Two weeks in and the 2022-23 NFL season seems as exciting, unpredictable and action-packed as ever, proving why American Football is becoming increasingly popular in the UK and around the world. I must stress that you don’t need to play American Football to enjoy watching the sport, nor do you need to enjoy rugby. At 5 foot 9 and just over 55 kilograms, I don’t think I will be called up to replace Tom Brady anytime soon, and I started watching the NFL before I’d ever watched a rugby game. Although they seem similar sports, knowledge of one is not vital to understanding the other.
Another common barrier to the NFL is that it’s prohibitively complicated and that it’s difficult to understand what’s happening. I think this stems from the fact that it is so unique in terms of its rules and structure. Not only is it an American sport, with its unfamiliar league structure of no relegation or promotion, and teams divided into 8 groups of 4, split across 2 divisions, but also it is simply not played on a large scale in the UK. Basketball is played in many schools, baseball is very similar to rounders, and ice hockey is just that: hockey on ice. But American Football seems almost unknown to a non-American audience.
I concede that there is lots of weird terminology (‘downs’, ‘sacks’, ‘punts’- come to think of it, maybe it’s not so different to Oxford jargon after all…), and that’s not even getting started on the positions. But you don’t have to know absolutely everything to enjoy watching games. This will be the fourth season I’ve followed the league, and I’ve been learning new terms constantly. I have to admit it was only last week that I finally understood what the difference between a Tight End and a Wide Receiver actually is. Once you understand the basics and start watching some games, the rest comes very naturally. Here is a very short but useful video to understand the basic rules of the game.
The good, the bad, and the Patriots: what to look out for this season
Last season’s Super Bowl winners, the LA Rams, will surely want to replicate their success this year, and many have them down as favourites for the NFC title. However they haven’t had the best start, with a Week 1 loss to the Buffalo Bills, and their win against the Atlanta Falcons was unconvincing due to the Rams quarterback throwing two interceptions. There is definitely work to be done, although the loss of last season’s stars Miller and Beckham Jr to the Bills and a torn ACL respectively may go some way to explaining their poor start.
Their opponents from the Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Bengals, have likewise struggled. They’ve lost both of their first two games, conceding six sacks (tackles of the quarterback) against the Dallas Cowboys and seven against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They desperately need to improve their offensive line (who guard the quarterback), and are now one of only three teams to have an 0-2 record.
And what season preview can miss out Tom Brady? Love him or hate him, he’s one of the very few NFL players who are famous outside of America, and for good reason. Having won his eighth Super Bowl two seasons ago, he is raring to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the title again, despite being 45. In fact, he announced his retirement this summer, before reversing his decision only a month and
a half later. Can they once again win the NFC? Having won both their games so far, it’s certainly not impossible.
Aaron Rodgers, last season’s MVP, and his Green Bay Packers are also contenders, and have corrected their humiliating first-week loss to the Vikings with a convincing derby-day win over the Chicago Bears; while in San Francisco, the 49ers have already lost their starting quarterback Trey Lance to a broken ankle in their game against the Seattle Seahawks, though back-up Jimmy Garropolo was able to lead them to a win.
On the subject of the Seahawks (and since they’re the team I support I’m trying to eliminate bias), they have had a very mixed start to the season after trading veteran quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in one of the most valuable deals in NFL history, receiving three players and five draft picks in return. Though Geno Smith earned them a symbolic victory over the Broncos in week 1, their loss to the 49ers was characterised by a woefully lacking offence, and the only points scored were from, of all things, a field goal block that led to a touchdown. However, Wilson has performed so badly at the Broncos that he was booed by not just the Seattle fans last week, but his own fans this week and whether he can make himself worth the trade is yet to be seen.
In the AFC the Miami Dolphins may be dark horses this season as they start 2-0 with a spectacular comeback win against the Ravens, overturning a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter in a masterclass display by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
The New England Patriots, who have struggled to find form in their post-Brady era, only narrowly avoided their first 0-2 start since 2001 with a close victory over the Steelers.
All in all, it’s looking to be a very competitive season- last year’s Super Bowl teams are by no means shoe-ins this year, Brady’s great form puts a wildcard into the mix, and there have already been late comebacks, shocking injuries, and blocked field goals. And we’re only two weeks in.
So even if you have never watched a single minute of American football I highly encourage you to give it a try. It is truly one of the most exciting and technical sports out there, and, after all, who doesn’t like to watch the big tackles and long throws? There’s no need to watch the full games as they do tend to be quite long, with stoppages and advert breaks, but pick a team (ideally the Seahawks) and watch the highlights. I picked Seattle without watching a single game or looking at a table, just because their kit looked cool. The highlight videos on the NFL Youtube channel are about ten to fifteen minutes long and are really well produced. I’ll see you in February for the Super Bowl.