The NFL regular season is more than halfway complete. Ten weeks have passed which means that everyone has played at least 9 games with a handful of teams having played 10 games. Plenty can happen in ten weeks! There are teams that have played way above expectation and teams that have played well below expectation. There are teams that are right on pace with what they were expected to do. The same can be said for players. As always, there are plenty of story lines that have emerged. How about the endless drama with Ezekiel Elliott or Jerry Jones’s feud with commissioner Goodell?
As the NFL season was starting I wrote an article that mentioned the suspension of Zeke Elliott. The drama surrounding this suspension has seemed to be never ending. After all of the back and forth, the suspension is finally being served and it will really hurt the Cowboys season. They need to stay afloat long enough for him to make it back and hopefully get them into the playoffs. The Cowboys are a running team and losing your best player can certainly hurt your identity. This decision has caused more than issues with the performance of the team. I would like to think that this decision has hurt the relationship of the Cowboy’s owner, Jerry Jones, and the commissioner, Roger Goodell. It is time for Goodell to get an extension and Jones is fighting it. Do you think the suspension of Elliott has anything to do with Jones’s feelings for Goodell? That will take some time to play out!
Earlier in the year I mentioned that the Patriots were off to a tough start. I also mentioned that I would never count them out. Well, after ten weeks they are in first place in their division and they look to be the cream of the crop again. Some other teams in the AFC that look to be real contenders are the Steelers and Chiefs. Those teams are not really a surprise, however, the Jaguars leading their division is a surprise. It is also a surprise that the Raiders have played so poorly after the season they had last year. In the NFC, all four division leaders are surprising in my opinion. I do not think any of these teams were favored to win their division. That is why you play the games as anything can happen.
The Eagles seem to be a real surprise this year as is their second year QB, Carson Wentz. He is tearing up the league and that is one of the main reasons the Eagles are playing so well. The Rams are also playing extremely well under their very young and first year head coach. He has transformed them into a really strong unit and the play of second year QB, Jared Goff, is another reason they are in first place. Injuries in the NFL are very common and depending on who gets injured can make a real difference in a teams season. The Packers have lost the best QB in football, the Colts are in last place without Luck, and the Texans have lost three in a row after losing their rookie QB.
Unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game. Depending on who is injured and how severe the injury is can make or break a team. Part of what makes the NFL great is the unpredictability of the sport. A suspension, an injury, and a player performing at a higher or lower level than expected can have a major impact on a team’s season. I also love the drama involved in an NFL season. At times you wonder if games are even necessary? With 6-7 games left, there is plenty of time for the standings to change, and they most likely will when we check back in a couple of months.
–Victor Mandalawi