The Seattle Seahawks have been very underlooked this offseason. The Seahawks boast arguably a Top 3 quarterback in the league, an elite wideout in D.K. Metcalf, and two players near the top of their position on the defensive side of the ball (Bobby Wagner, Jamal Adams). 

Pete Carroll’s Seahawks are clearly coming off a successful 2020 season with 12 victories, they are holding together an elite QB and high-end roster, and vengeance is on the horizon. Yet, many reputable analysts and outlets are placing the Seahawks Super Bowl chances and team ranking behind other elite teams in the AFC and NFC. 

Odds Shark just placed the 12th man at number 12 in odds of winning the Super Bowl. In front of the Hawks were the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, and multiple NFC West squads (LA Rams, SF 49ers). 

CBS Sports just put out an NFL Super Bowl odds that also places the Hawks at number 12. There were many questionable choices ahead of the Seahawks, including the Brees-less Saints in the NFC. 

I believe the outlook on Seattle’s Super Bowl chances is whacky and blatantly false. The Seahawks didn’t only win the division by two games in 2020, but only six other teams had 12+ wins last year. 

In the second half of the Seahawks season, the defense also turned the tide and evolved into an above average unit. Over the past ten weeks of the regular season, the Seahawks defense led the NFL in sacks. Carlos Dunlap, who was the pass rusher that helped turn things around, reached a two year contract to return to the Seahawks. Jamal Adams, who was an absolute star in his first year in Seattle last season, will be aiming to take the next step in year two of the system.

I also believe it’s fair to say that the reigning, still elite NFC West champions won’t drop easily to the likes of the LA Rams and SF 49ers. The 49ers will either run out the shaky Jimmy G or they will be holding a rookie QB against the fiery Seahawks pass rush in their early Week 4 matchup. It will be a huge task for the regressed Garopollo or the rookie Lance, who has been viewed as a product QB, to come out and light up the scoreboard against SEA and fellow NFC West defenses.

The 49ers are largely getting so much praise because a couple stars at TE and DE are returning healthy, combined with a hyped up rookie QB (despite being a surprise pick). The 49ers should take a step up from last season, but they still don’t have the same defense as the team that reached the SB in 2020. 

The Rams appear to be a very serious threat to the Seahawks in the NFC West and playoff seed race, but Matthew Stafford has had his own durability issues and poor turnover habits. He could pose a problem to the Seahawks secondary, but the Hawks have the pass rush to force Stafford into erratic mistakes. Outside of Stafford, there isn’t a huge makeover on the Rams roster. The Seahawks and Rams should be tight down the wire for NFC West gold in my opinion, but I don’t see a sizable difference between the Rams and Hawks. 

Seahawks should at least be a step ahead of the 49ers in their divisional pre-season rankings until Lance shows a spark or Jimmy G shows something not seen in training camp/or pre-season. If Lance proves to be a difference maker and capable of running the offense early, the 49ers should deserve the praise that a talented roster with a talented QB carry. 

I don’t foresee the likes of the Colts, Patriots, Saints, or Broncos ahead of the Seahawks in the overall pursuit of Lombardi. The Saints team has sputtered in the past few years, but now they will have to be elite in the long season without the HOF QB and their best defensive player Trey Hendrickson (left in FA) from a season ago.

It will be hard to envision an “above average” QB performance from Cam Newton or the rookie Mac Jones amid a Patriots team that lost its historic defensive unit from years ago. The Colts QB situation is the biggest gamble in the league, while the Broncos still don’t have a quality signal caller running out of the tunnel next season. 

The Seahawks deserve to be recognized as a Top 6 team. They hold an MVP QB in Russell Wilson on a hungry, proven roster. Not to mention that the Hawks possess the most lethal home field advantage: The 12th man.

The post Why the Seahawks are really underlooked in the NFL appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Adam Hulse (@AdamHulseSports)

The start of the 2021 NFL season is less than three months away. Now is a good time to take a look at the top QBs in the NFL. These rankings will be based on success and production over the past few years as well as projections for the upcoming season and beyond. Let’s start at ten and count down to number one.

