The 20 biggest storylines heading into the 2017 NFL season

Bill Belichick’s Patriots just completed the greatest Super Bowl comeback in the NFL’s storied history, and they might be better this season. They returned pretty much every key player from the Super Bowl run and added Dwayne Allen, Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks. 

The Falcons had the best offense in the NFL last year, but didn’t even try to run the ball when it mattered most. Up 28-3 in the 3rd quarter, the Falcons only ran the ball on five of their final 18 plays from scrimmage and lost the Super Bowl 34-28. The NFL isn’t always kind to Super Bowl losing teams, especially ones that lose their offensive coordinator in the off season. 

Following their devastating Super Bowl loss to the Broncos, the Panthers had a long, rough season that ended without them even making the playoffs. The offense struggled, but with offensive line help and first round draft pick Christian McCaffrey, Cam Newton should have all the weapons he needs to become Super Man again. 

The former 49ers quarterback is still jobless as we approach Week 1, and it looks unlikely that he’ll sign on with anyone before the start of the season. His National Anthem protests are being labeled as a distraction, but they haven’t stopped this preseason despite him not being in the fold. With inevitable injuries throughout the season, maybe Kap get another shot? 

Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill, Teddy Bridgewater, Tyrod Taylor and Trevor Siemian are all coming back from major injuries during the season or offseason surgeries. Carr’s injury changed the whole AFC playoff picture, and Bridgewater’s injury completely changed the outlook of the NFC. Interesting note, all of these quarterbacks are younger than 30; Tannehill, 28, is the oldest in the group.

Many are picking up where Colin Kaepernick left off, with Michael Bennett and Marshawn Lynch both sitting during the anthem early in the preseason. Players have raised their fists and a collection of players on the Cleveland Browns kneeled in a circle and prayed. Without Kaepernick to label as a distraction, how will league executives handle more players taking a stand? 

The Cowboys have a football team built to compete for a Super Bowl, but without Ezekiel Elliott, will they find themselves in a hole in the NFC East? The offensive line looks good enough for Darren McFadden and Alfred Morris to carry the load for nearly half the season, but Dak Prescott will be without one of his best weapons, which can break them, or only make them stronger for when Elliott returns. 

With Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension, the NFL and Goodell are again faced with questions about the way they handled the situation. It’s nice to see that they’re taking domestic violence issues more seriously, but what about Colin Kaepernick’s inability to find a job and questions about player safety? Goodell has at least five more years to figure it all out.

Matt Stafford had a monster year without Calvin Johnson, recording 4,300 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight game-winning drives. Now more comfortable spreading the ball around without Megatron, what heights can Stafford reach in Detroit? 

This offseason, the Jaguars brought in safety Barry Church, cornerback A.J. Bouye and defensive end Calais Campbell. Last year, Jacksonville was sixth in yards allowed, but couldn’t create turnovers. Church, Bouye and Campbell could turn a very good defense into a great one. 

Last September, J.J. Watt a season-ending back surgery, and the Houston Texans still finished with the NFL’s best defense in 2016. With a three-time defensive player of the year back on the field, Houston is only going to get better on that side of the ball. If they can figure out their quarterback situation, it should be a return trip to the playoffs for the Texans. 

The NFL’s greatest export from our childhood is the touchdown dance, and they had been removed from the game to promote sportsmanship for children. Allowing players to use the football as a prop, ground celebrations and group celebrations is probably the best rule change the NFL has implemented in a decade. 

Let’s just list the weapons Derek Carr is going to have at his disposal this season: Michael Crabtree, Amari Cooper, Cordarrelle Patterson, Jared Cook, Marshawn Lynch and Jamize Olawale. Carr will play behind an offensive line that allowed the fewest number of sacks last season, so he’s going to have plenty of time to find one of the myriad options that make Oakland a dark horse title contender. 

No team has been more consistently pass-heavy over the last decade than the New Orleans Saints. Check Drew Brees’ pro football reference page, the numbers range from astounding to prolific and everywhere in-between. But if Adrian Peterson can stay healthy, will we see a paradigm shift in Saints’ offensive philosophy. At 32 and coming off a major injury, he’ll share plenty of carries with Mark Ingram, but teammates and coaches all believe AP’s still got it. 

Last season, there were times when Carson Wentz looked like the best rookie in his class and the worst. The Eagles went out and signed Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith to give him some legit options at wide receiver. If the lack of talent on last year’s roster was cause for Wentz’s struggles toward the end the year, then we should see much more of the guy who lit the league on fire in the first few weeks of the season. 

After a season in which the Rams returned to Los Angeles, the Chargers took their talents to the City of Angels. Since neither team is poised to make any noise in the postseason this year, Los Angeles will have some time to figure out which team to dedicate its love to. 

Everyone is aware of Ezekiel Elliott leading the league in rushing as a rookie last season, but fellow rookie Jordan Howard was No. 2 in rushing last year. In this year’s draft, Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey were both top 10 picks and expected to have big years for Jacksonville and Carolina, respectively. Running backs had been devalued in recent years, but could they be having a moment? 

Last year, Kathryn Smith became the first woman to receive a full-time coaching job in the NFL as the Buffalo Bills quality control coach. This year, Katie Sowers joined the San Francisco 49ers as a full-time assistant coach while doubling as the first openly gay coach in NFL history. Women becoming coaches is the biggest story that no one will talk about. 

2016 was the first year since 2010 that the Bengals didn’t make the playoffs after finishing with a 6-9-1 record, and in the postseason, the Bengals are 0-7 with Lewis as the head coach. The team brought back Adam Jones despite even more legal issues and still refuse to spend to improve the team. Maybe a separation might be the best move for both the Bengals and Lewis.

Brock Osweiler was supposed to be next in Denver after Peyton Manning retired, and then he was expected to be the man in Houston after signing a massive $72 million deal with the Texans. After a year in H-Town, Osweiler has been traded to Cleveland – his third team in as many years. Reports from camp are suggesting that rookie Deshone Kizer might get the nod as starting quarterback. If Osweiler loses this role, will he ever find another starting job?