With a 16-game schedule, starting 0-2 in the NFL wouldn’t seem like much of a hurdle. After all, the New York Giants opened 0-2 a year ago, and look how their season finished.

The truth is, though, an 0-2 start is a significant obstacle to playing postseason football. Since the current playoff format was put in place in 1990, 148 teams have lost their first two games. Only 19 have them reached the playoffs. That’s a meager 12.8 percent of the 0-2 clubs.

At least five of the 0-2 teams this season were expected to be contenders for playoff berths. Two are 2007 division winners who find themselves looking up at the rest of the pack. It’s not encouraging that in the 18 seasons of the current playoff format, only twice -- in 1990 and 1998 -- have as many as three 0-2 starters made it to the postseason. Those five 2008 teams have uphill climbs.

After going 11-5 to claim the AFC West title last season, the Chargers have failed to outscore their opponents in a pair of defensively challenged contests. They lost to Carolina on the last play of their opener, then dropped a 39-38 decision to Denver Sunday in the final minute. The errant whistle that nullified a late Broncos fumble was frustrating enough, but the Chargers, who were expected to roll in the West, face Week 3 with LaDainian Tomlinson hampered by a toe injury.

The Seahawks are the defending NFC West champions after a 10-6 performance a year ago, but they have opened with losses to Buffalo and San Francisco. The receiving corps has been decimated by injuries, inspiring the Seahawks to trade for Keary Colbert and bring back Koren Robinson, who was jettisoned by Seattle a couple of years ago for bad behavior. Perhaps the Seahawks are not a shoe-in to claim their fifth straight division title.

The Jaguars face a tough early-season schedule. After losing to Tennessee and Buffalo, they face Indianapolis Sunday and Pittsburgh in two weeks. Like Seattle, Jacksonville is struggling with injuries to its receivers. The team’s top two targets, Jerry Porter and Reggie Williams, are out. With an anemic offense that has been limited to a single touchdown in each loss, the Jags’ playoff hopes may be all but dead by October.

Cleveland added all kinds of talent to build on a promising 10-6 season a year ago. The Browns opened with a pair of home games, but they happened to host Dallas and Pittsburgh the first two weeks. Injuries also have been a problem for the Browns, who are 0-6 combined since the start of the preseason schedule. They’ll be looking for their first 2008 win of any kind Sunday. The Browns face the Ravens in Baltimore, where they have lost four of their last five games.

With the NFC Central up for grabs, the Vikings looked poised for their first playoff appearance since 2004. Quarterback Tarvaris Jackson couldn’t ignite the offense in losses to Green Bay and Indianapolis the first two weeks, and Aaron Rodgers has shown the Vikings that the Pack will be a formidable foe. Minnesota may be without star RB Adrian Peterson in Week 3, when quarterback duties are turned over to veteran backup Gus Frerotte. That’s not the ticket to making the playoffs.

Starting 0-2 isn’t exactly the kiss of death, but it isn’t a lip lock drenched in love, either. Of those 19 teams who began 0-2 still advanced to the playoffs, only four reached the Super Bowl. The 1996 Patriots rebounded to finish 11-5 and won a pair of playoff games before falling to Green Bay in the title game.

The other three teams all won the Big One.

Super Bowl Winners who Started 0-2, Since 1990

Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . .W-L. . . . . . .SB Game
1993 Cowboys. . . . . . . .12-4. . . . .Dallas 30, Buffalo 13
2001 Patriots. . . . . . . . .11-5. . . . .New England 20, St. Louis 17
2007 Giants. . . . . . . . . .10-6. . . . .New York 17, New England 14

The 1993 Cowboys and 2001 Patriots finished strong. Dallas lost only twice more all season, and won its last five regular-season games. New England won its last six games of the regular season and finished the year winning nine straight.

The inspiration for teams trying to salvage their 2008 season after starting 0-2 has to be last year’s Giants. They won six straight after dropping their first two games, then went a less-than-inspiring 4-4 down the stretch. The Giants are the only 0-2 Super Bowl winner since 1990 to win four playoff contests to claim the title.