10. Ryan Tannehill

One of the most underappreciated QBs in the NFL is Ryan Tannehill of the Tennessee Titans. Running back Derrick Henry seems to get most of the praise for the success of their offense but they would not be what they are without Tannehill. Last season he ranked 15th in passing yards with 3819 and 7th in passing touchdowns with 33 in a run-first style of offense. Impressively, he was also in the top 5 for both rating and QBR. He took good care of the football by only throwing 7 interceptions and also chipped in an additional 7 touchdowns on the ground. He is a dual-threat quarterback that thrives in play action. He very quietly had an impressive 2020 season and cracks the top 10 QB rankings.

9. Lamar Jackson

The best rushing QB in the NFL right now, and arguably of all time, is Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens. He has now rushed for over 1000 yards with more than 6 yards per carry and also 7 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons. He won the league MVP back in 2019 and followed it up with a solid 2020 season. His statistics in the passing game are respectable, with a career 64 completion percentage and 68 passing touchdowns against just 18 interceptions, but his legs are obviously a much bigger threat than his arm. The biggest weakness in his game is his inability to consistently make big throws down the field. If he could improve in that area, he would jump much higher in the rankings.

8. Kyler Murray

One of the best true dual-threat QBs in the NFL is Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals. He is just as dangerous throwing the ball as he is running it. After just two seasons, he has already accounted for over 9000 combined yards and 61 total touchdowns. Unlike Jackson, what makes Murray especially dangerous in addition to running the ball is his ability to attack defenses with the deep ball. At just 23 years old, and with a young head coach in Kliff Kingsbury as well, it is fair to assume that he will be even better moving forward with more experience and chemistry with the team and coaching staff. He is a special talent and it will be exciting to see where his development and maturity will take him.

7. Josh Allen

The biggest breakout star of the 2020 NFL season was Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. He finished the season in the top 5 in every major passing category including yards, touchdowns, completions, completion percentage, rating, and QBR. The most impressive being his 69.2 completion percentage which was well above his career 61.8 average. Accuracy was the biggest issue with his game through his first two seasons so if he has now figured that part out he is a whole new level of dangerous. Rushing the ball is another weapon in his arsenal, averaging more than 500 yards and 8 touchdowns per season on the ground. If these rankings were based on 2020 alone he would easily be in the top 3 but because 2020 was so drastically better than the first two years he will be ranked 7th for now. If he repeats in 2021 what he did last year or even continues to improve, he will catapult much higher on the list.

6. Dak Prescott

For the first time in his five-year career with the Dallas Cowboys, Dak Prescott was unable to play a full season in 2020. Unfortunately, a gruesome ankle injury ended his season after just 5 games. Though it was a very small sample size, his passing yards were off the charts last year averaging a ridiculous 371.2 yards per game. It is unlikely that he would have been able to keep up that pace for a full 16 games but if he did, it would have easily set an NFL record in passing yards. The season before in 2019 was the best of his career with 4902 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. All 3 seasons before that one were solid as well and he has consistently improved and matured. As long as he can fully recover from the injury, all signs point to him being one of the best QBs in the NFL for many years to come.

5. Deshaun Watson

The Houston Texans are a disaster but that does not mean Deshaun Watson is not still one of the best QBs in the NFL right now. He is an example of a great player in a bad situation but he has still shined brightly despite the lack of talent around him in both the roster and the coaching staff. He was the league leader last season with 4823 passing yards and threw 33 touchdowns against just 7 interceptions. He is an incredible athlete who has the ability to make plays in a wide variety of ways. He can do it all from the QB position and has done exactly that. Since becoming the full-time starter, he has consistently been one of the best in the NFL statistically for three straight seasons. Whether or not he plays this season because of legal problems is a whole different story, but if he does he will continue to be towards the top of the rankings even if the Texans are one of the worst teams in the league.

4. Tom Brady

Tom Brady will be 44 years old when the 2021 season begins but somehow he is still playing at an extremely high level. He put together one of the best seasons of his long career last season and even lead the Tampa Bay Bucs to a Super Bowl championship. He threw the third-most yards in the NFL last year with 4633 and the second-most touchdowns with 40. His longevity and an extensive list of accomplishments are the reason why he is clearly the greatest quarterback of all time and still one of the best in the game today despite his age. Conventional wisdom would say that he is going to drastically regress but that’s been the assumption for years now and it still hasn’t happened. Betting against Brady has always been a losing proposition so there is no reason to believe that he won’t once again dominate in the 2021 season.

