NFL History: What Starting 1–0 Really Means for Teams’ Playoff Chances

Discover how NFL teams starting 1-0 fare, with 68.8% making playoffs since 2015. Explore key Week 1 matchups and betting insights at RotoWire.com.

August 21, 2025

NFL History: What Starting 1–0 Really Means for Teams’ Playoff Chances

By:

Christopher Boan

August 21, 2025

The NFL preseason is well underway, but we're still a couple of weeks away from the games that really count in the record books. Rotowire.com, as part of our NFL betting insight, used Champs or Chumps to discover how NFL teams ended up after starting the regular season 1-0 since 2015. There have been 156 teams that started 1-0 since then.

Season Performance Of NFL Teams Starting 1-0

Situation	Number of Teams	Percentage*
Making The Playoffs	88 of 128 possible	68.8%
Making Divisional Round	53 of 80 possible	66.3%
Making Conference Championship	32 of 40 possible	80.0%
Making Super Bowl	16 of 20 possible	80.0%
Winning Super Bowl	8 of 10 possible	80.0%

*Rounded to nearest whole number

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How Have 1-0 Teams Fared At Season's End?

Given how 88 of the 128 teams (68.8%) that started 1-0 went on to reach the postseason, it's likely of little surprise to learn that most of the Super Bowl champions since 2015 did the same.

In total, eight of the past 10 champs, dating back to 2015, won their Week 1 contests. The only exceptions were the 2023 Kansas City Chiefs (who lost to the Detroit Lions, 21-20) and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (who lost to the New Orleans Saints, 34-23), with both bouncing back to claim the Vince Lombardi Trophy after starting 0-1. So Super Bowl odds might not move that much after the first of 17 games, but this is a trend worth watching.

Of the past 10 Super Bowl champs, the team with the most lopsided Week 1 win was the Chiefs in 2022, who beat the Arizona Cardinals 44-21 to kick off the team's first of two straight titles. The thinnest margin of victory by a year-end champ since 2015 was when the 2016 Patriots beat the Cardinals, 23-21, kickstarting New England's second-to-last Super Bowl run.

Which Week 1 Games Could Live Up To The Hype in 2025?

Come Week 1 of the 2025 season, football fans won't have to wait long for a can't-miss game to watch. In the opener on Sept. 4, the defending champion Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys.

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Oddsmakers from DraftKings Sportsbook have the defending champs down as a sizable favorite over the Cowboys. As of Aug. 21, Philly is a seven-point favorite with a moneyline of -310 on the Eagles, compared to +250 odds to win on the visitors from the Lone Star State.

Elsewhere in Week 1, we have a Brazilian clash, with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs facing Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. The AFC West rivals meet Sept. 5 at Sao Paulo's Corinthians Arena. When coaches Andy Reid and Jim Harbaugh meet, Bet365 Sportsbook has K.C. as a three-point favorite in the heart of Brazil, with a -180 moneyline on the Chiefs compared to +150 odds on the Bolts.

On Sept. 7, there's the NFC North clash between the two-time defending division champion Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in the 4:25 p.m. slot, with CBS carrying the contest live. Oddsmakers from FanDuel Sportsbook give Green Bay a slight edge, with the Packers favored by 1.5 points and a -124 moneyline on Jordan Love and company. Dan Campbell's guys from the Motor City are +106 straight up.

Throw in another late afternoon banger in the 4:25 slot between the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams, plus the Sunday Night Football showdown between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens in the Empire State, and you have a decent snapshot of the quality that Week 1 presents. It's a glorious appetizer to the 2025 NFL season for folks using RotoWire's top sports betting promo codes to sign up with operators.