Odds to Be the Last Winless Team in the 2020 NFL Season – Jets Favored Over Giants, Falcons, and Texans
- The New York Jets, at -125, are the favorite to be the last winless team in the NFL this season
- Like the Jets, the Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans and New York Giants also have 0-4 records
- Below is a look at the winless teams and who is likely to have a zero in the win column the longest
Four NFL teams are still looking for their first win a quarter of the way through the season.
The Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans, New York Giants and New York Jets are all 0-4.
Things have reached the point where there are now odds on which team will be the last to win a game in 2020.
Odds to Be Last Winless Team in NFL
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| New York Jets | -125 |
| New York Giants | +200 |
| Atlanta Falcons | +300 |
| Houston Texans | +500 |
Odds taken Oct 7
Who’s the Worst?
The Falcons, Texans, Giants and Jets have all been awful in their own way.
The Falcons blew 15-point fourth-quarter losses in back-to-back games to the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears in Weeks 2 and 3. That had never happened before in NFL history.
The @AtlantaFalcons are doing FANTASTIC this season.
Have blown leads this season 🔥🔥🔥
Last in the NFC South division 💯💯💯
Have not won any games 😈😈😈
.000 winning percentage 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/PugiJVogEk— ⚜ WHO DAT Cool Breesy ⚜ (@Steve2duhO) October 6, 2020
The Texans fired coach/general manager Bill O’Brien earlier this week following consecutive AFC South titles. Houston is allowing an NFL-worst 181.8 yards rushing a game.
The Giants have eight turnovers, the third-highest total in the league. Daniel Jones has thrown five interceptions and lost two fumbles.
However, none of them have been quite as bad as the Jets. They are 31st in the league in scoring (16.2 ppg) and total offense (378.0 ypd), 30th in scoring defense (32.8 ppg) and 18th in total defense (368.8 ypg).
Even in the one category – total defense – in which the Jets are close to league average, they negate that by giving up points by the bushels.
That has led to plenty of talk among New York fans as to whether the Giants or Jets will win first.
Strength of Schedule
In fairness, all four teams have played difficult schedules, none tougher than the Falcons.
Two of the Falcons’ losses have come to teams that are still unbeaten in the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers. Atlanta has also fallen to the 3-1 Chicago Bears and 1-3 Cowboys.
The combined record of the Giants’ and Texans’ opponents are 11-4. Both lost to the undefeated Steelers. The Texans were also defeated by the 4-0 Kansas City Chiefs and 3-1 Baltimore Ravens while the Giants have also lost to a pair of 3-1 teams in the Bears and Los Angeles Rams.
Apparently, conflict at practice the week of the Steelers’ game cost O’Brien his job.
J.J. Watt and DC Anthony Weaver “got into an argument” with Bill O’Brien in the weeks before the Texans coach/GM was fired, per @AaronWilson_NFL pic.twitter.com/NHmG2wMAYR
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 7, 2020
The Jets have had the easiest schedule of the four winless teams, but their opponents are a combined 10-6 and they opened against the still-unbeaten Buffalo Bills.
However, the Jets’ latest loss was not a good one That came at home last Thursday night to the Denver Broncos, a team that came into the game without a victory.
Two 0-4 Teams Favored
Perhaps this is the week one or more of the 0-4 teams crack the win column. Two are favored by the oddsmakers.
The Atlanta Falcons are 1.5-point favorites at home against the Carolina Panthers as can be seen in the Falcons vs Panthers odds.
The Texans have also been installed as home favorites by 6.5 points over the Jacksonville Jaguars according to the Jaguars vs Texans odds.
Meanwhile, the Jets are seven-point home underdogs to the Arizona Cardinals as can be seen in the Cardinals vs Jets odds and the Giants are 9.5-point dogs on the road in the Giants vs. Cowboys odds.
The Jets will be without Sam Darnold, who has a sprained shoulder.
An 0-16 Team in 2020?
If nothing else, the law of averages says that each of the four teams are going to win eventually.
Since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978, just the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns have gone 0-16.
Here is a look at four current 0-4 teams’ upcoming schedules to help gauge if they might be ready to get that elusive “W.”
Winless Teams’ Upcoming Schedules
| Week | Falcons opponent | Texans opponent | Giants opponent | Jets opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | vs. Panthers (2-2) | vs. Jaguars (1-3) | at Cowboys (1-3) | vs. Cardinals (2-2) |
| 6 | at Vikings (1-3) | at Titans (3-0) | vs. Washington (1-3) | at Chargers (1-3) |
| 7 | vs. Lions (1-3) | vs. Packers (4-0) | at Eagles (1-2-1) | vs. Bills (4-0) |
| 8 | at Panthers (2-2) | Bye | vs. Buccaneers (3-1) | at Chiefs (4-0) |
| 9 | vs. Broncos (1-3) | at Jaguars (1-3) | at Washington (1-3) | at Patriots (2-2) |
If the odds hold to form, the Falcons and Texans will get their first wins this week. The Giants should pick up their first victory in Week 6 when they host the Washington Football Team and new starting quarterback Kyle Allen.
That leaves the Jets. There are no easy marks on the upcoming schedule, and they have a rough three-game stretch against the Bills, Chiefs and New England Patriots from Weeks 7-9.
In fact, it is hard to envision the Jets being favorites in any of their 12 remaining games. They could be the third team to post an 0-16 record.
The Jets are deserved favorites as the last NFL team to win a game in 2020 and the play, even at the low price of -125.
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
