FOOTBALL NFL ARTICLES

The Atlanta Falcons made it to the Super Bowl last season and the Pittsburgh Steelers should be in the hunt with them this year. However, as these two talented squads face off this weekend, it won’t look anything like a clash would in the regular season.... 

The Seattle Seahawks have been to the playoffs five straight seasons and been to the Super Bowl twice during that span. Pete Carroll has turned this franchise into one of the more dominating in the NFC, and their odds to win it all ( +935 ) are on par with every perceived major player save for the defending champion New England Patriots. There’s no reason to think this club doesn’t have what it takes to make another title run in 2017-18.... 

The Dallas Cowboys received some surprising news this week when the NFL announced that running back Ezekiel Elliott would be suspended for the first six games of the season for domestic violence. The young star’s presumed absence will have an effect on the spreads for those games, but he is still allowed to play in the preseason.... 

The Green Bay Packers are one of the top contenders for the Super Bowl this season because of quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He is so valuable to the team that Rodgers may see little to no action in the team’s second preseason game of the year against the Washington Redskins.... 

The Detroit Lions are still looking for their first postseason win in more than a quarter-century. Detroit has made the postseason in three of the last four seasons, but has been unable to get out of the Wild Card Round. A lot of that is due to Green Bay’s dominance of the division as the Lions haven’t won a division title since 1993.... 

After winning just four games in the 2015-16 season, the Dallas Cowboys rode a pair of rookies in Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot on a worst-to-first trek back into the playoffs last year. But with Elliott suspended for the team’s first six games, their odds to win Super Bowl LII, the NFC and NFC East have all taken a hit. What hasn’t really changed is the team’s win total which opened at 9.5 -110 and remains there with +112 juice attached to the over. With Zeke likely out for almost half the regular season, can Jason Garrett coach this team to double-digit wins?... 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a season O/U win total of 8 with the over shaded at -116 juice. While the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons are currently installed as favorites to win the NFC South, a steady stream of Bucs money has kept Dirk Koetter’s squad in the running ( +275 ) with Tampa Bay opening as +282 underdogs to win the division. This is a team that closed 2016-17 out winning six of eight games both straight up and against the spread, and played some tough nosed defense along the way. The hype attached to this club entering 2017-18 looks to be warranted, but much has to go right for it to live up to those expectations.... 

While the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons are seen as the cream of the crop in the NFC, the Giants aren’t far behind on that next tier. Their defense improved by leaps and bounds in 2016 and the key pieces are back. The Giants were held back by their offense and so they picked up up wide receiver Brandon Marshall. New York isn’t even the favorite in its division but it’s not out of the realm of possibility for the Giants to make a Super Bowl run if everything falls right.... 

The Philadelphia Eagles feel like they are a team on the rise. If that is indeed true and they surpass last year’s 7-9 record, bettors who took the “over” on their projected win total for 2017 will be feeling good. Quarterback Carson Wentz showed some impressive flashes as a rookie and will aim to take another step forward.The defense should be good again, so if the offense can score a couple more points per game this season, the returns should be positive. Philadelphia could be in contention for a playoff spot in the NFC if all goes well in 2017. However, there is also the possibility that Wentz doesn’t progress as hoped, which could lead to another losing year.... 

The Bucs have a similar core returning from last season and a quarterback in Jameis Winston who has proven himself in the NFL. Tampa Bay could be taking a more laissez faire approach to these exhibition games, interested in getting some work in for its starters but not too concerned about that result. That separation in motivation could play a critical role in the outcome of this matchup.Watch this preseason Week 2 matchup live on Friday, August 17, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at EverBank Field.... 

With a reworked offensive unit, the Minnesota Vikings have plenty to figure out on that side of the football this preseason. The Vikes will take their new-look offense to the Pacific Northwest for a battle with the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 of the 2017 preseason slate. Vikings’ coach Mike Zimmer likes to win games and it doesn’t matter if it’s an exhibition contest. Minnesota improved to 13-1 during the preseason under Zimmer with last week’s win over Buffalo.The Week 2 preseason battle between the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks will take place Friday, August 18, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at CenturyLink Field. Watch the game live on the NFL Network.... 

The NFC West should change its name to the NFC Pacific Northwest because the Seattle Seahawks have dominated. After losing their grip on the division two seasons ago, the Seahawks regained their perch on top last year, claiming the title for the third time in four years and for the eighth time in the past 13 seasons. The window for them to win another division crown and compete for a Super Bowl remains wide open with the core of the back-to-back Super Bowl teams still intact.... 

The Dallas Cowboys shocked plenty of people last season with their surge to the top of the NFC standings. That wasn’t supposed to happen with rookies at quarterback and running back. Dak Prescott took the reins from Tony Romo and was fearless. Ezekiel Elliott produced one of the best rushing seasons in Dallas history. And together the two powered the Boys to a 13-win regular season. Elliott is facing a suspension that could put a dent in the NFC’s best run game, but the team is poised to make up for its disappointing playoff loss last year and is plenty motivated heading into 2017.... 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were right there last season. They tied with the Detroit Lions for sixth in the NFC but lost the tie-breaker for the final playoff spot in the conference. The Bucs were overshadowed a bit the last two seasons with the play of division mates Carolina and Atlanta, but they’ve been trending upward under the direction of Dirk Koetter, who led them to their most wins in six years. The NFC South has put a team in the Super Bowl in each of the last two seasons and Jameis Winston has the Bucs on the right path this year.... 

