ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Maybe it's about time for Bills coach Rex Ryan to light up his meeting room for another profanity-laced speech about what's at stake for him and his team this season.

We're only five days into the regular season, but at 0-2, the Bills' backs are already against the wall after their 37-31 loss Thursday night to the New York Jets.

Think that's premature? Consider that since the NFL instituted its current playoff format in 1990, only 12 percent of teams that began 0-2 managed to make the playoffs, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The most recent team to start a season 0-3 and earn a playoff berth was the 1998 Bills, and only two other teams have managed that feat since 1990. Among 0-4 teams, only the 1992 Chargers rebounded to find their way into the postseason.

Having dropped their opener in Baltimore and the critical division loss Thursday, the Bills are staring down the possibility of having their season slip away before the leaves fall from the trees in western New York. The Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots, two of the NFL's three best teams of the past two seasons, are next on the Bills' schedule, making an 0-3 or 0-4 start possible, if not likely, for Buffalo.

"We can't even think about the other [games] because we got to think about one game at a time, and that's where we're at," Ryan said after the game. "We have to get a lot better."

Ryan can take a one-game-at-a-time approach because it's his only choice. But he'll hardly be alone in that regard; many coaches who have fallen into early holes have attempted to strap on blinders to get their teams back on track. Few have succeeded, and the reality of their quickly dwindling chances will eventually set in.

There isn't a clear-cut solution on how to steer the Bills' ship back on course. The offense was the problem in Week 1, managing only 160 yards. The Bills almost matched that total on two passes Thursday -- an 84-yard touchdown to Marquise Goodwin and a 71-yard touchdown to Greg Salas -- but their defense let them down.

"[I] never expected this," Ryan said of Thursday's result. "The Jets were a much better team than we were today, especially their offense against our defense. It looked like a mismatch today."

If the Jets' offense was a mismatch for Ryan's defense, Bills fans should be alarmed about what the next two weeks hold. The Cardinals were the NFL's most potent offense last season, averaging 408 yards per game. The Patriots weren't far behind, ranking sixth with 374 yards -- and they looked explosive even without Tom Brady at quarterback during Sunday's opener in Arizona.

The Bills will have the weekend to regroup, but don't let the calendar fool you: They have major problems, and given their upcoming schedule, the Bills' season will likely hinge on how they perform during the next month.