FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

The Cleveland Browns have been the laughing stock of the NFL since returning to the league in 1999. Cleveland has been to the playoffs just once since then and hasn’t won more than seven games in the last decade. However, things might finally be starting to turn around. The Browns still don’t have a very good offense, but this defense has some talent and all four of the team’s top draft picks look set to immediately contribute.... 

The Buffalo Bills don’t want to admit it, but this is a rebuilding season. Buffalo dealt two of its best players for a lesser talent and a draft choice on August 11. In the first deal, the Bills sent Sammy Watkins and a sixth-round pick in 2018 to the Rams for cornerback EJ Gaines and a second-round pick in 2018. A few minutes later, they dealt Ronald Darby to the Eagles for wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick in 2018. GM Brandon Beane stated that the team hadn’t given up on the season and pointed to the signing of Anquan Boldin as a sign that the Bills were serious about competing in 2018, but Boldin retired on Sunday. This team has a clear eye on the future, which is a shame because it can win now in this division.... 

The Denver Broncos have long been the team to beat in the AFC West dating back to the 2011-12 season. During that stretch, they won the division five straight seasons and went to a pair of Super Bowls winning one. That wasn’t the case in last year’s rebuild with Peyton Manning retiring from the game leaving the club scrambling at the quarterback position. Even with one of the more dominating defenses in the game, Denver watched on as Kansas City and Oakland each went to the playoffs. They still went on to win nine games and have an 8.5 season win total to conquer this upcoming season.... 

A year removed from winning 13 games and going to the NFC Championship Game, the Arizona Cardinals took a major turn for the worst last season. Bruce Arians squad managed a disappointing 7-8-1 record and had their two year playoff streak snapped. The betting public looks to be all in on Carson Palmer and company heading into the regular season with the opener of 8 wins already being bet up to 8.5 with heavy juice still supporting the high side of that number.... 

While they do have odds listed to win it, they are huge underdogs because there is virtually no scenario where it happens. The Jets have some decent pieces on defense but a horrendous offense and are in full-blown rebuilding mode. It would take a miracle for this team to make the playoffs, and it would be the most unlikely run in NFL history for them to win the Super Bowl.Even the most diehard fans of the Jets know it would be a waste of money to put some down on them, although the odds are so long that even a tiny wager would pay off hugely if the unthinkable happened and the Jets won the title.... 

Beating up on the lowly Jets is one thing and now the Detroit Lions get the best of the AFC East when they take on the defending champion New England Patriots in Week 3 of the preseason slate on Friday. The Pats are favored to win another Super Bowl title and we will get the chance to see all of their offensive weapons on display in this matchup. So will the Lions, who are looking to recover after losing two defenders to season ending injuries in their first preseason game.This preseason Week 3 matchup will go down Friday, August 25, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at Ford Field.... 

The Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks played as AFC West rivals for a quarter of a century until the NFL realigned in 2002. The meetings have been infrequent since then with only four regular season hookups. But the teams will meet for the third consecutive year in the preseason with their Week 3 contest. The teams split the last two meetings with each decided by a single point. Those took place at Arrowhead Stadium and now the Seahawks have their rabid fan base behind them in an effort to take down one of the AFC favorites.The Week 3 preseason contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks will take place Friday, August 25, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field. Watch the game line on CBS.... 

It’s not a stretch to think the Arizona Cardinals can return to their 2015 form when they went 13-3 and advanced to the NFC Championship. There was a setback last year when the Cards were expected to carry over that momentum, but the offense fell hard, the defense had to deal with injuries and special teams proved costly. The championship window might be closing on the Cards, but Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald are back to give it one more try. As long as the window isn’t sealed shut, there’s still a chance the Cards can fly through it.... 

The defense couldn’t do it all last season and the Denver Broncos need more from an offense that was inept for a good portion of the year. The D will the key for the Broncos and new head coach Vance Joseph to get the team back into the playoffs after they were observers for the first time in six seasons in 2016. Denver is hoping that Trevor Siemian can do enough as the starter to rekindle what the team accomplished in 2015 when the Broncos’ won the Super Bowl behind the NFL’s best defense and middle of the pack offense.... 

The optimist in us says that going from worst to first can and has happened. Just look at last year’s Dallas Cowboys. But the pessimist says the San Francisco 49ers are still a few years away from contending with a roster that still needs some juggling. There’s also an issue with continuity among the coaching staff with the Niners working on their fourth head guy in as many years. The last two weren’t right for the position, but the Niners may have found their man in Kyle Shanahan, who needs to work wonders with an offense that couldn’t score last season.... 

The Cleveland Browns haven’t put forth a winning campaign since going 10-6 way back in 2007. The double digit win campaign still wasn’t good enough to punch a ticket to the playoffs. This defunct franchise hasn’t felt the thrill of playing a postseason game since 2002. Their average win total over the last nine seasons has been 4.2. With that, it comes as no surprise to see their 2017-18 win total hovering in the 4.5 game ballpark. While some pundits believe improvement is set to take place in Cleveland, the Browns still find themselves installed the second largest underdogs to win the AFC ( +12,500 ) in front of only the New York Jets.... 

The buzz surrounding the return of the Los Angeles Rams to the City of Angels fizzled out over th course of the 2016 season. The team was bad and locals soon realized that they would rather stay home and not have to deal with Los Angeles traffic then go cheer on a loser. The Rams finished the season 4-12 and had the worst offense in the NFL for the second straight season. If that’s going to change in 2017, Jared Goff is going to have to start to live up to his promise as a No. 1 pick.... 