Neither the Buffalo Bills nor the Philadelphia Eagles got off to a hot start this preseason. However, whereas Buffalo’s first-team offense only managed three points off of three possessions, Philadelphia was able to move right down the field and score on the lone drive where its starters played. Look for both starters to play more this Thursday, particularly Buffalo after the two stunning trades it made on Monday. Interestingly enough, one of those two trades involved this Philadelphia team.... 

The Minnesota Vikings exploded out of the gates last season winning and covering their first five games to hold the lead atop the NFC North standings heading into their Week 6 bye. It was all downhill from there for Mike Zimmer’s squad due to inconsistent play and injuries. They’ll enter 2017-18 looking to sustain another hot start should they have one to have more of a say in the final division standings.... 

The Washington Redskins have a season O/U win total of 7.5 with the over shaded at -115 juice. Of the four NFC East teams, they have the longest odds to win the division ( +455 ). It’s tough to envision Jay Gruden’s squad being NFC contenders when it’s not even being taken seriously as a division contender. Red caution flags are abound heading into the regular season with the way the team disappointingly closed last year out along with the surprising dismissal of general manager Scott McCloughan and inability to sign Kirk Cousins to a long term deal.... 

The Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins both won their preseason debuts last week. Neither team played its starters for any significant amount of time, but the bench was good enough to lead each team to victory. Each team has suffered a significant injury to its quarterback in training camp, with Miami losing Ryan Tannehill for the entire season due to a knee injury and Baltimore not having Joe Flacco available for preseason because of an injured back. Both coaches will likely be hesitant to play their starters, especially quarterbacks, that much with those injuries weighing on their minds.... 

If you would have bet the Green Bay Packers under 10 wins last season, you would forever curse Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay started the season 4-6 and the playoffs looked out of the picture with Detroit pulling out miracle win after miracle win. Rodgers showed why you can never count him out though with six straight wins to end the regular season followed by playoff victories against the Giants and the Cowboys. Although the season ended with a loss in the NFC Championship Game, it’s hard not to consider it a success after how the season started. Green Bay is the favorite to win the NFC North once again in 2017, but Rodgers needs help if this team is going to go further.... 

Although the Atlanta Falcons made it to the Super Bowl last season, oddsmakers have three other NFC teams favored ahead of them to make it to Minneapolis in 2018. Super Bowl losers tend to do poorly the following year and no team has returned to challenge for the Vince Lombardi Trophy since the Buffalo Bills lost four straight. Atlanta brings back virtually all of its talent from last year’s roster, but loses offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Can the Falcons be the team that breaks the streak?... 

Welcome home Los Angeles Chargers! The Chargers franchise began in Los Angeles in 1960 and moved to San Diego immediately after the end of the season. After 56 seasons in San Diego, the Chargers moved back to the City of Angels this season. For the next three years, the Chargers will be calling quaint StubHub Center home until the new stadium that will host both the Chargers and Rams is built. They will welcome their first team when they face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night.This matchup in Week 1 of the preseason will take place on Sunday, August 13, 2017,at 8 p.m. ET at StubHub Center in Carson, California. The game will be broadcast live on NFL Network.... 

We are going to have to wait at least one more week before seeing Andrew Luck make his 2017 debut. Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano announced that Luck would not be playing in the team’s preseason opener against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. In his stead, Scott Tolzien will get the start. Tolzien got his first start since 2013 against Pittsburgh last season with Luck banged up, but didn’t perform well there. He does know how to perform in preseason though and is the veteran of the quarterbacks with Luck still rehabbing from offseason surgery.This matchup in Week 1 of the preseason will take place on Sunday, August 13, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on NFL Network.... 

The Arizona Cardinals’ second-team had a fantastic performance against the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game. Blaine Gabbert led the team on two long touchdown drives in the first two series of the game and the Cardinals raced out to a 15-0 lead over the Cowboys. Although Arizona only scored three points over the last 50 minutes of action and lost, the game indicated that the second-team is talented and Blaine Gabbert might be able to succeed in this offense. He will get another chance against the Oakland Raiders this week.... 

The Dallas Cowboys are ready to get back on the field and get the taste of last season’s playoff defeat out of their mouths. Dallas was a juggernaut in the regular season last year, ripping off 11 straight wins at one point to cruise to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Aaron Rodgers cruelly bounced them from the playoffs in one of the most excited postseason games in recent memory, but the Cowboys are the favorites in the NFC once again. On Saturday, they will play their second road game of the preseason, this time against the Los Angeles Rams.... 

Only four road teams are favored in Week 1 of the NFL Preseason and the biggest favorite of those four is the Tennessee Titans. It’s not much of a surprise to see Tennessee so heavily favored given their opponent, the hapless New York Jets. The Jets have a win total of just 3.5 this season and are widely expected to be the worst team in the NFL in 2017. Their roster has been panned as entirely bereft of talent and it would be a bigger miracle to see them make the playoffs this season than it was for them to win Super Bowl III. If they want to prove the naysayers wrong, some players on their roster need to separate themselves starting with this game....