It’s almost that time of the year again, where I get to scream the word “fumble” at my television screen or I get to debate with myself if the referee made the right decision on a “pass interference” call or a “holding” call. Yes, a new National Football League (NFL) season returns to our screens on Thursday night — following an interesting three weeks of the preseason — and I can’t wait to see what drama the new campaign holds.
It feels like only a few weeks ago when Aaron Donald and the rest of the Los Angeles Rams lifted the Super Bowl on home soil — SoFi Stadium — thanks to an extremely eventful offseason. From Aaron Rodgers insisting he wants to leave the Green Bay Packers and then re-signing for the highest NFL contract in history to Tom Brady retiring and then reversing his decision, the last seven months have been entertaining even before the snap of the ball to signal the start of the 2022 season.
Did I forget to mention that Brian Flores — former Miami Dolphins head coach — sued the NFL? And rightfully so. While the wide receivers’ market saw a bump in wages, thanks to Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, and Christian Kirk. The dreadful Deshaun Watson saga also has a conclusion, although his move and guaranteed contract to the Cleveland Browns remains a head-scratcher. Mr no-limit, also known as Russell Wilson, was the highest profile move in the quarterback carousel that also saw Matt Ryan end up in Indianapolis and Baker Mayfield in North Carolina. The 2022 NFL draft was also dominated by defensive players, with the Jaguars picking first for the second year in a row —what’s to stop them from doing a three-peat?
Whichever way you look at it, it’s been an interesting off-season and I can only hope the new season provides more excitement — especially on the field of play. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the teams stack up ahead of Thursday night’s opener.
The Contenders…
Los Angeles Rams
After picking up his first Superc Bowl trophy in February, Aaron Donald returns with his band of determined brothers ready to mount a title defene the NFL hasn’t seen in ages. The Rams might have lost Von Miller to the Buffalo Bills, Andrew Whitworth to retirement, and Odell Beckham Jr. to injury, but Sean McVay’s troops remain one of the favourites to reach the Super Bowl this season.
The Rams retained the core of last season’s championship-winning side and with the likes of Bobby Wagner —who joined from the Seahawks— and Troy Hill —re-signing with the team— the defending champions have a title-winning defense to go with an exciting offense, making them one of the contenders for this year’s Vince Lombardi trophy.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs went from “we’re rebuilding” to “let’s run it again” following Tom Brady’s decision to come out of retirement after spending 40 days playing full husband to the lovely Gisele. The absence of Super Bowl winning head coach Bruce Arians might turn out to be a big deal for the 2020 season champions, however, in Todd Bowles, the team has a steady hand at the helm of affairs.
Rob Gronkowski and Ali Marpet’s retirement might leave the Buccaneers feeling light in offense but the savvy addition of Julio Jones should offer Tom Brady another offensive weapon to go along with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. The Florida-based team also picked up veteran defensive players like Akiem Hicks, Logan Whyte, and Logan Ryan to fill in the gaps created by the departure of Jason Pierre-Paul and Ndamukong Suh.
Buffalo Bills
After what could only be described as one of the best games of the last decade, the Bills will be looking to move on from last season’s overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and take the next step to the AFC championship game and beyond. The addition of former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller along with players like Shaw Lawson, DaQuan Jones, Tim Settle, and Jordan Phillips to an already impressive defensive line-up only serves to bolster Sean McDermott’s team and their chances of winning this season’s big prize.
The Bills are also stacked with offensive options and with the yearly improvement we’ve seen from Josh Allen so far in his career, the energetic fans in Buffalo have more reasons to be excited ahead of the new campaign.
Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots
There’s a common theory in the NFL that once you have got the right head coach and the right quarterback, you’re at least halfway to becoming a contender, and that’s the situation the Chiefs and the Patriots find themselves in. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have proven that they can win and while Bill Belichick has six Super Bowls to his name, the question remains if he can win with young Mac Jones.
