The "must-win" label is often overplayed in sports, especially when it's handed out early in a given season. That said, a handful of teams dropped their season openers and now have their backs somewhat against the wall as they look toward Week 2. While falling to 0-2 isn't exactly the same nail in the coffin as it was before playoff expansion, it creates an uphill battle nonetheless.
At the very least, doubt starts to creep in at 0-2 about whether or not all that preseason optimism was based in reality. Below, we'll highlight five teams still hunting their first win of 2026 and rank them by who needs to notch a win most. New York Giants (Monday)Week 2 odds: Rams -7 (-115), Rams ML (-355) Los Angeles is still the odds-on favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, but some air has been let out of the balloon since the regular season kicked off.
Sean McVay's plan of arriving a day before their international matchup with the 49ers in Australia blew up in his face as the Rams fell flat in a 27-7 defeat. On top of making the 15-hour flight home at 0-1, L.A. also lost its offseason prize in the process, as pass rusher Myles Garrett was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury that requires surgery. They'll look to rebound now that they are back stateside, where they'll host the New York Giants on "Monday Night Football" to conclude Week 2.
The Giants are coming off an upset win against the Cowboys in the opener, but the Rams are a sizable home favorite, currently laying a full touchdown. If they lose this matchup and the offense continues to look stagnant like it did in Melbourne, the panic level will almost certainly reach a fever pitch. After all, the Rams are back on the road after this game, visiting the Denver Broncos in Week 3 and then the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4.
Those are two of the toughest road environments in the NFL, and with the added pressure of possibly still searching for their first win in both of those contests, things could get really tight in that Rams locker room. Even after that road trip, they face the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 when they return to SoFi Stadium, so there is no letup in the early portion of this schedule. This is a game the oddsmakers believe L.A. should win with relative ease, and they'll need to pile these types of victories up where they can.
Jacksonville JaguarsWeek 2 odds: Broncos -2.5 (-118), Broncos ML (-148) Denver entered the season with the reputation of having one of the top defenses in the NFL. At least for one night, however, that notion was dispelled when the Kansas City Chiefs demolished them 31-10 on Monday night. According to Next Gen Stats, the Broncos' defense missed 28 tackles against Kansas City and allowed 247 yards after those missed tackles.
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