This article covers predicted Pro Football top 5 games to watch and top 5 upsets. Thursday Night Football on NBC is right around the corner on 9/9/21 and that means pro football is starting. Time to get into a weekly cadence of highlighting the best games to watch. Also determining the potential upsets lurking below the radar. Hard part about doing this exercise in 2021, is trying to determine if any of the 2020 trends will continue. 2020 was the season of Covid-19 impacts, no fans in the stands and a surprising post season.
2020 Season Recap
Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in Super Bowl 55 held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Tom Brady has now won seven Super Bowl titles and five Super Bowl MVPs during his NFL career. Green Bay and Buffalo were the two teams eliminated during the Conference Championships round. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers won the NFL MVP award with 4299 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes.
2021 Off-Season News and Notes
Drew Brees and Phillip Rivers both retired after illustrious pro careers as QBs with New Orleans and San Diego. JJ Watt left Houston to sign a free agent contract with Arizona. Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams QB) and Jared Goff (Detroit Lions QB) traded teams in early March 2021. Philadelphia Eagles traded their QB, Carson Wentz to Indianapolis and fired head coach Doug Pederson. Urban Meyer was coaxed out of semi-retirement as a college football analyst on FOX, to become the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. $11M annual contract might have impacted that coaching decision.
Biggest scheduling change is reducing the number of pre-season games from 4 to 3. This directly led to an increase in regular season games from 16 to 17. Can’t wait to see how the playoff tiebreakers work in this new scenario. Super Bowl 56 will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA on 2/13/22.
Pro Football Top 5 Games to Watch
5. Green Bay vs. New Orleans
This is technically the Distraction Bowl for both teams during the late afternoon kickoff slot (4:25 PM EDT). Venue has been moved from New Orleans to Jacksonville, FL due to the impact of Hurricane Ida. Saints will be opening the post-Drew Brees era with Jameis Winston starting at QB. Packers will be dealing with the potential final season of Aaron Rodgers (QB) and Davonte Adams (WR), after a tumultuous off-season. Both teams were upset by Tampa Bay during the 2020 playoffs and will be amped up to start the 2021 season on the right foot.
Prediction: Green Bay will play loose and with a ton of confidence now that they are on the football field and win by seven points
4. Miami vs. New England
Intriguing matchup of the last two University of Alabama QBs (Tua Tagovailoa vs. Mac Jones). Dolphins are a hungry, young team that historically gives the Patriots fits, and this late afternoon game (4:25 PM EDT) will follow that trend. Tua will show how versatile he is for a second year QB. NFL fans will see if Mac Jones’ leadership skills are as good as advertised by his teammates.
Prediction: Game has strange momentum swings due to both defenses with New England winning by three points and all fans will know why Cam Newton was released
3. Dallas vs. Tampa Bay
Official opening game of the 2021 season on 9/9/21 at 8:20 PM EDT. Cowboys are still trying to forget the 2020 season and Dak Prescott’s injured right ankle. Buccaneers got hot down the stretch in 2020 and won four straight playoff games to win Super Bowl 55. Tom Brady continues to play at a very high level even though his supporting cast of teammates changes yearly. There’s a ton of hype that Tampa Bay has a chance to go 17-0 in 2021, and hopefully this roster doesn’t follow the blueprint of the 2003 Buccaneers. Enjoy watching the GOAT at QB until Brady retires, it will happen sooner rather than later.
Prediction: Close first half leads to halftime adjustments and a 14 point victory for Tampa Bay
2. Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo
Two teams that were headed in opposite directions at the end of the 2020 season. Steelers are always competitive at the beginning of each season due to sticking with their core personnel and game planning schemes. Bills are the current darlings of the AFC due to the talented rise of Josh Allen (QB), and under-rated head coach Sean McDermott. Bills fans will be out in full force at Highmark Stadium for the early 1:00 PM EDT kickoff. Last great Bills RB was Thurman Thomas from 1988-1999. Steelers have a rookie RB, Najee Harris, who runs with similar style and will be a break out offensive star in 2021.
