The National Football League (NFL) officially started Thursday, September 9, in a rainy opening day game between the Atlanta Falcons and defending Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles. We are entering week six of the season and multiple teams have showcased their talent so far, including a surprise breakout season from the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Chargers. On the other hand, the recent perennial powers of the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos seem to have lost their magic and are having down years.
The Redskins have high hopes for this season, with a new quarterback in Alex Smith, and future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson. Washington defeated Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers handedly, inspiring confidence in ‘Skins fans. This was a very impressive showing from the Redskins coming off a mediocre 7-9 record last season.
WJ students are very excited by Washington’s opener, and are intrigued by the season’s promising start.
“The season opener looked very promising with our new quarterback, but I have learned following the Redskins is that they always under perform, ending up with a mediocre record,” senior Nikhil Reddy said.
People are already picking Super Bowl 53 favorites after just two exciting weeks of the season. Senior Grant Robinson believes the Eagles will not be the Super Bowl favorite again.
“The Los Angeles Rams looked very dominant in their week one opener against the Oakland Raiders another playoff caliber teams so far. With their stacked defense and young prospering offense, I believe they are more of the favorites than the Eagles,” Robinson said.
Though many people were very excited for America’s most popular sport to finally return, controversy remains from last season over the player protests about the state of the country by kneeling during the national anthem. Over this past summer, the NFL made new rules about these protests, including heavy fines to players who refuse to stand for the anthem.
“I’m glad that the NFL implemented this new rule because I don’t really support kneeling for the flag during the anthem,” senior Donny Campuzano said. “I think there are other ways to peacefully protest, but a least this rule gives them the option to not even come out of the locker room.”
Despite football still being America’s most watched sport, the culture of the NFL could be slowly dying due to numerous problems within the league such as head injuries, and the constant involvement of politics in the game. Looking on the bright side, football is finally back, bringing more excitement to the sporting world, which is something that many people are glad to hear.
