The 2017 NFL season is just around the corner, as expected, fans and NFL insiders are already making speculations about how things will unfold for their favorite teams and the NFL in general once the season begins. Bet on NFL this 2017 football season by checking out our betting odds for NFL games.
The two teams people have been speculating about the most this year are the New England Patriots and New York Jets.
The Patriots are coming off a Super Bowl win in a season where All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady was forced to miss the first four games of the season because of a suspension. Without Brady, the team went 3-1, and with him in the lineup, they went 11-1.
New England’s success last season has led to many predicting the team will go undefeated this season like they did in 2007. Even Las Vegas odds makers are convinced the Patriots are capable of going undefeated and have them favored in every game they play this year
Despite all the predictions of an undefeated season, the chances of it happening aren’t very good. Since the NFL merged with the AFL in 1970, only two teams have finished the regular season undefeated, the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the 2007 Patriots.
Another thing you have to consider for the Patriots is the age of quarterback Tom Brady. Brady recently turned 40. Even though plenty of players have been effective well into their 40s, time eventually catches up to them all.
Some Patriots fans might wonder why I’m bringing up Brady’s age after the season he had last year. It’s really quite simple. Peyton manning was two years away from his record setting season with Denver before turning into a shell of his former self. Again, this doesn’t mean the same thing will happen to Brady this year, but don’t be surprised if it does.
New England’s schedule is also a cause for concern when it comes to the team going undefeated. The Patriots have games against the Atlanta Falcons, who they defeated in the Super Bowl, the Denver Broncos, the Carolina Panthers, and the Oakland Raiders on their schedule. Any of these games could easily be a loss.
Moving on to their AFC East rivals. The Jets are also likely not going to go winless this season. Since 1944, only four teams have gone winless, with the most recent being the 2008 Detroit Lions.
While the Jets really don’t have a lot of depth on their team after their offseason fire sale, in which they got rid of most of their good players and fully embraced tanking for the top pick in next year’s draft.
Looking at their schedule, the Jets will have at least solid chances to get a win this season with games against the Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills, and Jacksonville Jaguars on the schedule.
Even if the Jets are tempted to brazenly tank and lose those games, they know they will never hear the end of it from their fans so I expect the team to win at least one game this season.
The bottom line here is the Patriots and Jets aren’t going to make history this season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t provide interesting storylines this year.