From 0-3 to playoffs? Vikings look to join this group of six teams that made the postseason after awful starts

This clearly isn't the start Kevin O'Connell and the Minnesota Vikings were hoping for. After going 13-4 last season, Minnesota remains winless after dropping its first three games of the season. The Vikings are one of four teams still in search of their first win. 

Turnovers have been the main issue in Minnesota. The Vikings turned the ball over nine times in their first three games. It's gotten to the point where O'Connell is threatening to bench players in an attempt to fix the issue. 

"I think that's something we're going to fix one way or the other," O'Connell said earlier this week, via ESPN. "Either guys are going to [fix] it or we're going to have to put other guys in the game that have ball security."

Despite the turnovers and the 0-3 start, O'Connell said that he is "very, very confident" that his team will turn things around. Fortunately for the Vikings, Sunday's opponent will be against another 0-3 team, the Carolina Panthers. In fact, each of the NFL's remaining winless teams (the Bears and Broncos being the other two) will face off in Week 4. One likely reason for McDonnell's optimism is the fact that his offense includes one of the NFL's best players in wideout Justin Jefferson, whose 458 receiving yards leads the NFL through three weeks. 

Is there hope for O'Connell's team? Six teams since 1979 have made the playoffs after an 0-3 start. Of the 158 teams that started 0-3 between 1990-2022, four managed to get into the postseason. Only one 0-3 team has won a playoff game, and no such team has reached the Super Bowl. 

As the NFL's winless teams prepare for Week 4, here's a look at the six teams that made the playoffs after an 0-3 start and the biggest reason for their turnaround. 

1981 Jets

• Final record: 10-5-1 (lost to the Bills the wild card round)  

Biggest reason for turnaround: New York's offense (led by QB Richard Todd) got things going, but the Jets' turnaround was largely fueled by their famed New York Sack Exchange defense, led by 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Joe Klecko and pass rusher Mark Gastineau. The duo combined for 40.5 sacks of the Jets' 66 sacks as the Jets held nine of their last 10 regular season foes to under 20 points. 

1982 Buccaneers 

• Final record: 5-4 (lost to the Cowboys in the wild card round) 

Biggest reason for turnaround: John McKay's team made the playoffs after winning their last three games by a combined six points. The league's eighth-ranked passing offense and sixth-ranked pass defense were significant in each of those close wins. A players strike that season reduced the regular-season schedule from 16 games to nine.

Doug Williams, a future Super Bowl MVP for Washington, threw for 367 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Tampa's overtime win over Chicago in the final game of the regular season. The Buccaneers' defense was led by then by future Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon and fellow Pro Bowl linebacker Hugh Green. 

1992 Chargers 

• Final record: 11-5 (lost to the Dolphins in the divisional round) 

Biggest reason for turnaround: The '92 Chargers hold the distinction of being the only team to make the playoffs after starting 0-4. Bobby Ross' team did so largely on the strength of their talented skill players on offense and the league's fourth-ranked scoring defense, which was led by future Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau. 

Seau filled the stat sheet that year with 102 tackles, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions and a forced and a recovered fumble. Teammate Leslie O'Neal also had a big year by tallying 17 of the Chargers' 51 sacks. 

Offensively, the Chargers enjoyed a unique season from running back Ronnie Harman, who made the Pro Bowl after catching 79 passes for 914 yards. Wideout Anthony Miller also turned in a Pro Bowl campaign after catching 72 passes for 1,060 yards and seven scores. 

1995 Detroit Lions 

• Final record: 10-6 (lost to the Eagles in the wild card round) 

Biggest reason for turnaround: As you'd expect, Barry Sanders played a major role in Detroit's turnaround. The future Hall of Fame running back rushed for 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns that season that included a season-high 167 yards in a pivotal midseason win over Brett Favre and the rest of the rival Packers. Wideout Herman Moore was also a significant reason for the turnaround. An All-Pro that season, Moore caught a then-NFL record 123 passes for 1,686 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

Both players had big games in the Lions' wild 44-38 Thanksgiving Day win over the Vikings. 

1998 Bills 

• Final record: 10-6 (lost to the Dolphins in the wild card round) 

Biggest reason for turnaround: Former Heisman Trophy winner and Canadian Football League legend Doug Flutie took Buffalo and the NFL by storm after he replaced injured starter Rob Johnson. The then 36-year-old Flutie went 7-3 as Buffalo's starter en route to earning his first and only Pro Bowl selection. 

Flutie had a lot of success that year throwing the ball to fellow Pro Bowler Eric Moulds, who caught 67 passes for 1,368 yards and nine touchdowns. Buffalo lost to Miami in the playoffs despite Moulds catching nine passes for a whopping 240 yards and a touchdown. 

2018 Texans

• Final record: 11-5 (lost to the Colts in the wild card round) 

Biggest reason for turnaround: Houston did a much better job taking care of the ball after their slow start. The Texans had just five turnovers in their final 10 games of the season and went 8-2 over that span. Conversely, Houston's defense forced 26 turnovers over that span that included four takeaways in a December win over the Browns. 

On offense, the turnaround was led by the Texans' Pro Bowl trio of quarterback Deshaun Watson, wideout DeAndre Hopkins and running back Lamar Miller. Houston's defense featured future Hall of Fame defensive end J.J. Watt, who tallied 16 sacks and a league-high seven forced fumbles en route to finishing second for NFL Comeback Player of the Year.