We are officially past the first half of the NFL season. Since our first quarter check-in, teams like the Bills and Ravens have remained atop their division. Other teams like the Chargers and Saints have run into issues and started falling off.
One of the best moments from the first half of the season was seeing Cam Newton reunite with his former team, the Carolina Panthers, and instantly score two touchdowns. His other former team, the New England Patriots, is riding high and might have found their next franchise quarterback after Tom Brady. Fresh off a 25-0 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Mac Jones has to be feeling confident in Foxborough.
Contenders
Tennessee Titans
It’s truly hard to believe, but the Titans are still a really good team despite losing Derrick Henry and Julio Jones. Their offense has definitely been slowed, but they are still finding ways to win. Looking at their schedule and their three-game lead in the AFC South, it’s hard to see Tennessee not getting into the playoffs. Could they be peaking early? Maybe.
Tennessee is currently on a six-game win streak and they’ve beaten quality opponents including the Los Angeles Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, and Buffalo Bills.
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams have decided this is their year and they are willing to do whatever it takes to reach the Super Bowl. In just the last few weeks, the Rams added one of the best defensive players, Von Miller, and one of the most explosive receivers, Odell Beckham Jr. The Beckham Jr. signing came at just hte right time as Robert Woods will miss the rest of the season after suffering an ACL tear at practice. They head into their bye week on a two-game losing streak, but this team will likely turn that around once they get more comfortable with one another.
Matthew Stafford was under a lot of pressure last week against the Titans. For an erratic passer like Stafford, he needs the offensive line to play better and that will probably come with time. Unfortunately, they don’t have time as the Rams have put themselves in a must-win situation this season.
Kansas City Chiefs
It’s been so rare to see Kansas City struggle that any sign of imperfection may cause concern. However, with the Raiders dropping in the standings and the Chargers’ offense stalling, there’s a very good chance Kansas City will find its way into the playoffs. This team is way too talented to not be in the playoffs in a weak AFC Conference. In a big Sunday night game, we saw Patrick Mahomes return to his MVP form, throwing for 406 yards and five touchdowns. Kansas City will face a much tougher challenge this weekend when they play Dallas.
Pretenders
Las Vegas Raiders
Things have gone from really bad to even worse for the Raiders. Las Vegas has had a tough (to put it nicely) season and it’s safe to say the team’s play on the field is heavily affected. Losers of two straight, including an ugly blowout to Kansas City, it seems like months ago that the Raiders beat Philadelphia. The Raiders have struggled in the second half of the season the past couple of years and the pattern looks likely to continue.
New Orleans Saints
The good news forthe Saints? Alvin Kamara returned to practice after missing last week’s game with a knee injury. Unfortunately, he did not practice the following day and his status for Sundays’ game against Philadelphia is unkown. Neither offensive tackle practiced on Wednesday as well as Tanoh Kpassagnon, the team leader in sacks. Even worse, quarterback Taysom Hill was described as “nicked up” by head coach Sean Payton after the team’s loss to the Tennessee Titans. New Orleans is on a two game losing streak and really need to win this week to turn things around. All eyes will be on Trevor Siemian as fans hope he can get them the much needed win.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Don’t be fooled by their record, the Steelers are not that good. With Ben Roethlisberger sidelined due to testing positive for Covid-19, the team tied with the winless Detroit Lions. Pittsburgh is preparing to be without Roethlisberger once again this Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers are having their own issues, but are much better than the Lions.
