FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

While star cornerback Josh Norman has moved on, there are still plenty of key pieces back from that Super Bowl run. If quarterback Cam Newton can get back to his Superman form, the Panthers could once again be among the best teams in the NFL.However, if he struggles and the secondary once again has issues, another sub-.500 season could be in the cards. This team seems like it could have a wide variety of outcomes, and the oddsmakers have decided to split the difference with their projected win total for Carolina in 2017.... 

The Buccaneers check in at +275, as the oddsmakers believe they could definitely claim the crown and advance to the playoffs if things bounce right. Tampa Bay has taken forward strides in the past couple of seasons and if quarterback Jameis Winston is in for a breakout season, that could be the jolt the Bucs need to claim the NFC South.... 

The Chicago Bears have won a grand total of 13 games the last three years combined. It’s safe to say the John Fox era is hanging by a thread. Though upper management made a bold move in the draft this past offseason trading away a ton of picks to draft what they believe to be the future of the franchise in quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, Fox and the rest of his coaching cronies might not be around to see him flourish if the team doesn’t take steps in the right direction this season. Oddsmakers are selling what the Bears are trying to sell with the team’s season win total set at 5.5 with the juice shaded to the low side of that number.... 

No team in the NFC has been more consistent than the Seattle Seahawks over the last five years. Seattle has won at least 10 games and made a trip to the postseason in each of the last five seasons and is primed to make another trip to the playoffs. The Seahawks are the favorite in the NFC because they have the least amount of questions and the most overall talent of any team in the conference.... 

The first year of the Ben McAdoo era was a successful one for the New York Giants. Big Blue returned to the postseason for the first time in five years and was the only team to beat the Cowboys when it mattered in the regular season, not once, but twice. Dallas is New York’s primary competition for the division title this season and there will be plenty of buzz surrounding both of their games.... 

It was a drastic fall for the Carolina Panthers last season. In 2015, the Panthers were the toast of the NFL, having finished the season 15-1 and looked destined to win its first Super Bowl ever. They were 4.5-point favorites against Denver, but ended up not being able to move the ball on offense the whole game and lost by two scores. Carolina couldn’t shake off the effects of that Super Bowl loss and were a completely different team in 2016. The Panthers dropped five of their first six and finished 6-10 on the year. Which Carolina will we see in 2017?... 

Aaron Rodgers has won the NFL MVP twice previously and though he didn’t win the award last season, he was most deserving. Behind Rodgers the Green Bay Packers had a season-ending run for the ages and came within a game of reaching the Super Bowl, eventually losing to Atlanta in the NFC Championship game. When the Pack was 4-6 and all but out of the race, Rodgers said they could run the table. They did, got some help from Detroit, and won another NFC North title. With Rodgers at the helm the Packers are always a threat.... 

The collapse didn’t come on the game’s biggest stage and the Detroit Lions’ failure to secure its first division title in 23 years will be overshadowed by the Falcons’ self destruction in the Super Bowl. But for long-suffering Lions fans it was another kick in the midsection. Detroit lost its final three games last year, including the finale to Green Bay to finish a game back of the Pack in the NFC North. They did win nine games, but the stumble at the end of the season carried over into the playoffs. There’s talent to duplicate last season’s success, led by franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford.... 

It’s been three years and counting since the City of Brotherly Love got to take in some playoff football. The cupboard has been bare for quite some time, but the team showed some grit last season by winning seven games and splitting all 16 played games against the spread. Believe it or not, the Eagles are in the conversation to win a division ( +255 ) most believe is either the Cowboys or Giants to take. There’s also been some buyback on the Super Bowl LII futures market with Philly currently sitting as +3619 underdogs after opening at +4500. The team definitely made moves in the offseason to make some noise, but was it really enough to win it all?... 

Two years ago, the Atlanta Falcons got out to a perfect 5-0 start but went on to lose eight of their final 11 games and missed the playoffs. Last season, the Falcons once again got out to a hot start winning four of their first five games, but ended up seeing it all the way through and went on to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Despite the gargantuan choke it executed in Super Bowl LI, Matt Ryan and company are excited to get back on the field and show everyone they still have what it takes to be one of the best teams not only in the division, but in the entire league.... 

All eyes are on Jameis Winston entering his third season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Winston has everything he could possibly want, thanks to a front office that has tried its best to make him a success. Tampa Bay went out and signed a big-play machine at wide receiver and used a first-round pick on the most talented tight end in the draft. There is plenty of skill position talent for Winston to work with and now it’s up for him to put it all together.... 

Last season, the Minnesota Vikings were the toast of the league for the month of September. Minnesota headed into its bye week at 5-0 and there were whispers that the Vikings could be a Super Bowl contender with how the defense was playing. However, things fell apart quickly after that. The Vikes lost their next four games following the bye week and finished the season at 8-8. It was an extremely disappointing finish based on how they started, but there is plenty of reason to be optimistic heading into 2017.... 

America’s Team isn’t getting as much love as you’d think after finishing last season as the best team in the NFC. The Dallas Cowboys are only slight favorites over Big Blue to win one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. Although this team brings back virtually its entire offense from last season, the defense has a lot of new faces in new places.... 

