Trying to predict an NFL season isn’t as easy as predicting if the wind at Buffalo City would disrupt a kicker’s field goal, or if it’ll snow at Lambeau field in the middle of January —both scenarios are almost certainties every year. Enough about the weather, back to how my early season predictions went. If I’m being modest, I deserve more than an average score because, while I got a few predictions wrong, most of the teams I expected to be challenging for the title are in the playoffs, and in the running for the Super Bowl.
From Jonathan Taylor’s near-MVP campaign to Antonio Brown pulling off drama for the ages by walking off the pitch — taking off his pads and kit — whilst his teammates were in the middle of a snap, trying to win a game of football. The 2021 regular season sure had its fair share of glitz, fun fare, drama, and a host of moments that left us at the edge of our seats. Here’s my review of how the whole thing went down.
The Good
To begin with, I believe I owe the entire city of Cincinnati an apology — more especially the Bengals — because after predicting them to go back to the lottery, Joe Burrow and his band of prediction defying brothers won the AFC North division (which comprises the Steelers, Browns, and Ravens). The Bengals were expected by many to finish bottom of their division, especially after drafting Ja'Marr Chase ahead of offensive tackle Penei Sewell, who was tipped by the bookies to beef up a somewhat shaky offensive line. Drafting wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase turned out to be the perfect decision as his combination with Burrow helped lead the Bengals to a 10-win season and their first AFC North title for some time.
The Patriots might have failed to win the AFC East — a division they dominated for so long during the Brady-Belichick era, but a return to the playoffs is a good step forward after they missed out last year. Bill Belichick’s side showed what a good, all-around team looks like, without overreliance on a rookie quarterback. The six-time Super Bowl champions face a familiar foe in the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, knowing fully well they already defeated Sean McDermott’s side at the Highmark Stadium earlier in the season.
Another good thing about the NFL regular season was the absence of postponement of games like the 2020 regular season — due to the Covid-19 pandemic — which is a huge credit to the league itself as well as the discipline of the players. While a few controversies were surrounding the vaccination status of some players, the season moved on smoothly without any hiccups, showing the league governing body and team owners were justified in their fight for players to get vaccinated —food for thought for you, Premier League.
I’m pretty sure I predicted the Dallas Cowboys to be mere participants this season — not like I owe their nauseating and annoying fans any apologies — but America’s Hollywood team proved me wrong by winning the NFC East and becoming one of the best offensive teams in the league thanks to amazing performances from their quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott, who suffered a season-ending injury in the early parts of the 2020 season, returned to the field like he never left and led the Cowboys to an impressive 12-5 record, with over 4000 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. While the proverbial black cat might still be running around the team’s facility, as they are yet to win the Super Bowl in almost 30 years, fans of the team will take a lot of confidence from their regular season performances as they head into the playoffs.
With six teams all within a shout of making the playoffs on the final day of the season, we got to see some outstanding drama and exciting football. The Las Vegas Raiders and the LA Chargers produced a game for the ages, while the San Francisco 49ers grabbed hold of their destiny by defeating divisional rivals, LA Rams to set up a playoff matchup against the Cowboys. The New Orleans Saints victory over the Atlanta Falcons didn’t do enough to help them into the postseason. While fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers have been donating to charities associated with Daniel Carlson (Raiders’ kicker), as well as those related to the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose shock win over the Indianapolis Colts helped Mike Tomlin’s side reach the playoffs.
The Bad
After picking number one overall in last year’s draft, all signs point to the Jacksonville Jaguars returning to the same position when the 2022 NFL draft arrives. The Jaguars' decision to appoint Urban Meyer as their new head coach failed woefully, as the former College football championship winner with Ohio State struggled to transition into the pro’s game, with a host of off-field actions plaguing his already poor on-field performances. The Jaguars front office will be hoping for a new head coach capable of bringing out the best in Trevor Lawrence, as they look to escape oblivion in the NFL. The Jaguars did do something right though — if you ask fans of the Steelers.
The Detroit Lions ended the season with a 3-13-1 record, however, that doesn’t tell the story of how bad the team was this year. When Dan Campbell’s side secured their first victory of the season against the Minnesota Vikings in week 13, you could hear the entire Ford Field breathe a sigh of relief. The Lions have a big decision to make when the draft arrives, do we draft a quarterback or stick with Jared Goff? I’m afraid, even that may not be enough to help them turn the corner.
Just when we thought Antonio Brown and two of his Bucs teammates had committed the greatest Covid-19 vaccination sin by acquiring fake vax cards, Aaron Rodgers decided he was going to top that. The Green Bay Packers quarterback is probably favourite to win this season’s MVP award —if the voting journalists don’t turn on him— which would make it back-to-back thanks to his performances and those of his teammates. However, Rodgers made the most noise off the pitch. After initially saying he had been “immunised” at the start of training camp, the former Super Bowl champ revealed he was unvaccinated when he was infected with the Covid-19 virus after week 12 of the season. Rodgers decided to go philosophical, rather than face the fact that he lied to the NFL, the American public, and the world as a whole. The 38-year-old suddenly became the voice for the anti-vax protesters —not that he was trying to usurp Kyrie Irving— and said some BS about taking Covid-19 advice from Joe Rogan. Come on Aaron.
The Ugly
Before rookie quarterbacks like Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson, Baker Mayfield, Andrew Luck to mention but a few, took the NFL by storm in their first season, young quarterbacks were given a few years to learn the ropes before carrying a franchise on their shoulders. And after watching the struggles of Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields, and Mac Jones —who let’s face it was decent, not spectacular— this season, it might be time to return to that era. Not that the aforementioned players made major headlines with their performances, however, they weren’t awful. Instead showed the need for teams to exercise patience with young quarterbacks.
Antonio Brown might one day end up in the hall-of-fame for the earlier performances in the earlier part of his career, however, since his final two years in Pittsburgh till this very moment, the wide receiver has found himself in all sorts of controversial scenarios, leaving people to wonder about his mental health. As if getting a fake vaccination card wasn’t enough, AB —as he’s popularly known— walked off the field during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Week 17 game against the New York Jets, taking off his pads and kit, whilst waving to the crowd bare-chested. This moment of madness —if you want to call it that— took the league and some of its oldest followers by shock, leaving many to wonder what next for the former All-Pro wide receiver. AB recently admitted he shouldn’t have done what he did, but that was after releasing a statement blaming everyone else but himself.
The unscrupulous head of racism, misogyny, and homophobia showed his head once again, as Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Jon Gruden was unceremoniously sacked after email exchanges between him and a host of other people revealed the former Super Bowl winner as a head coach had engaged in all three vile actions for so many years. Gruden’s emails were found during the NFL’s investigation into Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Football Team, and a series of gross misconduct against women in the team’s facility. Gruden appears to have taken the fall for Snyder, as the league seems to have swept the billionaire’s case under the rug. C’mon NFL, stop protecting these rich owners.
Playoff Predictions
As I like to mention, trying to predict how an NFL season will turn out is like tossing up a coin and hoping it lands on heads. It gets even tricky when you’ve to predict a one-off game between two good teams. However, I would say this, the Packers look very good and so do the Chiefs and the Titans. And if I was a betting man, I would bet against Tom Brady and the Bucs this time around, just this time because injuries.
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