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It’s that time of year…..
When the NFL kicks off its’ season, it’s an unofficial holiday. Over the past few decades, it has surpassed baseball as “America’s Past time”. The league has transcended from just being about a game into a force in pop culture.
If you’re not familiar why, there are many factors. Arguably one of the biggest is a salary cap on teams which forces parody amongst the league. Every team literally has a fair chance to hold the Lombardi trophy at the end of the season.
Another has been the growth in Fantasy Football. What some have coined “the RPG of Sports” has spawned into bug business and captured novice fans into watching games.
Momentum has built season after season It has lead into the league championship game aka SuperBowl being the most watched television program of each calendar year. It’s a star studded affair with celebrities and musicians involved that sends each season off into the sunset with a huge spectacle. Granted, last year’s event had a little more star power behind it due to a high profile romance but in all honesty, it brought even more eyes to the game than ever before.
But that was last season….
Thursday, September 6th 2024 is the official first game of the 2024-25 season. The Kansas City Chiefs host the Baltimore Ravens. The team at Nerd Initiative have some very big NFL fans amongst its’ ranks so for this blog, some of your favorite creators are going to give you their takes on the upcoming year!
HOW IS THE AFC LOOKING? KEN FROM THE ODPH!
Ken: The AFC is clearly the better conference with a plethora of teams that are actual legit contenders. In the east, The Buffalo Bills have been running away with the division of over the past few years, but BIG roster changes will give headaches. Miami and The NY Jets have made improvements and can give a run for the money. I don’t doubt at least 2 East teams making the playoffs. New England is in rebuild mode and it will be a long season there.
The North has many question marks behind them. Other than Cincinnati (with a healthy Joe Burrow) and Baltimore, no other North team is really poised to make a deep run. The Steelers will contend but too many questions at the qb position could halt progress. As for Cleveland, without a healthy Nick Chubb, that offense stalls. Luckily, the Browns have a great defense but I don’t think it’s enough.
As for the South, Indianapolis will be much better if they stay healthy. Houston surprised a lot of the league with the play of C.J. Shroud/ The only question mark is how will he play in his second year with coaches now having more tape to gameplan against him/
The AFC West got much better with new head coached in Las Vegas and Los Angeles On paper, it’s still defending NFL Champs Kansas City’s division but for how long. All 3 other teams made upgrades in key areas, but some remain questionable. There is a lot of wait and see here.
MATT FROM HOPS GEEK NEWS:
Matt: The AFC may be the most championship ready conference however, this offseason has left many question marks for many of its teams. The Cincinnati Bengals have their Quarterback in Joe Burrow back from his season ending injury yet, may be without hit favorite target Jamaar Chase. Chase has two years left on his contract but, is demanding a new contract and has yet to practice without one. Meanwhile, the other AFC North teams are not in much better positions.
The Steelers brought in Russel Wilson and Justin Fields, neither of whom lit up the stat sheet last season and they lost their other stud receiver in Dionte Johnson. The Browns are without Chubb who is working his way back from a horrifying knee injury last year and the Ravens are coming off a devestating AFC Championship loss but, have added Derrick Henry in their backfield.
Meanwhile in the AFC East Buffalo has been a team talked about as contenders but, saw their team lose Stefon Diggs to Houston and Gabe Davis to Jacksonville. Is Shakir ready to emerge as a lead receiver in this fast paced offense? We also see the return of Aaron Rodgers for the Jets who may be the second most Superbowl ready team if he can stay healthy.
The Chiefs will continue their AFC West Dominance as the Chargers saw Keenan Allen and Mike Williams leave and Gardner Minshew is QB1 in Vegas, and the Broncos are trotting out an untested Bo Nix to start. Do not sleep on the South as CJ Stroud shocked the world in year one and added Stefon Diggs to the already stout receiving core. If they stay healthy they are my dark horse pick to come out of the AFC.
MICKEY FROM PLAY FOR KEEPS!
Mickey: It’s “The Working Man’s Division”, the AFC, makes up some of the most powerful and dominant football teams in the league. The AFC West feels like a re-run, the AFC North is always a slobber knocker, The AFC East runs with the hot hand, and the AFC South has recently felt like the Mall everyone used to go to…that is until the Texans broke ground on a new, flashy dynasty in the making. Jacksonville will take another small step forward while the Colts and Titans continue their respective rebuilds. That leaves Houston to dominate that division this year. C.J. Stroud and his supporting cast will put the fear of offense into the entire league!
