FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

Last year when the San Diego Chargers were beaten by the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in a tightly-contested game from start to finish, Jim Nantz appropriated referred to them as the best 2-4 team in football. They finished as the best 4-12 team in football. The Chargers badly need a renaissance, and they're good candidates to do it as well in the wide open AFC West. They've got a real uphill climb and have Father Time working against them as well though, and that's why the oddsmakers don'... 

A strong start in 2015 made the second half of the season that much more painful to watch for Atlanta Falcons fans. After winning the first five games, the Falcons lost eight of the last 11, including a six-game losing streak.... 

The Bengals have assembled a talented roster and will once again compete for supremacy in the AFC North. Cincinnati won the division for the second time in the last three seasons last year, matching the franchise record with 12 regular season wins and reached double-digits for the fourth straight time.... 

Every team is optimistic about their chances during the offseason. But for team that is now more than five years removed from its Super Bowl XLV title and is looking to bounce back from watching its last two seasons end in gut-wrenching style, the optimism is real in Green Bay.... 

After 20 seasons mired in the Midwest, the Rams are back in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, they drag a decade-long playoff drought along with them. Coach Jeff Fisher made the move as well with a team seemingly on the cusp of being good. However, the Rams haven’t had a .500 or better season with him at the helm.... 

New York struggled through a forgettable 2015 campaign, missing the playoffs for the fourth straight season and then parting ways with two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Tom Coughlin. So the Giants now move forward with a new head coach, Ben McAdoo, a 35-year-old Eli Manning and last year's 32nd-ranked defense.... 

The Saints trotted out the NFL’s worst defense last year and the offense just couldn’t keep up. The flop cost coordinator Rob Ryan his job. And no team allowed more points than the Saints, though it made for some exciting games. Perhaps that's why they used three of their first four picks in the draft on that side of the ball.... 

The Tennessee Titans are clearly starting to turn the corner. They've got their franchise quarterback in Marcus Mariota, and they're starting to put some pieces around him which make some sense. Will it all translate into victories in 2016? The oddsmakers aren't giving them a ton of credit quite yet.... 

Death. Taxes. And the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be in the discussion for the Super Bowl year in and year out. Sure, it's been a while since the Steelers have made it all the way to the Promised Land, but they haven't had a losing season since 2003. That, if nothing else, makes them awfully interesting to watch when it comes to their relatively lofty regular season win total.... 

Kansas City picked up the pieces after an awful start to challenge for the AFC West crown and is the favorite to win it in 2016. The Chiefs went over two months without losing a football game last season and have the pieces to fill in at the top.... 

The Lions begin the post-Megatron era with plenty of questions, not many answers, and a new management team in place to oversee the on-field product. That product won’t have Calvin Johnson, who retired this offseason after nine seasons in a Lions uniform, taking the face of the franchise over the last decade away.... 

Most of the remnants from the previous regime have been discarded and the Bears are now general manager Ryan Pace’s and head coach John Fox’s team. And that’s a good thing. In Carolina, Fox’s team improved by four games from his first season to the second, reaching 11 wins and the Super Bowl in Year 2.... 

The Cardinals were ridiculous last year. Not only did they go 13-3, but they scored the second-most points in the NFL with 30.6 per game while allowing the seventh-fewest at 19.6 per game. They were incredibly efficient on both sides of the ball, but unfortunately bowed out to the Panthers in the NFC Championship Game.... 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and Week 16 of the 2016 NFL regular season will bring plenty of gifts for football fans. With Christmas Day falling on Sunday, the league adjusted its slate for plenty of fun the day before the Holiday. Two AFC division rivalry games are waiting under the tree while Saturday offers a feast of pigskin action.... 

A couple of mouthwatering AFC matchups highlight the Week 15 schedule of the 2016 NFL regular season. The Patriots and Broncos will tangle in a rematch of the conference championship minus one key element. Tom Brady gets a shot to avenge a 2-point loss that kept the Pats from a repeat opportunity. The Steelers and Bengals will also hook up in what is likely to be another bloodbath in the AFC North.... 

The primetime lineup in Week 14 of the 2016 NFL regular season schedule promises to be one of the best of the year. AFC West rivals Oakland and Kansas City get the slate started on Thursday night with an NFC East matchup between the Cowboys and Giants on Sunday Night Football. The Ravens and Patriots have met in the playoffs three times in the last five seasons and end week on Monday night.... 

If you like betting on the road underdog, Week 13 of the NFL regular season is your week to play. Only one visitor is pegged as a favorite on the early lines, with the Denver Broncos 3.5-point chalk at Jacksonville. Sunday Night Football is a must see with another clash between the Panthers and Seahawks, who have produced some memorable regular and postseason games in the past few years.... 

Week 12 of the NFL regular season gets going on Thanksgiving Day with a smorgasbord of football. There are few holidays – at least football related ones – like Thanksgiving and the turkey day games are going to be fun ones. Besides, who doesn’t like a couple of division rivalries to spice the cranberry sauce?... 

The massive marketing arm of the NFL reaches south of the border in Week 10 when Houston and Oakland play on Monday night in Mexico City. Building off the tremendous success of the NFL International series of regular season games in the UK, the league will play its first Monday night game outside the U.S.... 

A rematch of possibly the best Super Bowl game played and teams that have competed three times for the Lombardi Trophy headline Week 10 of the NFL regular season. The Seahawks and Patriots had a memorable title game two years ago and hook up on Sunday Night Football in Foxboro. The Cowboys and Steelers renew acquaintances in another inter-conference battle.... 

The early lines for the 2016 NFL season had the Seattle Seahawks as a double-digit favorite four times. Week 9 is one of those games. The Buffalo Bills will make the cross-country trip to the Pacific Northwest for a Monday Night Football showdown as early 10-point dogs.... 

A rematch of last season’s NFC Championship game highlights the Week 8 schedule of the NFL season. The Cardinals were embarrassed by Cam Newton and the Panthers in January with a trip to Super Bowl 50 on the line. The two are expected to compete again and we could witness a preview of another conference title game.... 

Brock Bowl I will get plenty of headlines in Week 7, but the slate is littered with divisional matchups that could have an impact on the remainder of the regular season. A classic NFC North rivalry with the Packers hosting Chicago gets the week started and the Broncos welcome their former quarterback back to Denver on Monday Night Football.... 

The AFC West takes center stage in Week 6 of the NFL regular season with two games featuring its four division combatants. The Chiefs-Raiders showdown is a likely changing of the guard in the division and could have the top spot in the grouping up for grabs.... 

For those fanatics who enjoy placing wagers on the NFL, take note that Week 5 of the season is the first that includes byes.

Two fewer games will be played but there are still plenty of chances to make some coin....