America’s favorite sport returns in August as the NFL opens its 2018 season.
At Super Bowl 52, the Philadelphia Eagles upended Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. For a while, it looked like we were going to witness another Brady miracle but it wasn’t meant to be. Despite the defeat though, the Patriots are still the odds-on favorite to win the next Super Bowl.
The New England Patriots are still the favorites to win the next Super Bowl at +550 according to Betway as of 7/29/18. Despite losing key players in the offense like Danny Amendola, Nate Solder, and Dion Lewis, the return of Tom Brady still makes the Patriots very dangerous. New England has won at least 11 games in all but two of the last 15 season and for as long as their Division doesn’t improve much, The Patriots should win 12 or more games next season.
The defending Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles are next in rank at +850. Philly was the only team in the NFL to place in the Top five in Points (3rd) and Points Allowed (4th). With that balance, they should be able to contend for another Super Bowl next season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of talent across all positions but unlike the Eagles who have an easy schedule ahead of them, the Steelers face a murderer’s row of opponents for the 2018 season. Pittsburgh should have another good season and are third in the oddsboard at +1000 but given the challenges they have with their schedule, they could end up the way they did last season.
Before the regular season begins though, we have to go through the preseason. And Week 1 of the NFL 2018 preseason begins on August 1, 2018, with a featured matchup between the Chicago Bears meet the Baltimore at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
After displaying flashes of brilliance as a rookie, Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky plays his first preseason game as a starter. Trubisky was the Bears’ 2nd overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft after moving up the draft ladder by orchestrating a draft day trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
Since taking over the starting role in week 5, the rookie showed plenty of promise with the opportunity given to him by coach John Fox, who incidentally was fired at the end of last season. Trubisky threw for 2,193 yards including 7 touchdowns and 7 interceptions in Fox’s conservative offense. With his potential, the Bears hope he can become their first true franchise quarterback since Sid Luckman in the 1940’s.
Under new head coach Matt Nagy, the former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, Trubisky should have more freedom to do his thing. But the primary goal for the Bears and Trubisky in the preseason is for their sophomore QB to be acquainted with wide receiver Allen Robinson who arrived in Chicago from Jacksonville via free agency. Robinson played only one game last season with an ACL injury but he had 153 catches for 2,283 yards and 20 touchdowns the previous two seasons.
Aside from Robinson, the Bears also added Taylor Gabriel from Atlanta and Trey Burton from Super Bowl winner Philadelphia. Last season, Gabriel contributed 33 catches for 378 yards while Burton had 23 catches for 248 yards with 5 TDs in the Eagles’ diverse offense.
Chicago’s pretty thin at the linebacker position with starter Danny Trevathan still recuperating from a hamstring injury and Joel Iyiegbuniwe out with a shoulder injury. Another linebacker, 7th overall pick Roquan Smith has yet to sign his rookie contract.
Since 1999, the Baltimore Ravens haven’t missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. But after not making the postseason since losing to the New England Patriots in the 2014 Divisional Playoffs, that record is in real danger.
The good news for Baltimore is that they picked Lamar Jackson at the end of the 1st round of the 2018 NFL draft. Jackson could very well be the succession plan for Joe Flacco should the Ravens fail again this season. The 2016 Heisman trophy winner is currently listed as the third-string quarterback in Baltimore behind Flacco and Robert Griffin III but there is a good chance he can see action this season because of his athleticism.
Like his Trubisky in Chicago, Flacco will have several new targets after the Ravens practically overhauled their wide receiver position during the offseason. 2015 draft pick Breshad Perriman is staring at a make or break season with just 43 receptions in the past two seasons.
After signing a 3 year $21M deal with the Ravens during the offseason, Michael Crabtree hopes to bounce back from a subpar season with the Raiders where he made just 58 total catches last season. Aside from Crabtree, the Ravens also added the likes of John Brown, Willie Sneed, and Jaleel Scott to shore up their wide receiver position.
But like in the past seasons, the strength of the Baltimore Ravens has been its defense. With its entire 11 returning this year, Baltimore looks to be formidable on that end of the field once again. The Ravens re-signed defensive lineman Brandon Williams to a five-year deal. Cornerback Anthony Averett, the 4th round pick from Alabama, has the opportunity to earn a key back up role.
This isn’t a regular season game so we’re likely going to see some backups get minutes for their squads. In this case, the team with the deeper quarterback rotation should have the advantage in the preseason. The Bears don’t have as much talent in the backup spots, especially in the quarterback position. The Ravens are three-deep with Flacco, RGIII ( who was a former starter ) and Lamar Jackson. Any of these three could abuse the Bears second stringers here. We’re picking the Baltimore Ravens to beat the Chicago Bears.
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