The Buccaneers are the last remaining “beating NFL team” for the 2021 season. They fell out of the Super Bowl 56 favorites with a staggering 29-19 loss to Washington in Week 10.
Tampa Bay currently has a two-game losing streak to reduce it to 6-3, with defeat to New Orleans coming before Week 9 bye. Tom Brady struggled with two games of interception in a row while the passing game missed two important injured goals in Antonio Brown (ankle) and tight finisher Rob Gronkowski (ribs) , then back).
From the AFC, Buffalo entered the week with 11/2 odds like Tampa Bay in most sportsbooks. Although the Bills (6-3) beat the Jets as expected, they lost a lot of their own Super Bowl luster with last week’s loss in Jacksonville.
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Baltimore (6-3) looked like it had turned a corner as the AFC’s current No. 2 seed, until its defeat to Miami to start Week 10 on Thursday night. The Cardinals (8-1) and Titans (8-2), who played against each other in Week 1, hold the best record in the league with a pretty strong track record. The Cardinals’ best win was against the Titans and Rams, and only lost to the Packers (7-2). The Titans, over the past month, have won over the Bills, Chiefs, Rams and Saints to put their stamp on their résumés.
But the Cardinals are currently running without QB Kyler Murray, who suffered a nasty ankle injury, as well as widely top receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The Titans would have been overactive without their team’s MVP, Derrick Henry. Even though they’re the two current No. 1 teams, there are few who believe they’ll set up a full-circle rematch in Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles.
NFC Cowboys Team #2 (7-2) tore the Falcons net in Week 10, but they had a Bills-like showdown with the Broncos last week. The Packers #3 (7-2) have looked good since their big loss to the Saints in Week 1, but they threw away a game against the Chiefs without Aaron Rodgers.
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Then came the two Los Angeles teams that the NFL desperately hopes one team, preferably the Rams but not the Chargers, will make it into its second consecutive home-team Super Bowl. Then there are remaining clusters in AFC West and AFC North, and also concentration from NFC South. At this point, Bill Belichick’s hot patriots seem to have the same chance of going to the Super Bowl as almost anyone else.
Why is there still no dominant team? Injuries, both short- and long-term, and COVID-19 have created turning points in staffing. There are more teams with midfield solutions than ever before, but everyone from elite young shooters to seasoned big winners, average passers to rushing substitutes on duty, struggled as defenses everywhere made adjustments to defend against big passes.
There are also a few teams with very bad defenses. The Jaguars, Jets and Lions had a bad time there, but they had their moments when the matches matched. Miami, which beat Baltimore, and Washington, which demolished Tampa Bay, have played poorly defensively, but they’ve figured something out with their high levels of talent over the past few games.
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There are also a number of talented but inconsistent teams that don’t have a real definitive identity from week to week, such as the Broncos, Colts, Vikings, Falcons, and Eagles. Related to that, there are also some dubious and bizarre trainers around the world. Performance sucks, too, but that’s just gravy as far as the league-wide quality of the issues is concerned.
Nothing is reliable anymore, good or bad. The NFL has pushed its comforting equivalent into messy mediocrity. Unpredictability is one of the cards calling for the tournament’s popularity, but a bit of restored dominance would also be welcome.
The good news is that with the longer season, there’s more of a marathon feel to the knockouts. By the time Week 18 arrives, there will be an area worthy of the usual suspect candidates, setting up another intriguing post-production. With a longer schedule, the NFL has made the regular season more of a “feel good” than “everything right”. Getting close to saturation is something all NFL fans have to accept – we need to deal with a little more ugliness to get the most out of the beautiful when it matters most.