Both teams had somewhat disappointing off-seasons. With the Chiefs losing Tyreek Hill and Tyrann Mathieu —replacing them with Juju Smith-Schuster and Justin Reid— while the Patriots' refusal to re-sign JC Jackson and the decision to bring in the in-consistent Devante Parker questions both teams' criteria as genuine contenders.
Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens
The Bengals definitely caught lightning in a bottle last season, as they went from a possible lottery team to a few minutes away from winning the Super Bowl. The Bengals have strengthened their O-line with the addition of La’el Collins, Alex Cappa, and Ted Karras to offer more protection to quarterback Joe Burrow. And should Ja‘marr Chase build on his impressive rookie campaign —along with the expected quality from the drafted rookies— the Bengals remain a team to beat.
Divisional rivals, Baltimore Ravens would be hoping for some of sort luck of their own this campaign. The Ravens went from the top of the AFC North to the bottom of the division —including impressive wins over the Chiefs and Chargers—following the injury to Lamar Jackson. However, with remarkable additions on the defensive side of the ball and the expected return of Jackson —should both sides agree on a new contract— the Ravens are a team to look out for.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers failed to make the playoffs after a dramatic final day loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, but their offseason moves have put the rest of the league on notice. General manager, Tom Telesco acquired the services of JC Jackson, Khalil Mack, and Kyle Van Noy to bolster a defense that can already boast of names like Joey Bosa and Derwin James, making them one of the best defensive teams —at least on paper— in the AFC.
The Chargers also picked up Gerald Everett to bolster a receiving core of Mike Williams and Keenan Allen, offering young star quarterback Justin Herbert more weapons in offense.
The Pretenders…
Dallas Cowboys
I promised not to go after the nauseating, annoying band of people called Cowboys fans this season, however, I started to hear the annual talk of being Super Bowl favorites and I’m wondering if I made the right decision. The Cowboys defied my prediction last year, making the playoffs impressively but ultimately fell at the first hurdle (in the wildcard round) to the 49ers.
Dak Prescott had an impressive season from behind center last season, following his return from a broken ankle but with the absence of enough weapons to throw the ball to, it’s hard to see how the Cowboys become contenders. Mike McCarthy’s men also lost DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory, La’el Collins, Amari Cooper, and Cedrick Wilson to mention but a few. And with no notable additions, the Cowboys might be in for a very long season.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have been perennial contenders on my last list over the past two seasons thanks to Kyle Shanahan as head coach, a good running game, and a steady defense. However, with the uncertainty surrounding former starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo coupled and the departure of O-line starters like Alex Mack and Laken Tomlinson, coupled with the decision to promote young Trey Lance as starting quarterback, the 49ers are in uncharted territory. And might have to do more, in terms of development, to be seen as contenders once more by the rest of the league.
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers’ future was the topic of discussion all off-season for the Packers but the four-time NFL MVP opted to remain at Lambeau field. However, all isn’t well that ends well, as the Packers lost star wide receiver, Davante Adams, to the Las Vegas Raiders while his deputy Marquez Valdes-Scantling also jumped ship to Kansas.
The loss of Za’Darius Smith on the defensive side of the ball might be mitigated by the sudden improvement of De’vondre Campbell but the lack of proper weapons for Rodgers might be their biggest undoing. Did I also forget to mention that Aaron Rodgers needs to stop choking when the stakes are high?
Arizona Cardinals
“If you don’t value yourself, no one will”, the Cardinals seem to have mistaken the meaning of this saying cos if there’s any team in the NFL that believes it's better than others think, it’s the team from Arizona. The Cardinals made the playoffs last year after some impressive regular season games and a really good start but had their a**es handed to them by eventual champions L.A. Rams. And the team owner decided to double down by handing GM Steve Keim and head coach Kliff Kingsbury new contracts despite a lot of question marks over both of them.
