Finally, real football is back.
It's not just on the field, but the whole “real football” experience, with stands full of screaming fans, something we saw very little of, if any, in 2020.
It certainly wasn’t the case in Buffalo, where only a limited number of fans were allowed to attend the team’s two playoff games after having a completely empty stadium for the regular season.
The NFL is marketing 2021 as “The Biggest Season Ever.” So much of it will seem bigger than ever before, even if it actually isn’t, because it will seem so fresh and new compared to what we saw last year.
Of course, with the entire COVID-19 situation still lingering over everyone’s head and fights between the NFL and NFL Players' Association over vaccinations, there’s almost no doubt that this season will still have plenty of bumps and hurdles as it goes along.
But for now, and hopefully the next several months, we are going to enjoy and celebrate having our game back again. When it’s all said and done, with Super Bowl LVI on the eve of Valentine’s Day, 2022, I’m predicting there will be even much more to celebrate in Western New York. More than ever before.
"The Biggest Season Ever" will bring the biggest celebration we’ve ever seen.
Here are my 2021 predictions for division winners, Wild Card teams, the Super Bowl, and individual award winners:
AFC East: Buffalo Bills
AFC North: Cleveland Browns
AFC South: Tennessee Titans
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Teams:
Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots
NFC East: Washington Football Team
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC West: Los Angeles Rams
NFC Wild Card Teams:
Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers
AFC Championship Game:
- Bills over Chiefs
NFC Championship Game:
- Rams over Buccaneers
Super Bowl LVI:
- Bills over Rams
For the second year in a row, a team plays in the Super Bowl in their home stadium. This time, it’s the “road” team who wins it all. That team is the Bills, who finally bring a Lombardi Trophy to Western New York.
NFL MVP: Josh Allen - QB - Buffalo Bills
Offensive Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey - RB - Carolina Panthers
Defensive Player of the Year: Myles Garrett - DE - Cleveland Browns
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Trevor Lawrence - QB - Jacksonville Jaguars
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jamin Davis - LB - Washington Football Team
Coach of the Year: Matt Rhule - Carolina Panthers
Comeback Player of Year: Dak Prescott - QB - Dallas Cowboys
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