NFL MIDSEASON – Play.it USA

It was no coincidence that nothing was written on the occasion of week 8. The entire League entered a sort of Freudian slip led by the Ravens capable of losing against the Browns, a series of games decided at the last kick and the Jets who saw the ghosts of the Patriots of times gone by and lost almost as if struck by a ancestral fear.
It is also no coincidence that the title does not read “week 9”, but rather “midseason”. The final sprint has truly begun, both because many teams have not yet had their week of rest and therefore the standings are “doped” by those who have played an extra match, and because it is now difficult for many franchises to turn the season around . Also given the trade deadline, the rosters are these until the end. There are no longer “surprise teams” at the start of the season just as there are no longer “groups in search of their own identity”, these are the teams with strengths and weaknesses.

Patriots, Raiders, Jaguars, Dolphins, Browns e Titans in the AFC, Giants, Saints e Panthers in the NFC, happy draft and may luck always be on your side. Forgive the Sunday shopping list, but the season is over for these franchises. Too little talent surrounding the quarterback, too little quarterback or a combination of the two, the playoffs are out of reach and at this point we might as well try to get a better draft pick. Only note on Miami, which with a healthy Tua would have had a very different season.

A Jets e Cowboys the benefit of the doubt is still given, more out of respect for Rodgers and Adams on the one hand and for the excellent results obtained in the last regular seasons by the Cowboys (not the playoffs), on the other. The Jets are coming off a win against the Texans, where the defense woke up, while Dallas lost against the Falcons and lost Dak Prescott for a couple of weeks. At least Parsons is ready to return to the field.

Now the headaches begin, with teams too fluctuating to put them in a ranking. It is then better to do a more fun exercise.

At the beginning of the season the prediction of the teams in the playoffs, on the AFC side, was: Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati and Huston as winners of their divisions and Baltimore, Jets and Jaguars as wild cards. The winners of the divisions are those except the Bengals, with the Ravens and Steelers playing for first place and one in the Playoffs. The terrible start to the season has compromised Joe Burrow and his teammates’ chances of winning the AFC North, but they will play the last playoff slot with the Broncos and Jets, not exactly two battleships, given that the aforementioned Steelers and the surprising Chargers will occupy the other two slots.

On the NFC side I preached this: Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Francisco to win their respective divisions, with Chicago, Dallas and the Rams to occupy the last two places. The standings are now difficult to summarize, with the undersigned who at least consoles himself having taken the Lions, granted, and Atlanta, with Cousins ​​who actually raised the level of the franchise. Eagles and Cowboys are being outclassed by the Commanders and I doubt this will change during the season, the Cardinals are leading the NFC West for opportunistic reasons, with San Fran and LA ravaged by injuries, while Minnesota and Green Bay are difficult to exclude from the Playoffs . The NFC is a bloodbath, but I believe that in the end the ones I predicted will go on to win their respective divisions, except for the Eagles who will give way to the Commanders and settle for a wild card. The last two slots will go to the Vikings and the Packers, with the NFC north taking three teams to the playoffs.

The fact remains that the favorites are the Chiefs, with Baltimore and Buffalo worrying them. Allen and Lamar, however, had no luck against Mahomes and for now this trend has no reason to change. The last hope, or obstacle, between KC and the three-peat will probably be the Lions, who added Smith as a pass rusher given Hutchinson’s injury and are one of the best assembled teams in recent years. We’ll just have to wait and see.