3. Russell Wilson

In 9 straight seasons for the Seattle Seahawks, Russell Wilson has not missed a game. He has played at an MVP caliber level every year and is still improving his all-around skill set. He is an extremely intelligent QB who understands how to attack a defense in multiple ways and has all of the tools to do it. He has no holes in his game and is a lethal combination of athleticism and arm talent. He probably has the best deep ball in the entire NFL and is one of the most dangerous at making plays with his legs as well. He is a master at the two-minute drill and just finds ways to win games. He is one of the most consistent and reliable players in the entire NFL over the last decade and has plenty of years to continue writing his legacy.

2. Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers is not only one of the best QBs right now but also one of the greatest of all time. Last season was one of the best of his entire career and that is beyond impressive considering how many great seasons he’s put together. He just won his third MVP last season so even at 37 years old he’s showing no signs at all of slowing down. He has arguably the best arm talent in the history of the NFL. He will be one of the favorites to win another MVP if he plays this year but that is actually not a guarantee at this point. He has not yet reported to camp and is threatening to sit out this entire season if he is not traded because of his reported frustrations with the Packers organization. If he does play this year, no matter what team it is for, there is no reason to believe he will be anything but his usual dominant self.

1. Patrick Mahomes

What Patrick Mahomes has accomplished in just 3 full seasons as the starting QB for the Kansas City Chiefs is more than most QBs achieve in their entire careers. He has already won a league MVP, a Super Bowl championship, two AFC championships, and a Super Bowl MVP. It’s hard to believe that he’s still only 25 years old considering what he’s already done. In fact, with how young he is he could realistically still get better than he already is. That is a scary concept for the rest of the league when looking at the way he already dominates. His numbers are just ridiculous so far, averaging 4623 passing yards and 38 passing touchdowns per season over the last 3 years. It is still very early in his career, but Mahomes has a very real chance of going down as one of the best of all time. He definitely has the talent to do so and has already started to rack up the accomplishments to go with it.

The post Ranking the Top 10 NFL QBs right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

To finish the regular season of 2020 the Buffalo Bills stomped the Miami Dolphins 56-26. The Bills wrapped up the season as a 13-3 juggernaut, looking nearly unbeatable. This success came on the waves of Josh Allen’s massive improvement, both throwing the football and running it. If not for Aaron Rodgers having a hall of fame type year, Allen probably would have won MVP. The Bills locked up the number two seed in the AFC and enjoyed their week off.

To begin the playoffs the Bills would face the Indianapolis Colts, whom they beat 24-27 in a game that was not quite so close as the score indicated. The Bills would then face the Baltimore Ravens and beat them 17-3. The game was, again, not as close as the score might indicate. The Bills finally prepared to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in a game that was supposed to be “one for the ages.” The Bills lost 38-24. After the infamous decision to kick field goals twice, in the second and third quarters, Bills head coach Sean McDermott regretted the decision. “If I had to do it over again, I’d probably go for one of them,” said McDermott when asked about the field goals.

All of this is to say that the Bills season came to an unfortunate and abrupt close to finish the 2020 NFL season. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. While the Bills folded at the end, they showed promise. They have a very strong team and showed poise in the playoffs. And to be fair to the Bills and McDermott, they did not have a lot of playoff experience. It should actually be seen as a good sign that the Bills hung with the Chiefs for about half of the game. It was the first time since 1994 that the Bills made an appearance in the AFC Championship game. And Sean McDermott is not planning on missing the Championship game.

“We accomplished a lot,” McDermott said. “We won a division, won 13 games, hosted and won two playoff games. There’s one game after the game that we just played. Do we make it a goal to make it to the AFC Championship Game? No. The goal is to win the World Championship. So we came up short, disappointed in that but extremely grateful for what we were able to accomplish this season. Believe me, we’re going back to work. We’re already back at work to assess where we are and how we can move our team forward. I feel good about what we’ve done, not satisfied.”

So, what can be expected of the Bills following that disappointing end to an otherwise great season? The Bills should be able to build on their success in 2020 and bring all that momentum into 2021. They should be a strong contender for the number one seed in the AFC. And besides the Chiefs, the Bills probably have the best chance to take the number one seed in the AFC this season. But before I get into why the Bills can and, potentially should, win the first seed in the AFC, its important to note why the first seed is valuable.

