So whatever happened to homefield advantage in the National Football League? Judging by the early results of the 2000 season, it's no longer a factor at all.

For the second straight week, the home teams were under .500, going 4-10 in Week 4 and just 6-8 this past Sunday and Monday. That means after five weeks of action, being at home has proven to be NO advantage as the season record shows the host club two games UNDER .500. This continues a disturbing trend that saw last season's home winning percentage (.597) as the worst in the league since 1994 (.571).

Home team records (1994-2000)
Year	Rec	Pct
2000	35-37	.486
1999	148-100	.597
1998	151-89-0	.629
1997	145-93-2	.608
1996	149-91-0	.621
1995	144-96-0	.600
1994	128-96-0	.571

It's worth noting that the Bears (0-4), Steelers (0-3) and Patriots (0-4), all winless entering last weekend, each got their first victories of the season on the road. Chicago won at once-feared Lambeau Field, Pittsburgh got their first-ever win at Jacksonville in six tries and New England won at Denver for the first time since 1968, snapping an 11-game road losing streak (including playoffs) in that series.

It's also interesting to note that there are more winless teams at home (eight) than unbeaten clubs at home (six).

Home records (after Week 5)
Unbeaten	Rec.
Miami	3-0
St. Louis	3-0
Baltimore	2-0
Minnesota	2-0
New York Jets	2-0
Tennessee	2-0
Winless	Rec.
New England	0-2
Cincinnati	0-2
Pittsburgh	0-2
San Diego	0-2
Dallas	0-2
Chicago	0-2
Carolina	0-2
New Orleans	0-2

Last season, only the Super Bowl-bound Rams and Titans went unscathed in their own backyards, and even that was quite a change from recent seasons, when we saw at least three teams each go 8-0 at home from 1996-98. And going unbeaten at home proved to be fortuitous indeed in terms of winning a Super Bowl as the last four teams to win it all didn't lose at all at home that season.

Unbeaten teams at home (1996-1999)
Year	Team	Rec.	Season Result
1999	St. Louis	8-0	Won Super Bowl XXXIV
1999	Tennessee	8-0	Lost Super Bowl XXXIV
1998	Denver	8-0	Won Super Bowl XXXIII
1998	Atlanta	8-0	Lost Super Bowl XXXIII
1998	San Francisco	8-0	Lost NFC Divisional Playoffs
1998	Minnesota	8-0	Lost NFC Championship Game
1997	Denver	8-0	Won Super Bowl XXXII
1997	Green Bay	8-0	Lost Super Bowl XXXII
1997	Kansas City	8-0	Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs
1997	San Francisco	8-0	Lost NFC Championship Game
1996	Green Bay	8-0	Won Super Bowl XXXI
1996	Carolina	8-0	Lost NFC Championship Game
1996	Denver	8-0	Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs

By the way, the last time there were no teams in the league that finished undefeated at home was 1994.

Russell S. Baxter is the chief NFL researcher for ESPN and a senior reporter for ESPN the Magazine.