A Whole Lotta Sports: NFL Season Outlook

Mateo Lanzillotta

Two weeks away from the start of the NFL season, and there’s still so many uncertainties. Where will Cam Newton go? Who is this year’s Super Bowl favorite? Will the Dallas Cowboys bounce back?

Starting off with Cam Newton. I’m not certain he’ll enter the start of the season on an active roster. If he does, here are the locations that I believe to make the most sense: New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, and the Houston Texans. The Giants makes a lot of sense because the Giants could sign Cam and bench him. At some point, starting quarterback Daniel Jones will give them a reason to switch things up. Newton adds a successful veteran presence that Mike Glennon can’t provide. If Newton goes to the Giants, one of two things would happen: Newton helps Jones hone in on his craft and turns him into the star the Giants have wanted him to be. The alternative is Cam takes over as the starter midseason and makes a push for the wide-open NFC-East.

Another potential destination for newton is the Minnesota Vikings. Kirk Cousins,the current Vikings starter, is the most average quarterback in the league. The Vikings current offensive players Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, along with Newton make a serious playoff push. Cousins has his moments, so I don’t see this realistically happening, but I think it would be a very prudent move for Vikings.

My last prediction for where Cam Newton could fit in is the Houston Texans. However, I don’t see them trying any “win now” strategies. The Texans have enough pieces, (Mark Ingram, Anthony Miller, and an above-average defense), that with the addition of Newton, a former Super Bowl quarterback, they could be much more successful than people think.

Moving on from Newton, this year’s super bowl race is wide open. My pick to win is the Buffalo Bills. With the offensive firepower of Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Devin Singletary, Cole Beasley and Emmanuel Sanders, they’ll have no trouble outscoring most opponents this year. Their defense speaks for itself with defensive backs Tre White, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer. Also, linebackers Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, and defensive tackle Ed Oliver are hugely underrated. I don’t think anyone can stop the Bills Mafia in 2021.

Lastly, I must talk about the Dallas Cowboys. Everyone who paid attention to the NFL last year would know that the Cowboys had an underwhelming season. They started hot, losing some close games but on track to win the division. Disaster struck when starting QB and, MVP-candidate Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury. With an already injured offensive line the season became frustrating for Cowboys fans. The Cowboys’ starting running back Ezekiel Elliott had the worst season of his career fumbling 5 times in 2020, and, by week 17, fans of “America’s Team” were very upset.

Missing out on the playoffs by 1 game was a perfectly described the Cowboys’ season. I think the Cowboys will bounce back this year. Despite his shoulder injury, I believe that Prescott will return to almost the level of play he had at the beginning of last year. Elliott will return to being a top-7 running back. The NFC East is the Cowboys to lose, and I’m very interested to see if they can finally return to their old winning ways.