Fifty-two NFL things to watch on the road to Super Bowl LII

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Fifty-two NFL things to watch on the road to Super Bowl LII Published: Sep 05, 2017 at 04:57 AM Senior National Columnist A year ago, the question that loomed over the NFL season was if the could weather the suspension of their star player to remain in contention. With the greatest comeback in history -- after engineered a comeback of his own from his four-game banishment -- the Pats gave their competitors a resounding answer. Do the have the same depth and fortitude to withstand 's this year, if in getting it vacated or receiving an injunction from the court? His six-game layoff, following a year-long league Jack Crawford Jersey investigation into domestic violence allegations, currently overlaps with only one NFC East game, a relatively lucky break for a team that has real aspirations of its own. Brady made sure he had a say in the after a trying season. Elliott would have to do the same to a sure the get the same result. But an arbitrator and the federal court system will have an impact on the ' aspirations first, just days before the season begins. On the way to Minneapolis for the 52nd , here are 52 things to watch this season: The games to see 1) : Our first look at the experiment. 2) : A race to the bottom? For two rebuilding teams, the biggest impact of this game might not be felt until the 2018 . 3) : Michael vs. Martellus, Wilson vs. Rodgers. What a treat to get an NFC blockbuster right out of the gate. 4) : The swept the last year, handing them two of their three lo ses in the regular season. If Elliott's suspension goes into effect immediately, this is the first look at how the will manage while he's out. 5) : It's hard to imagine the NFC Championship Game rematch will be as bad a blowout as . Watch to see how Green Bay's pa s defense holds up, how Atlanta's offense looks without Kyle Shanahan, and if the have honed a killer instinct. 6) : Want to know if the Bucs, , are legitimate contenders? This is the best gauge imaginable. 7) : The Bowl! 8) : Is starting by this time? And does that give a po sible AFC playoff game preview a much different look? 9) : The rematch is the best chance to answer the question of whether the are still -- and if they've remembered to run in order to slow down the . 10) : A po sible NFC Championship Game preview, this will also be a real test of the ' pa s defense. 11) : Remember that the were pushing the for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs for a good part of last season. If this is a preview of this year's playoffs, we're in for a good season. 12) : A game against one of the few AFC teams that could give them a real run -- and the place in the schedule also means this could have real playoff seeding implications. 13) : A throwback game with renewed relevance. Two young star quarterbacks ... vs. ... Sit back and enjoy this. 14) : Probably the best of the all-intra-division final weekend. And a really good look at how two of the league's best young quarterbacks perform under pre sure. The relocation subplots to keep taps on 15) The are now a thing, and so is a 30,000-seat soccer stadium as a home field -- intimate or idiotic? We're about to find out. 16) The will be just that for at least two more seasons before heading to Las Vegas, making this a very protracted breakup and a test of the love of some of the NFL's most loyal fans. Three words of advice: Just win, baby. The rules to know 17) Overtime will last just 10 minutes instead of 15. Does that result in more ties or more aggre sive play calling to avoid them? 18) Will centralizing replay review at the league office lead to greater consistency on calls? 19) Does the loosening of celebration penalties lead to a celebration that can beat the snow angel? 20) Does the league's attention to eliminating or reducing interruptions shorten the length of games and avoid those annoying breaks around kickoffs? The trends to follow 21) Can anybody close out a victory? The weren't the only team to lose a late lead last season. In 2016, there were 72 games in which the winning team trailed at some point in the fourth quarter, the most in league history. The won eight games after trailing in the fourth quarter, the most ever in a single season. 22) Will games continue to get closer? Last season, 57 percent of games were decided by eight or fewer points, the highest figure ever in an NFL season. The average margin of victory was 10.23 points, the lowest mark since 1935. 23) Andre Baccellia Jersey What toll does travel take on the five teams -- the (32,600 miles), (30,899), (30,035), (27,520) and (26,134) -- that will travel so many miles they could circumnavigate the Earth (that's 25,000 miles)? 24) Pity the defense. The interception rate continues to decline -- last season, it was 2.3 percent league-wide, the lowest of any season in NFL history. 25) Will we see more of a running back renai sance? Last season, teams with a 100-yard rusher posted a 71.4 winning percentage. That's far better than teams with a 100-yard receiver (56.2 percent) or a 300-yard pa ser (48.3 percent). The people to watch 26) unretired to return to the -- can Adam Gase coax another career season out of him to get the back to the playoffs? 27) 's recovery from shoulder surgery has been shrouded in mystery, though we do now know the QB, who was recently , . And now the ' starting center, , is expected to after foot surgery. Whenever Luck returns, can the ' offensive line keep him intact? 28) The have to survive an early part of the schedule that puts them , including stops at the and . Last season, four of their five lo ses -- -- came on the road. 29) is back. 30) And his brother, , looks like he will be an immediate pa s-rushing force for the . 31) With player protests not going away, will a quarterback-needy team finally sign Colin Kaepernick? 32) Will ever get another look? 33) Here's a quote from Derek Carr: "He's strong. He's fast. And he's running angry." is back, in the hometown he loves. At 31, how much does he have left to give the ? 34) And what kind of will we see in New Orleans. 35) The psychodrama surrounding and his relationships in Washington figures to engulf the ' season. Can he play his best -- and also force his way out at the end? 36) hasn't had a fast, big-play target like since Randy Mo s was in Foxborough. That is bad, bad news for the rest of the AFC. 37) At some point, the have to take a look at as the starting quarterback. Will they want to see more? 38) Is the next , and can he do for the what Elliott did for the ? 39) Does the ' secondary i sues? 40) might very well be rusty after . The bigger question is: Can he stay healthy for a late-season run when the will need him to slow down the likes of the ? 41) Kyler Murray Jersey Get to know , and , because we're going to see those rookie quarterbacks sooner than the pre-draft scouting reports predicted. 42) And does take over from in Kansas City, too? 43) Jr. is the biggest don't-take-your-eyes-off-him player in the NFL. What can he do now that ... and ... and ... are there to force defenses to look at them, too? 44) Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are rookies in San Francisco, but because of them, no rebuild will be more fascinating to watch. 45) With Shanahan gone, how succe sful will the be at excising the agony of their collapse? 46) The youngest head coach in the NFL, Sean McVay, has one of the biggest tasks: molding into a franchise quarterback and bringing some excitement to the . should help; of certainly wouldn't. 47) With and , does become one of the league's most prolific pa sers and give the NFC South the best QB quartet of any division? 48) Martellus Bennett goes from to . Not bad. 49)Can kicker -- a highly polarizing second-round pick from 2016 -- find a job and save his career after being released by both the Bucs and this summer? 50) Following an offseason of trade talk, can and the rest of the happily coexist again? 51) The and are counting on and , respectively, to take the next steps in their development to keep them in the thick of the NFC East. 52) And everybody will be watching as Tony Romo takes his first steps away from the field and into the broadcast booth. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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