While the first two games of the NFL Regular Season may seem like an insignificant portion of a much greater season, the gap between teams that start 2-0 and the ones that go 0-2 has been apparent throughout the league's history. Just three teams in the NFL have ever won the Lombardi trophy following an 0-2 start, effectively giving the Chiefs a 5% chance at becoming the fourth. So why is ESPN giving them a 50% to still make the playoffs?
ESPN recently gave the Kansas City Chiefs a 51.8% chance to advance to the postseason, ranking them as the league's best 0-2 team. Now, it's certainly not a stretch to call them the best 0-2 team given their five Super Bowl appearances in the last six years, but what makes us confident the Chiefs will improve from this point, rather than following a natural regression?
What are the Chiefs' playoff chances?
Chiefs' 0-2 hole reveals early offensive flaws – running over 65% of snaps on first down. Mahomes averaging 222.5 yards per game tells the story.
This offense needs a hard reset before facing Giants.pic.twitter.com/NLMFWh9cqh
— Evan Carter (@betfinder_evan) September 17, 2025
“The Kansas City Chiefs… trust your eyes. They’re not a very good offensive football team.”@colincowherd doesn't recognize this version of the Chiefs offense pic.twitter.com/zMZIgT4joD
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 12, 2025
The Kansas City Chiefs have never gone 0-2 with Patrick Mahomes as their starting quarterback. The last time they began 0-2 was the 2014 NFL season, where they eventually missed the playoffs.
There are a number of things we can look towards, but most experts are blaming the offensive struggles on this new-look Chiefs team. While the players like Mahomes and Kelce may still be in their same spots, the Chiefs have widely lacked big plays downfield – and an explosive running game. Their longest carry of the season has gone for 11 yards and they haven't been showing the same kind of efficiency on third downs.
Nevertheless, Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback and he'll always give his team a chance to win a close game. But the Chiefs may have to become buyers on the trade market if they want to boost their offensive weapons and potentially make a change in their running back room. Of course, it's too early to tell, but the Chiefs are always one of those teams that tend to figure things out by the end of their season and find a groove to their offense that we haven't seen before.