The AFC West runs through Kansas City once again and it’s hard to find a surprise in this division. I love the passion that Antonio Pierce brings to the Raiders, but the talent just isn’t there. They’ll win some close games based on their toughness alone. That applies to the Chargers as well. Jim Harbaugh brings the grit that team has been missing for decades. The Broncos are an enigma to me. Things seem to be going in the right direction, but it’s just not their time yet. With the loss of their defense’s heart and soul Justin Simmons, it’s going to be tough to stop a lot of opposing offenses.
One of the toughest divisions in football, the AFC North, feels like a toss up, but that’s just because the dust clouds the big picture. The Ravens continue to run that division with Lamar Jackson and the addition of the biggest and baddest running back in the game, Derrick Henry. I think Henry still has the ability to control the 4th quarter of games and close out a lot of wins for Baltimore. However you feel about the quarterback pickups by The Steelers, they are still upgrades. Mike Tomlin will lift them up to quality wins. I believe the Bengal magic is fading and the Browns are good, but stuck in a division with “greats”.
Now the AFC East will prove to be a juggling act. I can’t ignore the roster losses by the Bills, but they’ll still have a defense willing to fight and Josh Allen is good enough to get you to .500 alone. The Patriots are who we think they are, which is bad. The Jets could be dangerous, but is Aaron Rodgers really focused on winning a Super Bowl? My heart tells me no. That leaves the Ferrari of the division, the Miami Dolphins. I think they win this division this year and they finally break through. However, they better do everything in their power to avoid traveling to Arrowhead in January.
WHAT ABOUT THE NFC?
Ken: “The NFC Least” is still Philadelphia’s division by a mile. Adding Saquon Barkley to an already loaded lineup looks to be the edge they needed to run back to the Superbowl. Dallas and Washington made some moves but I don’t see it being enough to get to that next level. The NY Giants still have an atrocious offensive line. Until that area is addressed, they remain on “the island of irrelevancy” as Roman Reigns would say.
The North had the Detroit Lions emerge as a viable contender last season. They also have the same issues I see with Houston. They snuck up on a lot of teams but will they do it again. Plus they need a healthy defense year-round. Green Bay is young and improved but is all they need is (Jordan) Love? The Vikings have been depleted by the injury bug so they’re in rough shape before Week 1. Chicgao made big moves with drafting Caleb Williams (QB) at #1 and upgrading the offense. How they stand up to the other teams remains unclear.
The South…..has teams. It’s very rough here so unless Kirk Cousins finds magic in Atlanta, moving on.
In the West, San Francisco looks very good and focused with the Brandon Aiyuk now over. Seattle is a perianal sleeper team and will challenge. The Rams are aging but will contend in the weaker NFC. As for Arizona, it’s a literal coin-flip on what you’re going to get there.
Matt: Not much has changed in the NFC as the Niners have inked a deal with Ayiuk and their team has stayed together, the NFC South added Kirk Cousins and kicked Arthur Smith, the West only saw Pete Carroll take his gum elsewhere and Marvin Harrison Jr enter, and the North sees Caleb Williams entering the fold thus leaving the Sam Darnold led Vikings poised to hang out in the basement of that division.
The Packers have shaken things up however with the addition of a new Defensive Coordinator and Kicker as well as Josh Jacobs leading their backfield. The Lions took the leap last year before a crushing defeat and the Packers took the Niners to the wire so I expect these three teams to be fighting at the end again.
Mickey: I feel like the shining stars of the NFC let us down every year, and this year is feeling very similar…except, maybe it’s not. I’m just going to jump right into it: The Dallas Cowboys will win the NFC East and hold the #1 seed in the NFC. I said it, if feels gross, but I said it. I believe in Dak Prescott and I’d love nothing more that to see him lead them to the promise land and then walk away. The Eagles dysfunction will continue, the Commanders will grow, and the Giants still stink.