After the NFL expanded the Playoff teams to seven in 2020, only one team received a bye week. That bye week is extremely helpful to teams that want to win the Super Bowl. The last team to win the Super Bowl without a bye week was the 2012 Baltimore Ravens. And it took a couple of miracle plays to make that happen. Every other team since that point that has won the Super Bowl has had a bye week. It’s that important. So if the Bills want to get to the Super Bowl, which they do, the best way to do that is to secure the number one seed and have a bye week.

The Bills are loaded with talent

The first real reason that the Bills could win the number one seed in 2021 is because of how much darn talent they have. Taking a look at the offense you have to start with Josh Allen. Allen threw for 4,544 yards and 37 touchdowns. He also posed a threat on the ground, running for 421 yards and eight touchdowns. Allen was nearly unstoppable during the last six weeks of the season. He threw sixteen touchdowns compared to three interceptions. And on the year he only threw ten. During that same six week stretch to close out the regular season Allen ran for three more touchdowns and threw for almost two thousand yards. His strong finish put him strongly in contention for MVP, but Aaron Rodgers just outplayed him. If not for Rodgers, Allen probably would have received the award.

Not to be left out of the conversation, Stefon Diggs put up a career year. It might be the best Diggs will ever have. Diggs was arguably the best receiver in the league in 2020. He had 127 receptions, 1,535 yards, and 8 touchdowns. Stefon Diggs already had the Bills’ franchise record for receptions and receiving yards in a season, and lead the league in both categories. He added the NFL mark for most receiving yards by a player in his first year with a new team. That’s called domination. Sean McDermott had this to say when asked about what he thought his All-Pro receiver brought to the team:

“Well overall, I think he’s brought experience to our receiving corps,” McDermott explained. “We’ve had experience before to some extent, but he’s brought legitimacy to that group, even more than we were before. He’s brought energy and a dog mentality to our offense and to our football team, quite frankly. I think the yards everyone can pull it up, look on a computer, and find the numbers, but I believe it goes beyond that. There’s a lot of intangibles in there as well that we as a team have benefited from.”

Clearly, McDermott was pleased with what Diggs brought and pleasantly surprised with the production that Diggs created on the field. But Diggs was also pleasantly surprised with what Allen brought to Diggs’ experience with the team. “Everybody knows Josh to be a jokester,” Diggs stated. “He’s definitely jokester, so spending that time with him on the field whether we’re playing around or running routes or whatever is intentional. I do everything like I mean it, so spending time with him and getting to know him, even as to recent events, I just have more love and more respect for him. He’s become more of a brother than anything at this point and he never made an excuse, not one time. He didn’t use that we didn’t have an offseason or that we didn’t have much time, he used the time that was allowed, and he made it work.”

That chemistry that is always important to quarterbacks and receivers is clearly evident here. And in a season where it was incredibly hard for players to spend time together off the field, the brotherhood the two have with each other is remarkable. The rest of the receiving room cannot be forgotten either. Cole Beasley had 82 receptions for 967 yards in what seemed like a career resurgence. Rookie Gabriel Davis had 35 receptions for 699 yards, averaging an impressive 17 yards per catch. John Brown had 33 receptions for 458 yards, not bad as the third receiver in a stacked offense.

The rushing game was not bad either. Devin Singletary led the way with 156 carries for 687 yards. Rookie Zach Moss had 112 carries for 481 yards, and four touchdowns. He was the Bills leading red zone running back threat. Allen of course led the team with 8 rushing touchdowns, but the Bills seem to be preparing to hand the ball off to Zach Moss more. Moss was the lead back in the red zone, and there is no way the Bills will risk Allen by having him continue to run.

All in all, the Bills will be bringing a stacked offense into 2021. They will only be looking to grow on the repour that was built in 2020 and look towards a more established running game led by Moss. The Bills ranked second in 2020 in total offense and actually led the league in points scored per game. That had a lot to do with new offensive coordinator Brain Daboll, who was the 2020 AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. But the defense was no slouch either. And all the main players that starred on the Bills defense last year will still be there entering the 2021 NFL season.

The Bills defense ranked 16th in the NFL last year. But the Bills added Greg Rousseau and Carlos Basham in the first and second rounds of the 202 NFL draft. Rousseau will start at edge and Basham will start at defensive tackle. Both were drafted for one thing and one thing only: improve the Bills pass rush. Both will do that, Rosseau was arguably the best pass rusher available in the draft and Basham was no slouch either. Rosseau had 15.5 sacks in his junior season. Basham had 11. Clearly, the Bills had one goal here, and if the rookies play like they expect them to, the Bills pass rush will be much improved. The secondary is still fine, with Traedavious White leading the way as one of the best corners in the league.

