Think about it for a second: The last time the New York Jets won a Super Bowl—the only time, in fact—man hadn’t walked on the moon yet. Since the Man and the Moon are sometimes the subject of wacky conspiracy theories, one might also wonder if this Jets Super Bowl wasn’t made from scratch in a Hollywood studio so it doesn’t seem real. . Since that single triumph, the Jets have been an example of mediocrity only surpassed by the Cleveland Browns, and that’s what happens when you hire Quincy Carters, Browning Nagles and Ray Lucas to pass the ball (not to mention Brett Favre, who lost his mind the second he put on that uniform). There, their quarterback is Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. It can’t not work. But it’s the Jets, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Rodgers was lost for the season after getting his finger stuck in the dishwasher.
Who among us is 100% healthy every day? No one, probably, but it’s even worse when it comes to a guy who is the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, without whom nothing can work. So this guy named Joe Burrow is trying to come back from a calf injury suffered six weeks ago. The Bengals say he should be at his position in the club’s season opener on Sunday against Cleveland, but if he is there, will he be able to perform to his full potential? That’s THE question, because if he has to abdicate, it’s Jake Browning, the reserve who never made a pass in his life in the NFL, who would take over. The Bengals lost in the conference finals by just three points to the Kansas City Chiefs last season. So obviously, expectations are very high.
The New England Patriots dominated so much you thought their reign would last forever, but no, it’s over. Handsome Tom’s former club have played for under .500 twice in the last three seasons, and this season promises to be even tougher, firstly because all three of their division rivals have better teams on hand . So what will be left? We will be left with the immense pleasure of seeing Bill Belichick’s face break down a little more each Sunday after each defeat. One should not rejoice in the misfortune of others, they say? It’s true. But we can still rejoice in the misfortune of a coach who took pleasure in asking his quarterback to throw 50-yard bombs even when his team had a 40-point lead in the fourth quarter.
That’s huge and that’s right: no less than seven quarterbacks with little or no starting experience will start the season. Of these, there are three who were top picks in the last draft: C.J. Stroud (Houston), Anthony Richardson (Indianapolis) and Bryce Young (Caroline), the latter having been the very first player selected. Added to this list of new starters with very little mileage on the clock are Sam Howell (Washington), Brock Purdy (San Francisco), Desmond Ridder (Atlanta) and Jordan Love (Green Bay). These seven young men have at least two things in common: they’re all 24 years old or younger, and they all face the same huge challenge of getting their team back together fast enough.
It’s crazy how many pundits see the Detroit club finishing top of their division this season, and it even looks like a sexy pick in the surprises to watch category. If the Lions were to win the title of their division, it would indeed be a huge surprise, they who last achieved this feat in 1993, the year of the last Stanley Cup of you know who. To go along with this outburst of enthusiasm that is not based on any form of logic, it was the Lions who were chosen by the league to start the season with great fanfare against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, and in addition, the league bonzes offered them four games during prime time television. We truly live in strange times.
