NFL (Just Over) Halfway Review
Joseph DeBari
Sports Writer
Following the Monday Night Football game on November 15th between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL is through 10 weeks of their 18-week season. As we pass the season’s the halfway point and get close to the home stretch, it is becoming clearer by the week to see which teams are clear contenders for the Super Bowl and which teams will be jockeying for the draft position come December.
One of the biggest surprises this season has been the Cincinnati Bengals. In 2019, the Bengals finished the season with a dismal 2-14 record clinching them the first overall pick, which they used on LSU quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow played decently in his first 10 weeks as an NFL QB but suffered a gruesome knee injury against the Washington Football Team that ended his rookie campaign. In the eyes of most, the Bengal’s offensive line had been shaky the past few seasons and was the main reason Burrow got injured. Many people expected them to take the best offensive lineman in the draft, Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell. The Bengals instead brought Burrow’s LSU teammate wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, and they were criticized. Instead, the Bengals have gone 5-4 with Burrow playing exceptionally well and Chase proving the popular opinion wrong, being the easy favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. In Week 7, the Bengals played the Baltimore Ravens, leading the AFC North, and were favorites at home against the Bengals. Instead, the Bengals upset the Ravens by a hefty margin with a 41-17 win, and Chase put up 201 yards and a touchdown on 8 catches. While they have dropped the last two games, putting them third in a tight AFC North, they have still been among the most impressive young teams and a dangerous one should they make it past the regular season.
On the other end of the spectrum, the defending AFC champions Kansas City Chiefs, came into the season with high expectations. Their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, who is considered by most to be a divine incarnation, has put up easily his worst season in his young career, throwing 25 TDs on a whopping 10 INTs. Additionally, the Chiefs’ defense has been bad, allowing an average of 24 points per game, ranking them in the back third of the league. This is putting additional pressure on Mahomes each week. Even though they currently lead the AFC West at 6-4, the Raiders and Chargers are both at 5-4, with the Broncos at 5-5, setting up for a very close finish. The Chiefs and Bengals also must contend with the Titans, who have beat 4 former playoff teams in the past 5 games and sit with the best record in the AFC at 8-2, and the reemergence of the Patriots, who seem to have figured it out once again as they sit at 7-4. With seven teams making the playoffs this season, watch out for teams like the Browns, the Steelers, the Raiders, and the Ravens to fight for those wildcard spots.
Over in the NFC, Brady and the defending champion Buccaneers have played well in the first part of the season, returning all their starters from their Super Bowl victory. But now they sit at 6-3, dropping two embarrassing losses, as injuries begin to chip away at their team. One of those losses after their off-season trade is the Los Angeles Rams, who are 7-3 to acquire Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford. Rams’ wide receiver Cooper Kupp has had a big season so far, leading the league in receiving yards with 1,141. The Rams are second in their division, however, to a surprising name, the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona has been led by quarterback Kyler Murray, an MVP candidate so far this season, along with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and defensive players Chandler Jones. The Dallas Cowboys also have turned some heads, sitting at 7-2 with Dak Prescott returning from surgery following a season-ending injury to the New York Giants during Week 5 of the 2020 season. Ezekiel Elliott had an underwhelming season in 2020 but has returned to his high expectations and played well with second-year wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. The Green Bay Packers were a big story in the offseason when quarterback Aaron Rodgers criticized the team’s ownership and front office for how they’ve handled the personnel decisions and Rodgers himself over Rodgers’ tenure as a Packer. The Packers were blown out Week 1 by a New Orleans Saints team playing its first game without Drew Brees, who retired following the 2020 season and 15 years with the team. Since that Week 1 loss, the Packers have played very well, adding some key wins, including an overtime win against the aforementioned Bengals. The Buccaneers, Rams, Cardinals, Cowboys, and Packers have been the top tier in the NFC, leaving the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Saints, Carolina Panthers, and Minnesota Vikings to compete for the remaining two spots in the NFC’s playoff field.
This is the debut of the NFL’s 18-week season, with each team playing 17 games this season instead of the usual 16 from years past. The longer season allows for more movement in the standings as we approach the playoffs. As we enter the final stretch of games, the pecking order in the NFL this season has become more apparent. It’s up to the good teams to prove that what we have seen so far will carry them to the playoffs and for the bad teams to try to turn their seasons around. Will Mahomes and the Chiefs figure it out? Are Burrow and the Bengals for real? Will Murray and the Cardinals show up in the playoffs? Will Brady just make it back to another Super Bowl? These questions will be answered as the NFL’s longest season progresses.
Contact Joe at joseph.debari@student.shu.edu