Touchdowns, thrills, comebacks, and rivalries: America’s Game is back and better than ever! The NFL season is officially in full swing.
Each NFL season, there are a fair share of surprises, disappointments, and milestones. In this case, this year is no different. From the underdog story that is the Dallas Cowboys, to the disappointing playmakers on the Giants’ and Jets’ offense, to the record shattering legend that is Peyton Manning, these themes are once again showing themselves to be true this tenure.
Thus far, this year has marked the emergence of several unforeseen star players and unexpected powerhouse teams. A primary example of this is the aforementioned Dallas Cowboys. Previously a franchise with the jobs of its entire coaching staff, owner, and general manager in jeopardy, the Cowboys are seemingly now an NFC juggernaut.
The Cowboys boast perhaps the best offensive line in football and a reinvented Tony Romo whose days of throwing catastrophic interceptions are possibly behind him. Ample time in the pocket has allowed for Tony Romo to sit back and have all his offensive weapons at his disposal, including the likes of Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and Terrance Williams. That, paired with a surprisingly solid defense, allowed Dallas to accomplish the exceptional feat of knocking off the defending champion Seahawks in Seattle.
Yet another surprise in the NFL this year has been the rise of the Saint Louis Ram’s young wide receiver, Brian Quick. Quick has burst onto the scene this year with more than 300 yards receiving, and the former highly sought-after Appalachian State product is proving his worth thus far this year.
While the NFL has more than its fair share of stars, it also does have numerous instances of star players falling flat and teams with much potential drastically underperforming. Chris Johnson is a name that many used to associate with a speedy, playmaking running back that was a star in the NFL. However, this year, Chris Johnson has done little but watch his fellow New York Jets running back Chris Ivory outshine him.
The Jets signed Chris Johnson looking to add a former 2,000 yard single season rusher and attempting to add explosiveness to their stagnant offense attack. Accruing less than 400 yards rushing thus far in the season, calling Johnson a mild disappointment is a vast understatement. When asked about the apparent derailment of Johnson’s career, Josh Kluger ’15 says, “The fact is that Johnson simply is not as athletic and quick as he used to be. It is very possible that the type of plays he used to make are just too difficult to recreate at this stage in his career.” Clearly, after yet another disappointing start to the season, it is very possible that Johnson’s best days as a running back are behind him.
Yet another disappointing player on a New York team has been Rueben Randle, a wide receiver for the New York Giants. After being a diamond in the rough during last year’s disappointing Giants’ tenure, many looked to Rueben Randle to have a breakout season and become one of the NFL’s best wide receivers. With just two touchdowns and fewer than 400 yards receiving, Randle is another player that has underperformed this year.
This NFL season, in many respects, has a chance to be extremely historic. Perhaps the most apparent example of this potential history is Peyton Manning’ chasing down Brett Favre’s career touchdown mark. Manning went into a matchup with the San Francisco 49ers needing just two touchdown passes to match the record. Manning did two better, as he seized this opportunity, and added four touchdown passes to his repertoire. This gives Manning an absolute monarchy over the NFL passing record books, and perhaps solidifies his place as one of the, if not the best quarterback in the rich history of the NFL.
The claim that Manning is the best quarter back is supported by Michael Hackett ’17, saying, “Just looking at Manning’s statistics and all the records he has broken shows that no other quarterback has ever been nearly as dominant or prolific in the league.”
Yet another record that could possibly fall this year is Eric Dickerson’s longstanding single season rushing mark of 2,105 yards. Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray has hit the ground running (no pun intended) by rushing thus far for 785 yards and six touchdowns. He is therefore on an unparalleled pace: over 120 rushing yards per game, which would come very close to the record. With the way Murray is playing right now, it is not implausible to believe that he will indeed break Dickerson’s record.
This year’s NFL season is truly taking shape, and with this new NFL season has come many surprises, some disappointments, and some potential history and records. Truly, this NFL season promises to be great.