NFL Kickoff 2021
Biggest Season Ever
After what seemed like a year long off-season, the largest season in NFL history is underway. The first game kicked off a couple weeks ago on a Thursday night with the Dallas Cowboys and the reigning champion, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Buccaneers won the opener thanks to some late game heroics 32-29, and many teams made splashes in week one such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, who came back and defeated the Bills 23-16. With the first week of the 18 week season completed, the student body ranks their top 5 teams during kickoff.
- Buffalo Bills:
Viewers are in shock of what happened last Sunday; the Steelers, who have been getting slandered all off-season, completely dominated defensively. They made Bills’ Quarterback, Josh Allen, complete only 58% of his passes and earn 16 points. Hope for the Bills still remains, however, with most expecting them to get back to the AFC Championship game.
“Most of the Bills’ offensive players looked like they didn’t want to play the actual game,” senior Riley Russell said. “To me they looked over-confident and acted like they already had the game won”.
- Cleveland Browns:
Even though it was against one of the best teams in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Browns still played incredibly well. They could have won the game if it wasn’t for some pretty poor defence and a bad play made by Quarterback Baker Mayfield. Even though the Browns started 0-1 for the 15th straight year, there is still hope in Cleveland especially after a very successful off-season and a good draft.
- Los Angeles Rams:
After an off-season full of massive expectations for the Rams, they came back full force with a 34-14 win against the Chicago Bears. During the game new Quarterback Matthew Stafford became an MVP candidate, finishing with 321 yards and 3 touchdowns with an almost perfect passer rating. It is still up for debate on how well the Rams actually do this season, but right now, they are looking like a Super Bowl team.
“Everyone looked great on the Rams,” freshman Andrew Gearhart said. “I am really hopeful for this season.”
- Kansas City Chiefs:
Back in February, the Chiefs only managed to score 9 points in the Super Bowl LV with a score of 31-9; to start out 2021, they wanted to make a statement. With a win against the high powered Cleveland Browns 33-29, they seemed to have achieved this. They started out the game in a 22-10 hole, but a 12 point lead against the Chiefs essentially tied them; the Chiefs would go on to make a 19-7 run and win the game. With the season starting out strong, the Chiefs are looking to get back to the AFC Championship (and potentially the Super Bowl) for the 4th season in a row.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
With a near perfect off-season and a dominating Super Bowl win, expectations for the Buccaneers are insanely high. Even though they had a few bumps in the road last Thursday, they managed to win against the Cowboys 31-29. Last week’s game showed that even if a good team struggles, they can still get the job done fairly easily.
“It seemed like the perfect game, especially with that game-winning drive at the end,” sophomore Noah Wallner said. “I’m excited to see how far [the Buccaneers] can go.”
After a week of football, we are closing in on yet another exciting week of football. After what we saw last week, the top 5 is sure to change as the season progresses. Starting on Thursday, the Quarterback-less Washington Football Team is facing the New York Giants, and the Green Bay Packers are facing the Detroit Lions at the end of the week.