This decision led to star quarterback Kyler Murray demanding and receiving a new deal as well. And whether he has the desire — following allegations he doesn’t study film — or teammates to help justify the new deal remains to be seen. The Cardinals lost two key players Christian Kirk and Chandler Jones and will be hoping to have a fit JJ Watt if they’re to have a successful campaign.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Mike Tomlin continues to prove he’s one of the best coaches, not just at the moment, but in the history of the NFL. The Steelers are yet to have a losing season under coach Tomlin but are yet to make it back to the Super Bowl since the 2010 season (2011). The Steelers made the playoffs last season thanks to a shock win by the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Indianapolis Colts and with the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, it’s hard to see them as contenders despite boasting one of the league’s best defense.
The battle for who becomes the team’s starting quarterback between rookie Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky has been interesting to watch all preseason but with a poor O-line to protect the quarterback and help create a good running game. The Steelers will have to pull a rabbit out of a hat to be regarded as contenders.
The Participants…
Teams that fall into this category in my books know one of two things will most likely happen to them; it’s either they make the playoffs or they don’t. They aren’t bad enough to find themselves in the lottery and neither are they good enough to compete for the big prize but trust me when I say stranger things have happened, especially after what the Bengals did last year.
For teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and Tennessee Titans it’s all about competing and hoping to have a good start which might, in turn, lead to a good season and hopefully ride that momentum into the playoffs where it becomes a one-off game and toss up of performances.
The Miami Dolphins will be hoping new star wide receiver Tyreek Hill propels them into the playoffs this year and whilst casting a watchful eye on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to see if the future of their franchise is in his good hands. While the Broncos will also hope the addition of Russell Wilson will help them secure a playoff berth and elevate a team of underachieving players to the next level.
As for the Bears, getting the best out of quarterback Justin Fields is the goal for new head coach Matt Eberflus. Divisional rivals, Minnesota Vikings missed out on the playoffs last season, thanks to an inconsistent campaign but the constant improvement of star wide receiver Justin Jefferson is a good reason to be optimistic. Over in Tennessee, the Titans will be hoping that a fit Derrick Henry wheels the team to another playoff appearance, as they look to get over last season’s disappointing playoff loss to the Bengals.
Back to the Lottery…
There are teams in the NFL who know they are contenders, those who know they can compete, and frankly those who know they’re going back to the draft lottery at the end of the season. For some of these teams, it’s not of their own doing, they simply just lack the personnel and talent to compete; and for others, they’re simply trying to rebuild or hoping to be so bad, that they come across their franchise-saving player (mostly quarterbacks) in the draft.
Some teams find themselves in the lottery due to circumstances like injuries or major suspensions and others just like to be there. Yes, you Detroit Lions. The Lions have fallen in love with mediocrity that they simply can’t be bothered anymore. They lost their franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford —who ended up winning the super bowl— to the Rams more than a year ago and that itself is proof of how much mediocrity seems to be a part of the organization. The Lions drafted Aidan Hutchinson with the second overall pick in the 2022 draft but failed massively to improve their roster during the off-season with all signs pointing to another year of struggles and little to no wins.
While the Lions might be perennial lottery participants, they’ve new members in the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams lost their starting quarterbacks in the off-season and opted to pick up replacements that wouldn’t improve the team. With an eye cast on next year’s draft already, it’s safe to say the Seahawks and the Falcons have written off the 2022 season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars made some additions in the off-season with the likes of Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and Brandon Scherff to mention a few all joining the team but taking a good look at the roster —especially the lack of protection of young quarterback Trevor Lawrence— it’s hard to see where wins will come from for new head coach Doug Pederson. The Houston Texans played with a lot of aggression and desire last season —trying to prove they weren’t tanking— but like the Jaguars, they also don’t have the talent nor the know-how to avoid being at the bottom of the standings.
The Rest
Carolina Panthers - Back to the Lottery
Cleveland Browns - Participant
Indianapolis Colts - Participant
Las Vegas Raiders - Pretender
New Orleans Saints - Participant
New York Giants - Back to the Lottery
New York Jets - Back to the Lottery
Philadelphia Eagles - Pretender
Washington Commanders - Participant
So, there you’ve it, ladies and gentlemen. Let us know what you think, do you think our predictions are spot on? Or did we portray your favourite team unfairly? Let us know in the comments or on our social media platforms.
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