Five NFL Teams Have Started Season 0-4

The Dolphins, Titans, Texans, Chargers, and Buccaneers face difficult paths after winless starts.

Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Football

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Do you still believe your local NFL team can make the playoffs after a poor start?

Five NFL franchises have fallen to a 0-4 record following losses on Sunday. These teams now face the uphill battle of attempting to secure a playoff spot despite their winless performance through the first quarter of the season.

Why it matters

A 0-4 start is statistically devastating for postseason aspirations, as only one team in the history of the league has managed to reach the playoffs after beginning their season with four straight losses.

Five teams currently hold a 0-4 record, an extreme outlier in an NFL season defined by 17 total games. History shows that only the 1992 San Diego Chargers managed to qualify for the playoffs after starting a season with four consecutive losses.

The players

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team that competes in the AFC East division.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are an American football franchise based in Nashville that competes in the AFC South.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are a professional football team based in Houston that competes in the AFC South division.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team that competes in the AFC West division.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team that competes in the NFC South division.

The details

The Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Chargers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all dropped their latest matchups on Sunday. With seven playoff spots available per conference, these teams must quickly reverse their momentum to remain competitive for the postseason.

Sunday, October 4, 2026: Five teams lost their games to fall to 0-4.
1992: The Chargers became the only team to recover from a 0-4 start to reach the playoffs.
Next weekend: The Tennessee Titans will host the Houston Texans.

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Season Trajectory

This collective 0-4 start significantly alters the competitive landscape of the season by putting five teams at immediate risk of falling out of playoff contention. This situation follows the historical pattern set by the 1992 San Diego Chargers, whose lone recovery from a 0-4 start remains the only successful model for these teams to follow.

The Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans game next weekend serves as a critical tiebreaker for these franchises, as one will secure their first win while the other drops to 0-5. For teams that participated in the playoffs last year, such as the Texans and Chargers, these early losses create a mathematical deficit that complicates their chances for a repeat postseason appearance.

The takeaway

Reaching the playoffs after a 0-4 start requires near-perfect performance for the remainder of the season given the 17-game schedule. Fans should monitor divisional matchups in the coming weeks, as these games will determine which teams are truly eliminated from postseason consideration early.

What happens next

The Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans are scheduled to face each other next weekend, guaranteeing that at least one of these 0-4 teams will not fall to 0-5.