The Tennessee Titans’ season kicked off in disappointing fashion with a narrow 16-15 road loss in Week 1, courtesy of the New Orleans Saints. While the year is just gearing up, another defeat this Sunday would be a catastrophic blow to the Titans’ playoff hopes. Starting the season 0-2 is a Super Bowl death sentence from a stats point of view.
Ahead of Week 2’s face-off against a formidable Los Angeles Chargers team, BetTennessee.com is bracing for the worst. The Titans are currently +3 home underdogs in the match-up, per DraftKings Sportsbook Tennessee. So we’re wondering, if they do lose, what will the 0-2 Tennessee Titan’s Super Bowl dreams look like?
Season Performance of 0-2 NFL Teams
Using Stathead.com, we went all the way back to the 1970 merger to see where other 0-2 teams ended up at the end of the year. Below you can find information like what the Titans playoff chances may look like should they lose this week.
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Since the merger in 1970, there have been 406 different teams to start the season 0-2. Of those teams, less than 10% have made the playoffs, and only 1% have made a Super Bowl appearance. Not sure anyone expects the Titans Super Bowl odds to be very high regardless of Week 2's outcome. However, if the Titans do lose again this Sunday, Head Coach Mike Vrabel may want to show game tape from the 1993 Dallas Cowboys, the 2001 New England Patriots, and the 2007 New York Giants. Only those three teams have begun the season 0-2 and gone on to win the Super Bowl.
Last year six teams started the year with back-to-back losses — including the Tennessee Titans, who rallied to win 7 of their 8 next games before sputtering to a 7-game losing streak to wrap up the season. 2022’s other 0-2 teams include the Colts, Raiders, Falcons, and Bengals. The 2022 Cincinnati Bengals actually own the best regular season record for a team that started the season with consecutive losses, alongside the 2013 Carolina Panthers. Both teams ended the year 12-4. Cincy had a chance of going 13-4, but their Week 17 game was canceled after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a near-fatal cardiac arrest.
Although Cincinnati last year counts among a handful of notable outliers, it’s clear that the deck will be stacked against Tennessee if they can’t pull out a victory Sunday against the Charges (who are also coming off a Week 1 loss). One thing’s for sure, re-igniting the struggling offense will be essential to keep the Titans' playoff hopes alive.
That begins with the man behind the wheel of the struggle bus, QB Ryan Tannehill. The 12-year veteran threw 3 interceptions, while also taking another 3 sacks, and registering a dismal 28.8 QBR. Amidst Tannehill’s struggles, the Titan’s marquee offseason signing, DeAndre Hopkins, managed to catch 7 passes, totaling 65 receiving yards. Tennessee’s only points in the match came off the leg of kicker Nick Folk, who provided five field goals for the stuttering Titans offense.
Things looked better on the opposite side of the ball, with the Tennessee defense recording 4 sacks, an interception, and a fumble recovery. As of today, DraftKings and most of the best Tennessee sportsbooks list the Titans at +225 to make the playoffs. That implies about a 1 in 3 chance of them finding a spot in the post-season.
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