The AFC East is not too tough

The Bills will be bringing a competitive team into 2021. The same cannot be said for the rest of their division. The New England Patriots will be starting either Cam Newton who showed his age last year or Mac Jones. The Patriots don’t exactly have anyone on offense that puts fear into opposing defenses. Neither do the New York Jets. While the Jets are young and have a new and potentially, star, quarterback, there is no way they can pose a real threat to the Bills in 2021.

The Miami Dolphins are the only real threat to the Bills next year. With a young and feisty defense, and an offense loaded with talent at receiver, the Bills will have a tough time sweeping the Dolphins. It really all revolves around what Tua Tagovailoa does next year. If Tua can take the step forward, the Dolphins offense could be deadly. And the Bills defense must play at its best to handle the speed that the Dolphins bring, with Jaylen Waddle and Will Fuller.

If the Bills can develop their pass rush then they can present a most likely above average defense to the Dolphins. But those games will still be close and hard-fought. The Dolphins have a real secondary, and even the tandem of Allen to Diggs won’t have an easy time against the Dolphins secondary. Ignoring the final game of the year, when the Bills were on fire and the Dolphins…were not, the Dolphins gave the Bills a tough time. In the first game between the two teams, the Bills won by only 3 points in a 31-28 win.

Sean McDermott wont let success go to their heads either.

“If you sit here and say, ‘All we need to do is do this much more to make it to the Super Bowl,’ you’re wrong,” McDermott said. “You have to start over. Yes, we can carry a lot of things forward, but every year you have to start over. You have to rebuild the football team, you have to grow as an individual. You have to take it upon yourself, just because we had success, to ask yourself the hard questions.”

McDermott knows the Bills won’t have an easy time in the division or the rest of the AFC.”To think well we made it, we won 15 games and lost four, well we’re perfect. No, we’re not. And even if we were, you have to take the growth mindset approach. That’s what you do when you’re a winner. That’s what you do when you’re hungry to be the best and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”

And if the AFC East is not to hard for the Bills to handle, that is one step closer to a number one seed.

The Bills can overcome any hurdles that come their way

The Bills beat anyone not name the Titans, Chiefs, or Cardinals last year. The Cardinals game was close, but if the Hail Murray does not happen, the Bills win. The Titans and Chiefs game were not quite that close. The Titans pretty much blew out the Bills. However, the Bills were playing on a weird week that benefited the Titans more than the Bills. That loss is not an accurate representation of the Bills. They can beat the Titans. They have the weapons and players to do so. The same goes for the Chiefs game.

And just because the Bills lost to the Chiefs does not mean that the Bills cannot beat them. Everyone loses to the Chiefs. But the Bills have everything that they need to beat the Chiefs, and everyone else. The Bills have everything that they could want if their rookies work out. And even if their rookies don’t work out, the Bills will still be bringing back largely the same group as last year. There is not much turnover, so there won’t be a dropoff in play. Though, there is some change.

“The reality of it is, it’s not the same team,” Daboll stated. “Do we have certain players that are the same? Absolutely. Cole and Stef and Josh, Mitch and Feliciano. There’s a lot of the same guys, but there’s also 15 new people, so when you put everybody together in a room, you don’t know how everybody’s going to react when things aren’t great, you don’t have a great practice, you miss a pass. You have to build those relationships because, at the end of the day, that’s the business we’re in, we’re in a relationship business, figuring out how guys work. Do they respond better to tougher criticism? Less? How they work together. You’ve got to gel as a team and this is the start of what we’re trying to do, just trying to gel as a group more than anything.”

The Bills will gel together. They will use their rookies as best as they can, but won’t put them into situations they cannot win. The rookies will be eased into playing in a way that helps both the team and the player. Sean McDermott and Brian Daboll know what they are doing. The team will be ready to go when the season begins.

The Bills have the offensive talent needed to win the number one seed in the AFC. The division is not strong enough that it will stall them out. And the challenges that they will face won’t be too much for them to overcome. Aside from injuries, the Bills have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. They have a great head coach. The only thing that might stop them is themselves. Otherwise, the Bills can beat anyone, on any given Sunday.

The post Why the Buffalo Bills could get the #1 seed in the AFC appeared first on Pro Football Mania.