The Denver Broncos will continue their tour against the dregs of the NFC on Saturday night when they face the San Francisco 49ers. Denver rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Chicago last week and the reserves have to be feeling good about how they performed in the win. San Francisco’s reserves are elated to after scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter in a comeback win against Kansas City last week. This will be the first time these teams have met since a regular season clash back in 2014.... 

They may not have wanted one, but the Chicago Bears have a quarterback controversy. Despite all efforts to quash any such talk prior to the start of the season, Mitchell Trubisky played well enough in his first preseason game that he has to at least be given the chance to win the starting job over the rest of training camp and preseason. Trubisky will get another chance to prove this when he leads the Bears against the Arizona Cardinals this weekend.... 

The return to the Los Angeles area didn’t go so well for the Chargers, who were humbled by Seattle in their debut at the quaint StubHub Center. They’ll get another crack in Week 2 of the preseason when former Charger Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints visit. Brees could make his preseason debut against the team that drafted him in 2001, though the club was based in San Diego at the time. Brees played five seasons with the Chargers before Philip Rivers came on board, forcing Brees to go elsewhere. He’s had a nice career with the Saints because of it.The Week 2 preseason battle between the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers will take place Sunday, August 20, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at StubHub Center. Watch the game live on the NFL Network.... 

The Cleveland Browns got off to a good start in their attempt to put last season’s disaster behind them. The 2017 draft class had a huge impact in the preseason opener and after the Browns had lost 21 straight games, including exhibition contests, they’re on a hot streak. Dating back to the last two games of the 2016 regular season, the Browns are 2-1 in their last three. Don’t say the preseason is meaningless to the Browns. They lost all four last season and came close to going oh-fer during the regular year. They’ll take any win at this point.This duel in Week 2 of the preseason will go down Monday, August 21, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at FirstEnergy Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.... 

If the Atlanta Falcons need to be warned about the perils of NFL life, they need not look further than division rival Carolina. It was the Panthers coming off a 15-win regular season in 2015 and picked by many to be the next super team. But a few injuries and bad breaks had Carolina at the bottom of the NFC South with just six wins in 2016. That’s how fast a team can tumble and the Falcons also have to be concerned about their epic collapse in the Super Bowl. Use that loss as motivation, remain relatively healthy and the win total is well within reach for this loaded team.... 

Not much is expected of the Chicago Bears after winning just three games last season, which was the fewest for the proud organization since the NFL went to a 16-game schedule in 1978. The team had some massive changes this offseason, mainly at quarterback where Jay Cutler is no longer calling the shots. Da Bears spent a lot of money on the two players battling to take his spot and the winner will have work to do after Chicago ranked near the bottom in points per game. But the Bears were hit hard with injuries in 2016 and better luck on that front could produce a surprise team in the NFC.... 

Those odds are again so favorable because of the presence of Aaron Rodgers. The Packers’ star quarterback remains one of the best players in the NFL and will always have his team in contention. The Vikings have some talent but don’t have stellar quarterback play, while the Lions would really need to surprise to be in the race.The Packers have the best odds to win the NFC heading into the season, so it would be a disappointment if they don’t claim the division for the sixth time in the past seven years.... 

Atlanta seems to be getting penalized by past history. It as almost every key player returning and there is every reason to believe the Falcons will have a dynamic group once again. However, it has been rare for the NFC champion to repeat of late, and Atlanta had such a quick rise that it’s fair to ask if it was a one-hit wonder. Atlanta needs to replace offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan but if that goes smoothly the Falcons should again put up a ton of points.Atlanta may be improved defensively, and if the Falcons can manage a tough schedule and get a high seed for the playoffs, they could be tough to knock off by the other top teams in the conference.... 

Chicago is in clear rebuilding mode and is among the teams with the longest odds to win this year’s title. If the Bears can manage an unforeseen turnaround, it will clearly be on the shoulders of a quarterback. Mike Glennon will get the start to begin the year after he was added in free agency, but don’t sleep on Mitchell Trubisky. The No. 2 overall pick in the draft has high upside and could be the only possible way the Bears completely outperform expectations in 2017.... 

Two of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL will square off on Saturday night in the Queen City when the Cincinnati Bengals play host to the Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams are feeling good about their quarterback situations after their first preseason games and will look for the good vibes to continue here. It will be the Bengals last home game of the preseason after they hosted their preseason opener against Tampa Bay.This matchup in Week 2 of the preseason will take place on Saturday, August 19, 2017,at 7 p.m. ET at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.... 

Welcome back Marcus Mariota. Mariota saw the field for the first time since breaking his leg near the end of last season and made some headlines before the game started. He was late to the field after stopping to take pictures with fans and received widespread praise for the move. The Titans ended up getting the loss, but it was nice to see Mariota in action again. He and the Titans will host their first preseason game on Saturday afternoon when they welcome the Carolina Panthers to the Music City.This matchup in Week 2 of the preseason will take place on Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 3 p.m. ET at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee. This game will be broadcast on NFL Network.... 

The Washington Redskins will probably have a new quarterback next season. Although Kirk Cousins has been the best quarterback this team has had in over two decades, he and the Redskins have been unable to come to a long-term deal. Washington has used the franchise tag on him in each of the past two seasons and that means that Cousins is set to be a fully unrestricted free agent in 2018. That makes a successful 2017 campaign all the more important if the two sides want to join forces into the next decade....