FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

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.... 

The Houston Texans can’t do it in the regular season and they’ve failed in the playoffs. So now they’ll try and beat the New England Patriots during Week 2 of the NFL preseason when the teams meet for the first time ever in games that don’t count. The Pats easily handled the Texans in both meetings last season, including a romp in Foxboro in the divisional round of the playoffs, and essentially ended the brief career of Brock Osweiler in Houston. These two hook up in five weeks when they game does count and both will look a lot different then.The Week 2 preseason contest between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans will take place Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at NRG Stadium.... 

It was nine years ago that the Detroit Lions set an NFL record for futility. They failed to win a regular season game in 2008, becoming the only team to go winless in a 16-game season. In a cruel twist of fate, they had a perfect 4-0 preseason that year, but that doesn’t get mentioned. Many are predicting the 2017 Jets to challenge Detroit’s record as they are undergoing a complete team rebuild. The two will get together in Week 2 of the NFL preseason.This matchup in Week 2 of the preseason will go down Saturday, August 19, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Ford Field.... 

Following a 6-10 season in 2015 that resulted in the ouster of Tom Coughlin, the New York Giants spent a boat load of money to improve the league’s worst defensive team. The money was well spent as Big Blue won 11 games last year and returned to the playoffs for the first time since winning the Super Bowl after the 2011 season. Now that the D appears to be in order, the Giants need more production from an offense that couldn’t run the ball and left Eli Manning scrambling for much of the year. If upgrades on that side of the football work out, the Giants could be a force in the NFC title picture.... 

Uncertainty is what has driven the NFC East over the past several years and the division was hit with another dose when favorite Dallas saw its prized running back slapped with a six-game suspension. If the other teams needed a boost, they got it. And the Philadelphia Eagles are poised to make a move. Philly did some soul searching this offseason and upgraded its receiving corps for Carson Wentz, then addressed its need in the back of the defense by acquiring Ronald Darby in a deal with the Bills. The Eagles got much closer to being division champs than most realize.... 

The New York Giants returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2011 in Ben McAdoo’s first season as head coach in the Big Apple. They went on to get smashed by the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round, but laid the groundwork for success down the road. The GMEN have gotten some love in the Super Bowl LII futures market, yet only head into 2017-18 with a win total of 8.5. They won 11 games yet only ranked No. 26 in points scored a short season ago. This team just might by flying under the radar. Remember, they swept the series with the Cowboys last year and look to be a better team on paper this time around.... 

The Detroit Lions outperformed expectations in 2016, winning nine games when many expected them to take a step back after the loss of star wide receiver Calvin Johnson. If they can take another unlikely step forward, they could be in the mix for the conference championship in 2017, but those odds will be gone.... 

The Washington Redskins have been boom or bust when it comes to divisional finishes the past several years, with two NFC East title but six last-place finishes since 2008. The only time they haven’t finished first or last was last year when they went 8-7-1 and finished in third place.... 

The Los Angeles Rams have added a star receiver to the fold, and Sammy Watkins is expected to see his first action with his new team in Week 2 of the preseason against the Oakland Raiders. The Rams may want to get Watkins and starting quarterback Jared Goff on the same page, which could keep them on the field together for a handful of snaps....