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A Look Back and a Look Forward in the NFL
My favorite aspect of competition and sport is the possibility that anything can happen. When it comes to college football, ‘David’ from Boise, Idaho can take down ‘Goliath’ from Oklahoma. A baseball franchise from San Francisco can sneak into the playoffs and win its first World Series in more than half a century. This season in the NFL appears to be no different, with a myriad of surprising trends and results. Various preseason odds this year listed such teams as the Cowboys, Vikings, 49ers, and Chargers as frontrunners to compete for their respective division titles. After the ninth week of games, none of these teams stand in the top two of their divisions and they combine for a record of 10 wins and 22 losses. On the contrary, the Rams, Lions, and Buccaneers combined to win a total of six games last year, and have begun to turn things around. The Lions have already equaled the two wins they earned all of last year, while the Rams have surpassed last season’s win total of three, and currently sit in first place in the NFC West. The Buccaneers, who compete in the same division as the world champion New Orleans Saints, are two games above .500 at 5-3, and are poised for a second half push. My second favorite aspect of competition and sport is predicting the outcome. For the aforementioned reason that anything can happen, correctly predicting results in the sporting world is impossible most of the time. Because I ignorantly believe I know more about football than some people, I’m going to offer a bold prediction. The San Francisco 49ers will win the NFC championship. That’s right, the team I just told you was having a disappointing year. To be fair, I’m not the only person who thinks they can turn the season around. Their coach, former Bear’s linebacker Mike Singletary, has reiterated time and time again that he believes his team will start winning games and make the playoffs. Coming off of their bye week, they will face eight more teams with a combined record of just 33-33. Their 9th ranked total rush defense will help keep opposing offenses off the score board. Even after sporting a 2-6 record, the lack of a dominant team in their division creates an easier path to the postseason than some teams face. The 49ers only sit two games out of first place, and an 8-8 record seems capable of earning that playoff spot. Just like the baseball team from the same city showed us, barely gaining a playoff berth means nothing once the playoffs begin. No matter how much we may think we know about football, no one will know how the season will turn out until the Super Bowl game clock reads 0:00.
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