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Five teams face an 0-4 start — and only one 0-4 team has ever made the playoffs

Week 4 brings a grim milestone for five struggling franchises currently sitting at 0-3. The Dolphins, Texans, Titans, Chargers, and Buccaneers will all attempt to avoid dropping into a disastrous 0-4 hole, as none of them face each other this weekend.

Historical precedent offers little comfort to these winless groups. Only seven squads have ever salvaged a postseason berth after losing their first three games, most recently demonstrated by the 2025 Texans.

Dropping four straight contests is an almost insurmountable obstacle in professional football. Across the entire history of the league, just one single group has managed to reach the playoffs following an 0-4 start.

That miraculous turnaround belonged to the 1992 Chargers under the guidance of first-year coach Bobby Ross. That squad reeled off eleven victories across their final dozen matches to capture the AFC West crown.

They advanced past the wild-card round by blanking the Chiefs 17-0, though their journey ultimately ended the following week with a 31-0 defeat against the Dolphins. Despite an expanded 17-game schedule and seven postseason berths per conference making dramatic reversals theoretically more attainable today, achieving a similar feat remains an extraordinary statistical anomaly.

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