesy of the Baltimore Sun.

The silver lining for the Bengals is that they've been in this situation before. It isn't unfamiliar territory at all. One of the two teams to make the playoffs after an 0-2 start since 2020 was Cincinnati in 2022. And they didn't just make the playoffs, they made it all the way to the conference championship game.

The Bengals also finished the 2023 season with a 9-8 record after an 0-2 start. So, the team clearly has some very recent experience in turning things around after a sluggish start. That should make Bengals fans feel better about losing two games before winning one, again.

At the same time though, the consistent slow starts under head coach Zac Taylor are worrisome. Starting every season digging yourself out of a hole isn't ideal, even if it has worked out for the Bengals a couple of times.

What's really important for the Bengals now is that they don't start the season 0-3, which means that they need a win over the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football. Since 2000, only one team (the 2018 Houston Texans) has made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Only six total teams have done so since 1979.