So far this year in the NFL there are two prevailing themes: lots of older narratives are being reinforced, with some dying out, while new perspectives on teams are coming to light as new teams emerge into relevance. What does that mean? Well, the NFL is entering a new era while some things are starting to change others are staying the same. For example, the Atlanta Falcons are still choking away big leads and underperforming their talent level, and the Jets are still lacking in many elements of play. On the other hand, young stars are emerging into the spotlight. Justin Herbert, Tua, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, and many other young stars are looking to be the future of the league. The NFC East, in the eyes of many devastated fans, is the worst division football has ever seen while the NFC West is the most dominant division. The Steelers are still undefeated and the Chiefs look to repeat as champions. The season is not over yet, but the next few weeks should be interesting.

There are two other things that are defining the season: COVID and injuries. There is not a single starter playing on offense for the 49ers right now due to these prevalent problems. The lack of a preseason hurts the players’ conditioning and hinders the ability for teams to build chemistry. Then there is COVID, where games have been canceled left and right. The Tennessee Titans were the main culprit of this COVID debacle. It resulted in the first edition of Tuesday night football. There are currently teams with players and staff getting COVID almost weekly. There are many questions of how much the NFL is actually doing to slow the virus. Only time will tell if COVID will overpower the might of the NFL.