Some made unusual season feel normal
Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes made the NFL’S first 17-game regular season feel a little more normal despite playing through a pandemic again.
Brady broke more records and had one of his best seasons at age 44 while helping the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers win their first division title in 14 years.
Rodgers played like an MVP and led the Green Bay Packers to the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the second straight season.
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs bounced back from a rough start to win their sixth straight AFC West title.
The league’s biggest season had plenty of twists thanks to COVID-19 and evolving protocols but each of the 272 games should be played by the time the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders wrap up the regular season Sunday night in a matchup that will likely determine the 14th playoff berth.
And, the NFL did it with fans filling stadiums this year.
There were some bumps along
the way and more doubts emerged when a surge in coronavirus cases because of the omicron variant caused three games to be rescheduled in Week 15. However, the league in cooperation with the NFL Players Association managed to pull it off, although several teams had to play important games without key players because of COVID-19.
Navigating through the postseason will be challenging. The league is looking at contingency plans in the unlikely event the Super Bowl can’t be played at So-fi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Feb. 13. But plans are currently on schedule and the possibility still exists that it’ll be an allla Super Bowl as the Rams hold the NFC’S No. 2 seed and the Chargers sit in the AFC’S No. 7 spot going into the final weekend.
Vaccines were the big topic entering the season and nearly 95% of players got the shot by the end of the year. Still, the number of positive tests skyrocketed late in the season. The league and the players’ union reduced returnto-play guidelines, allowing players to come back after five days.
Eleven teams already wrapped up playoff spots and seven more still have a shot to get in with one game remaining. Both conferences were wide open throughout most of the season and several teams have a solid chance to reach the Big Game.
The NFL’S worst division in 2020 is sending two teams to the dance. Dak Prescott returned from a devastating ankle injury to lead the Dallas Cowboys to the NFC East title and rookie coach Nick Sirianni along with secondyear QB Jalen Hurts guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a wild-card spot after a lastplace finish cost Super Bowlwinning coach Doug Pederson his job.
The New Orleans Saints found life without Drew Brees difficult, as expected. They used three starting quarterbacks after Jameis Winston suffered a seasonending knee injury. Despite sweeping the Buccaneers for the second straight season, the Saints were inconsistent but still can grab a playoff berth with a win and some help.
No team came close to challenging Rodgers and the Packers in the NFC North and the Vikings and Bears may be searching for a new coach by Monday.