Prediction: Tight game from start to finish with all of the experts favoring Buffalo, but Pittsburgh will win by 3 points for a big road win
1. Cleveland vs. Kansas City
Browns lost to the Chiefs in the 2020 AFC Divisional Playoffs round 22-17. Baker Mayfield baffled the Chiefs defense during most of that game. Drew some comparisons to Patrick Mahomes by keeping drives alive with critical third down conversions. Browns are good with some serious roster depth, but now they have to play with high expectations. Last time that happened was after going 10-6 during the 2007 season, which crash landed at 4-12 in 2008. Chiefs were spanked by Brady and company in Super Bowl 55. They’ll come out focused and continue to execute the deepest playbook in the league.
Prediction: Homefield advantage will provide a big lift for the Chiefs as they cruise to a 10 point victory
Pro Football Top 5 Upsets that might happen
5. Baltimore vs. Las Vegas
Hard to believe its been twenty-one seasons since these franchises played an unforgettable AFC Championship Game. Ravens are consistent every year under John Harbaugh. Lamar Jackson is only two seasons removed from being NFL MVP in 2019. Ravens defense is always robust and one of the best tackling teams year after year. Raiders quietly moved to Las Vegas in 2020 and played in an empty Allegiant Stadium due to Covid-19 restrictions. Despite big road wins against the Chiefs and Browns, the Raiders only went 2-6 at home. Home field advantage will return in 2021 with 65,000 silver and black clad fans screaming for their new team. Week 1 is a perfect time to surprise an east coast team.
4. Philadelphia vs. Atlanta
Talk about two franchises that have fallen on hard times. Eagles won Super Bowl 52 in early 2018, have moved on from their starting QB and head coach. Currently focused on bringing a second year QB (Jalen Hurts) up to speed to complete in the ultra-average NFC East. Falcons haven’t recovered since gaging in Super Bowl 51 against New England. Dan Quinn was fired during the 2020 season and they parted ways with all franchise WR Julio Jones. Kyle Pitts will be a star TE in the next two-to-three years, but Matt Ryan will regress even further with a bad supporting cast. Early kickoff (1:00 PM EDT) from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. Fans will be happy with Chick-Fil-A at the game, but the Eagles will be ready to play and steal a road game.
3. Denver vs. New York Giants
Historically the Broncos always play poorly at the Giants stadium over the years. Giants are a mess on the offensive side of the ball even if Saquon Barkley is healthy. Giants defense has its moments, but they seem to always be playing from behind. Broncos were a quiet 3-0 during the pre-season and want to wipe the slate clean after five bad seasons. Another road victory could happen if the Broncos win the turnover battle and minimize penalties.
2. San Francisco vs. Detroit
I miss the days of Jerry Rice vs. Herman Moore when these teams played in the 1990s. NFC West vs. NFC Central matchup at 1:00 PM EDT. 49ers have been playing liar’s poker about their starting QB (Jimmy Garoppolo or Trey Nance). Lions don’t know if they have the 2018 or 2020 version of Jared Goff yet. 49ers are two years removed from playing in Super Bowl 54 and they have good genes with Kyle Shanahan as their head coach. I just think they’ve already peaked in a strong NFC West Division and the Lions are going let it all hang out at home.
1. Jacksonville vs. Houston
The Shambles Bowl for two teams that have no where to go but up, once they take the garbage out. Jaguars have an unprepared Urban Meyer running the ship with #1 overall draft pick Trevor Lawrence at QB. Lack of depth, playing experience and proper coaching will likely doom the Jaguars for most of 2021. Luckily they are playing the Texans who have had the worst off-season across the entire NFL. Bill O’Brien was fired as head coach in 2020, JJ Watt signed with the Cardinals, and starting QB Deshaun Watson is in serious legal trouble due to his alleged off-field behavior. Not to mention the Texans have made several questionable trades over the past three seasons. No one will be watching this game on television, but the Jaguars might grab a win due to wearing their turquoise jerseys more in 2021.
Same bat time, same bat channel next week. I’ll review the results of Pro Football Top 5 week #1 and try again in week #2.
Never walk away from the table when you’re on a heater in Vegas!
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