The Chargers will be moving back to the city where it all began in 2017. Los Angeles didn’t seem to particularly want the Chargers to return, but here they are. This team was snake-bitten in its last season in San Diego, blowing fourth-quarter leads all throughout last year. They were much better than their 5-11 record indicated, but that wasn’t enough to save Mike McCoy’s job. Anthony Lynn is the Chargers new head coach and will look to bring a more run-oriented style to this team.... 

The New Orleans Saints are tired of going 7-9. New Orleans has finished the year 7-9 in each of the last three seasons as its high-powered offense continues to be sabotaged by an ineffective defense. On offense, the team was ranked 1st in 2014, 2nd in 2015, and 1st in 2016. However, on defense New Orleans was ranked 31^st in 2014, 31^st in 2015, and 27^th in 2016. The Saints made some moves in the offseason to try to finally address those issues, but we’ll see how those pan out.... 

Even so, this club is heading into 2017 as once again one of the NFL favorites. They are expected to capture the NFC West once again and reach double-digit victories for the sixth consecutive season. The oddsmakers have a high belief in Seattle and have set the projected win total quite high this year. The defensive core should once again be elite but it is aging, while there are questions on the offensive end.It will be interesting to see if the Seahawks can come away with another dominant season, or if 2017 is the beginning of a decline for one of the most successful teams in the NFL over the past half-decade,... 

Dallas opened the season with the best odds of making the Super Bowl in the conference, and the second-best to win it all behind the New England Patriots. However, the looming suspension of Elliott casts a large shadow and could be hurting Dallas’ chances. The Cowboys certainly have an elite roster, and the continued evolution of Prescott will be key as Dallas pushes for a deeper playoff run in 2017.... 

The Green Bay Packers have a season O/U win total of 10.5 with the under coming in at hefty -150 juice. The green and gold has won 10 games each of the last two seasons, so it’s safe to say the betting public is a true believer of everything coming in threes. Regardless, this is a team that rattled off eight straight wins at the tail end of last season before running into the steamroller that proved to be the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC title game. This is a team that’s been to the playoffs eight straight years, and it actually improved the overall roster this past offseason. The Packers are the Patriots of the NFC.... 

It’s been over decade since the Washington Redskins last won a playoff game and a heck of a lot longer since they played in a Super Bowl. And despite all the turmoil surrounding the organization this offseason, Jay Gruden has a good chance of putting a challenging team together. The Skins won the NFC East two years ago and were in the running for a playoff spot until the end of last season. The organization underwent drastic changes in the front office and on the field, but Gruden has molded Kirk Cousins into a top-notch quarterback and will milk one more season from him before he likely moves on.... 

The Minnesota Vikings had the worst ground game in the NFL last season and they released their career rushing leader and future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson after 10 years and nearly 12,000 yards. Peterson was limited to just three games last season, which was part of the problem. There were others for the offensively-challenged Vikings, who had to replace their starting quarterback days before the season started. The team overhauled its offense with hopes that more production, along with a stout defense, can get them back to the top of the NFC North.... 

Two seasons ago the Carolina Panthers were the darlings of the NFL. They nearly ran the table and settled for a 15-1 regular season record and a trip to the Super Bowl. Little did anyone know that a loss to the Broncos in the Big Game would be a massive turning point for the franchise. Cam Newton didn’t play well, the Panthers offense was stymied and the torturous run continued into last season. Newton was banged up and missed time with injury. He should be ready from offseason shoulder surgery and No. 1 pick Christian McCaffrey should help the offense improve. But will it be enough to climb back to the top of the NFC South?... 

The Detroit Lions have produced winning campaigns and went to the playoffs two of the last three seasons. For a franchise that’s been marred in mediocrity seemingly forever, that’s a big deal. Jim Caldwell’s squad is predicted to finish third in the NFC North per the current divisional futures odds, but that won’t stop Matthew Stafford and company from going all out to prove them wrong. The team split its six divisional games last season and dropped both matchups to the Packers. If it can find a way to end its futility against the odds on favorite to win the division, the Lions will have a nice shot to surprise in 2017-18.... 

A year removed from almost going undefeated in the regular season and falling in the Super Bowl to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, the Carolina Panthers regressed in a big way to bring up the rear of the NFC South standings. Carolina is predicted to finish in second place within the division by oddsmakers, and currently checks in as a 28-1 dog to win the big game down from their 33-1 opener.... 

The first year of the Carson Wentz era was very promising. Although the Philadelphia Eagles finished with the same record that they did the season before, Wentz showed why the team decided to trade up in hopes of landing a franchise quarterback. His production tailed off as the season went along, but he performed very well considering he was making a huge leap from FCS football to the NFL. That has Eagles fans thinking Philly could contend for the conference crown in 2017 if a few things break their way.... 

The Chicago Bears are in rebuilding mode. After a decade of mediocrity in which the Bears were constantly hanging around .500 under Jay Cutler, the team finally decided to part ways with the veteran quarterback. Chicago now enters this season mired in a quarterback controversy that the team did not want after signing Mike Glennon and drafting Mitchell Trubisky. There are a lot of holes on this roster and there’s a reason why this team is 35-1 to win this division.... 

Minnesota started out hot in 2016 but the offense wasn’t good enough to keep it sustained. The team finished in third place in the division and didn’t make it to the postseason with an 8-8 finish. Much this year will depend on quarterback Sam Bradford and the passing game. He was thrown into a tough situation a year ago when the Vikings lost signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater to a gruesome knee injury and needed a replacement.Bradford was average but couldn’t get his team over the hump and hopes more comfort in the offense will lead to success in 2017. Minnesota is not among the teams expected to compete for the NFC title, but an uptick in offensive performance could have the Vikings surpass those projections....