February was the last time football fans all across the country watched a meaningful football game. The only problem was Super Bowl XLVIII between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos proved to be anything but a good game with the Seahawks winning by a convincing 43-8 margin.
Despite the heavy loss, the Broncos are favored to go back to the Super Bowl alongside the Seahawks with the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers not far behind, according to odds in Las Vegas. The team with the lowest odds to win the Super Bowl is the Jaguars with the Oakland Raiders second to last.
The now Super Bowl Champion Seahawks will start their title defense Thursday night at home against the Packers led by superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers, in the NFL’s opening game of the season. Other notable week one games include the Cincinnati Bengals vs. the Baltimore Ravens, 49ers vs. the Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts vs. the Broncos.
However, it has been the team that lost the Super Bowl that has had the much busier and, arguably, more productive offseason. The Broncos signed former Cowboys’ defensive end DeMarcus Ware, Cleveland Browns’ safety TJ Ward and Patriots’ corner Aqib Talib.
Talib will get a chance to show his former employers what they are missing out on as the Patriots and Broncos will have an AFC Championship rematch in week nine in what is commonly referred to as “Manning versus Brady.” This will be the 16th time the two longtime foes have gone against each other with Brady holding a 10-5 edge over Manning. However, Manning and the Broncos defeated Brady and the Patriots to earn a ticket to the Super Bowl last January.
The Broncos will also get a chance for revenge against the Seahawks in an early week three matchup in Seattle. However, the team that gave the Seahawks the best run for their money in the playoffs was the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. Quarterback Colin Kapernick and the 49ers offense drove all the way down to Seahawks redzone before a late interception cost him and the 49ers a chance to go back to the Super Bowl. The two NFC West rivals will collide in weeks 13 and 15.
As far as storylines this season, they often start and end at the quarterback position. The 2014 NFL draft brought three first-round quarterback selections Blake Bortles from UCF to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the third pick, Teddy Bridgewater to the Minnesota Vikings with the 32nd pick, and the biggest name of them all Johnny Manziel from Texas A&M was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.
Manziel has been the biggest storyline this offseason, attempting to take the starting quarterback job from incumbent Brian Hoyer, a Cleveland native. Also, his every last move was tracked from his constant partying pictures throughout social media to flipping off the Washington Redskins bench during a preseason game. In the end, he failed like the other two first-round quarterback to win the starting job. Although, most predict he will eventually get his chance sooner rather than later.
Ironically, the one rookie quarterback who is projected to start opening weekend is Raiders second-round pick Derek Carr, brother of former number one overall pick David Carr. He defeated multiple-time Pro Bowler Matt Schaub to win the job.
As always in the NFL, some playoff teams comeback to the pack and this year will be no different as only five teams have made the playoffs in the last three years (Bengals, Broncos, 49ers, Packers and Patriots.)
From the NFC, the Carolina Panthers were the surprise package last season, led by quarterback Cam Newton who overcame a 1-3 start to finish 12-4 and finish second in the NFC standings to the Seahawks. However, Newton lost many of his targets from last season including longtime Panther wide receiver Steve Smith. Newton will have to take his game to another level if the Panthers want to make the playoffs again.
In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs matched and surpassed the Panthers surprise level going from 2-14 the year before to 11-5. Although they blew one of the biggest leads in the history of the NFL Playoffs against the Colts, the Chiefs still had a successful season. Now with head coach Andy Reid coming back for a second season and quarterback Alex Smith recently signing a new four-year extension, the Chiefs now have to deal with a much tougher schedule than last season.
On the other hand, there are a couple of teams with a point to prove this season. Two potential Super Bowl contenders last season – the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons – fell dramatically and only combined for six wins last season. Both will be hoping to show last season was a fluke.
Overall, this NFL season should prove to be one of the most competitive and exciting seasons to date.