The NFC South is average. Nothing here excites me except for the hype surrounding Atlanta. Are they really going to e as good as everyone says they are? My gut says no, but they may be fun to watch! The Saints are boring, the Panthers are as terrible as their owner, and the Bucs are the wildcard. Baker Mayfield proved himself last year, but will that fire in his belly continue to burn or will he go back to riding the wave of popularity?
A division shaping up to be enough pressure to create a diamond is the NFC West. The 49ers still seem like the big dogs, but the Rams and Seahawks should not be underestimated. Those three teams make great cases for division winners but the Arizona Cardinals are the Schrodinger’s Cat of the league. Are they good? are they bad? I don’t think we’ll know until a few games in. They definitively have the talent, but do they have the leadership?
The NFC North is a two horse race. Green Bay and Detroit will slug it out for that division and I find myself leaning towards the Lions. They have the offensive line, defensive front, and the fortitude to remain standing at the end of the fight. The Vikings will struggle through growing pains and have their hands full with the up and coming Chicago Bears. The Bears will make some noise but it won’t be enough to knock off the favorites.
WHO IS A SLEEPER TEAM THAT WE SHOULD BE WATCHING?
Ken: Indianapolis Colts. As dubbed on the ODPH “The most boring team in Football”, If Anthony Richardson (QB) and Jonathan Taylor (RB) can both stay healthy, this team CAN make a deep run. Both are explosive players and if they can BOTH be on the field at the same time, look out! Their defense is good enough to hold teams back enough. Its’ their offense that showed flashes of brilliance last season until Richardson went down. If they can duck this, I don’t doubt them making a push for the ‘Bowl.
Matt: Every year I pick the Jacksonville Jaguars to be my sleeper team and every year I do not learn my lesson. Well this year is different because as I alluded to earlier my pick would be the Houston Texans to be the dark horse of the AFC. CJ Stroud can sling it and now he has three options to throw to and a playoff tested team. If they stay healthy this team could make some noise.
On the NFC side of the ball it’s hard to take my green and gold tinted glasses off. The Packers made heavy defensive changes and have a receiving core that bring a lot of talent to the field. They lost Jones to the Vikings and Dillon to injury however, Josh Jacobs is 26 and also a receiving threat if Love continues his ascension and they fix Special Teams the Green Bay Packers may finally get over their playoff hump.
Mickey: Coaching is everything in the NFL and that’s why the Los Angeles…Chargers will dig themselves out of mediocrity and give the Kansas City Chiefs all the can handle. Justin Herbert can do great things but he hasn’t had the proper leadership until now. A lot of unknowns and used-to-be’s will become stars from the attention that team will garner this season. There will be enough steaks, whole milk, and “firm but fair” discipline for everyone!
WHO’S GOING TO AND WINNING THE SUPERBOWL” THIS YEAR?
Ken: The AFC Playoffs are going to be fun to watch. I feel that Kansas City will edge out Cincinnati on their way back. It appears Mahomes actually might have a legit WR in Xavier Worthy that will be the deciding factor.
As for the NFC, I think this is going to be the 49ers revenge era and expect them to make a loud statement to run it back as well.
Final: Cincinnati Bengals 34- Detroit Lions 23
FINAL: Kansas City 24- SF 21* (As a Bills fan, I can’t jinx my team and personally I hope I’m wrong)
Matt: The AFC will be fun as it always is and an absolute bloodbath. Kansas City will have us thinking their done and sleepwalk the regular season and will turn it on come playoff time as usual. But, unlike last season I think the Bengals are the team most poised to upset them and make their big return to the promised land.
The NFC has three teams I can see making it all the way in the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, and yes my Green Bay Packers. I think the Lions get revenge this season and shock the world making it to the big game as they return largely the same roster this year and now have the experience to add to it.
Mickey: We’re not “talking ’bout playoffs”, we’re talking about the SUPER BOWL. Early picks are always risky but that’s what the spotlight is all about. The NFC feels the most chaotic. San Francisco has been dominate but this year, that changes. The Dallas Cowboys finally make it to the big show!
The AFC is more consistent. The Chiefs dominate…but not so fast my friend! The Baltimore Ravens “trust the process” and end up winning the AFC!
Final: Baltimore Ravens 38 – Dallas Cowboys 31
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