Which winless NFL team has the best odds of making playoffs?

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Which winless NFL team has the best odds of still making the playoffs?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 10/4/23

There is only one team in the history of the NFL that started off its season 0-4 and still made the playoffs. That was the San Diego Chargers in 1992, and that team beat the Kansas City Chiefs on wild-card weekend before losing to Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins in the divisional round.

So no, the odds that either the Carolina Panthers or the Chicago Bears will make the playoffs after losing their first four games of the 2023 campaign aren't great. Of course, as any 90s movie buff will tell you, Lloyd Christmas would read that last sentence and say there is still a chance.

DraftKings still lists the odds for each NFL team making the playoffs, regardless of their record. But which of these two winless teams has the better chance of playing in mid-January?

Who will get a win first this season, the Panthers or Bears? pic.twitter.com/P4CaOXxe31
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 2, 2023

In a surprising twist, the Panthers have better odds at DK of making the playoffs than the Bears do. Sure, Carolina is still a 16-1 long shot at playing past Week 18, but that's a heck of a lot better than Chicago's 25-1 odds.

That's a big jump from before Week 4 when that same Bears team was still listed at 10-1 odds to turn things around and make the playoffs while the Panthers were 13-1.

Odds to make the playoffs for the 4 winless teams

- Panthers +1300
- Bears +1000
- Broncos +800
- Vikings +320 https://t.co/8G7iJf6xCS
— DraftKings Sportsbook (@DKSportsbook) September 26, 2023

Neither team is going to have an easy time aiming for that first win in Week 5, either. On Thursday night, Justin Fields and the Bears visit a Washington Commanders team looking for payback after getting crushed by the Buffalo Bills and then toppled by the Philadelphia Eagles in overtime. Meanwhile, Bryce Young will lead the Panthers into Motor City on Sunday where they will face Jared Goff and a surging Detroit Lions team.

Now it's just a matter of sitting back and seeing which of these two winless teams gets into the win column first -- and how their odds of making it to the playoffs change.

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