The NFL returned for Week 3 on Thursday with the 49ers thumping the Giants to improve to 3-0 and drop New York to 1-2.
We move to Sunday and the main slate brings some critical matchups. Nobody can clinch a playoff berth or be mathematically eliminated, but certain teams will be in a significantly better position coming out of the weekend. Teams that start 3-0 have made the playoffs 74% of the time in the Super Bowl era.
On the other side of things, there are nine teams desperate to avoid an 0-3 start to the season. Dating back to 1990, 158 teams have started the season 0-3 and only four of those teams turned it around to make the playoffs. Two won their division and none won the Super Bowl. The most recent team to do so was the Texans in 2018. They started 0-3 before winning nine straight and finishing the season 11-5. They lost in the Wild Card round to the Colts.
This year, nine teams are 0-2 heading into Week 3. The teams are as follows, with their Week 3 matchup:
Chargers (0-2) @ Vikings (0-2)
Patriots (0-2) @ Jets (1-1)
Texans (0-2) @ Jaguars (1-1)
Broncos (0-2) @ Dolphins (2-0)
Panthers (0-2) @ Seahawks (1-1)
Bears (0-2) @ Chiefs (1-1)
Cardinals (0-2) vs. Cowboys (2-0)
Bengals (0-2) vs. Rams (1-1)