NFL 2018 Preview Including Predictions
NFL football came back into our lives last weekend, and it’s always great to know that the best part of the sports season is here. Ever since Super Bowl LII ended with the Philadelphia Eagles upsetting the New England Patriots, we have been gearing up for another football season and boy was week one full of everything. From startling upsets and blowouts, to penalties galore, there was a lot to help us see what to look out for over the course of the season.
Last year’s Super Bowl competitors, the Patriots and Eagles, started their seasons off with wins. The Pats beat the Texans, and the Eagles beat the Falcons. Both teams won at home, and both teams are looking like contenders for the trophy yet again.
Some other Super Bowl favorites we saw win this week include the Jacksonville Jaguars, who beat the New York Giants and second-overall overall pick Saquon Barkley, who started off his NFL career with 18 carries for 106 yards and a TD against the “Sacksonville” defense.
We saw the Baltimore Ravens absolutely destroy the Buffalo Bills 47-3 in a game in which Nathan Peterman got benched after throwing 5/18 for 24 yards and 2 interceptions. For the Bills own sake, they should keep him there and go with rookie Josh Allen.
The Minnesota Vikings handed Jimmy Garoppolo his first NFL loss as a starter, as he threw 3 interceptions against a team that went to the NFC championship game last year. They are strong contenders to go there again, under the arm of newly signed quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Fantasy players who had Tyreek Hill had a great week, because the Kansas City Chiefs beat the LA Chargers with the help of his 7 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown, on top of running back his first punt 91 yards for a TD. The Carolina Panthers, who just might have the greatest front seven in football, shut down Zeke Elliot, Dak Prescott, and the Dallas Cowboy offense in a 16-8 snooze fest.
The big surprise of the week was the New Orleans Saints losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-40 in their Superdome to backup Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw for 417 yards and 4 TDs.
There were two blowouts on Monday night as coaches of new teams got dominated on their home fields. Matt Patricia, former defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, started his year horribly, as the Detroit Lions lost to rookie quarterback Sam Darnold and the New York Jets 48-17. Longtime Monday Night Football broadcaster Jon Gruden, back as an NFL coach after almost 10 years since he was fired in 2009, was also dreadful. The Oakland Raiders led the game 13-10 at halftime and ended up losing 33-13 to the respectable Los Angeles Rams, who are looking like a premier favorite to be the NFC representative in Super Bowl 53.
One of two craziest games of the week was the Cleveland Browns finally breaking their loosing streak, but not by winning. They tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-21 in a game in which they forced 6 turnovers and still couldn’t win. At least they won’t go 0-16 again.
The other crazy games were the Sunday night game in which the Chicago Bears, who just traded for Khalil Mack last week, started off hot as Mack had a sack, a forced fumble and recovery, as well as an interception returned for a touchdown. Down 17-0 with Aaron Rodgers in the locker room with an apparent knee injury, the game felt won. Rodgers came back to score 24 points in the second half and won 24-23. It must be tough to be a Bears’ fan this week.
As for the season, there’s still time for your team to get the rust off, for it is a long season of football ahead of us. Though I am no expert, I predict that in the weaker AFC, New England will be as dominant as always and back in the Super Bowl if they clinch homefield advantage yet again. But I would not sleep on the Chiefs or the Ravens contending as well.
The NFC is stacked once again, as it looks like the toughest division to play in will be the NFC South, in which the Falcons, Saints, Panthers, and Buccs all compete. The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles look high and mighty again. But without Carson Wentz, who is still in recovery from an ACL tear, how will they fair without him? I believe the Minnesota Vikings, last year’s number one ranked defense, will play the Los Angeles Rams, last year’s number one offense, to go to the Super Bowl. According to Vegas insider, the teams with the current five best odds to win the Super Bowl are: New England Patriots at 6/1, Los Angeles Rams at 7.5/1, Minnesota Vikings at 9/1, Philadelphia Eagles at 11/1, and the Green Bay Packers 14/1.