One thing that has kept many people entertained during this pandemic has been sports. More specifically, football, the only sport that did not have its season put on pause whilst COVID-19 put the world on lockdown. The NFL had an amazing season with many amazing moments throughout, though they did have fewer fans inside the stadiums. 

There were many players who had switched teams during the offseason. Phillp Rivers was the new quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts after 16 years with the LA Chargers and Stefon Diggs who got traded to the Buffalo Bills after playing for the Minnesota Vikings for 5 years. This past season was filled with surprises as some teams performed above expectation and some teams underperformed  

A big issue that defined the season was injuries. Many big players dealt with injuries throughout the season. Although all teams had injuries the San Francisco 49ers had the most. The 49ers star defensive end Nick Bosa tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the second game of the season which ended his season and First team All-pro tight end Geogore Kittle had a knee injury in the first game of the season that kept him out of multiple games. That was only the start for the 49ers and the league. Saquan Barkley, the running back for the New York Giants, tore his ACL in the 2nd game of the season, ending his season. Another superstar player who unfortunately tore his ACL was Odell Beckham Jr. from the Cleveland Browns.

Even though there were many injuries there was one player who had an amazing comeback. Back in 2018, Alex Smith was tackled by NFL star defensive end J.J Watt and broke his leg. While getting surgery to help with his leg he got a flesh eating bacteria which threatened his life. Alex Smith had to go through 17 surgeries, but he finally returned in October to the Washington Football team. Not only did he return to football, he helped his team get to the playoffs. Washington Football also has another heartwarming story in that Coach Ron Rivera, who had been diagnosed with cancer in August only a couple weeks before the start of the season, was able to go through 7 rounds of treatment to treat the cancer. In late October he beat his cancer and was able to ring the bell after his final treatment.

The 20/21 NFL season we saw some teams surprise everyone and we saw teams that disappointed their fans. One of the teams that surprised everyone was the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers had one of the best defenses in the NFL, a defense which was led by All Pro pass rusher TJ Watt, who had 15 sacks this season, and Pro Bowl Safety Mikah Fitzpatrick who had 11 interceptions during the season. The Steelers went undefeated for 11 games. They ended the season with a 12-4 record and the 3rd seed in the AFC. The Buffalo Bills also had an unexpected season this year. The Bills ended the season with a 13-3 and had one of the best duos in the NFL. Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs both had amazing seasons. Josh Allen had 4,544 passing yards and 37 touchdowns which were both in the top five for wide receivers in the NFL. Stefon Diggs had 127 catches and 1,535 receiving yards which were the best in the NFL. The Bills ended up with the 2nd seed in the AFC. One of the teams that disappointed this season was the Dallas Cowboys. Before the season had started many people had the Cowboys going to the playoffs and some even had them winning the superbowl, but those people were surprised with how the season went for the Cowboys. The Cowboys ended the season with a 6-10 record. Although Dak Prescott was having an amazing season for the Cowboys, he had a season ending in the 5th game of the season. The Cowboys defense was one of the worst in the NFL and the star running back Ezekiel Elliot did not play very well through the season as he rushed for a career low 979 yards. Football teams in Texas also did not perform well this past season as the Houston Texans had a 4-12 record at the end of the season. The Texans had superstar quarterback Deshaun Waston and 3 time defensive player of the year JJ Watt. The Texans just could not win games and were one of the worst teams in the NFL. 

The playoffs were definitely amazing and unexpected things happened. One of the things that surprised everyone was when the LA Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs. The Rams won 30-20. The Rams defense was able to stop the offense of the Seahawks. The Rams were not the only team to surprise everyone. The Cleveland Browns surprised everyone when they beat the Steelers. Not only did the Browns beat the Steelers but they had a blowout win. The final score was 48-37 and the Browns won their first playoff game since 1994. In the end the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs played each other in the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl 55 main focus was the battle of the great quarterbacks Tom Brady for the Buccaneers and Patrick Mahomes for the Chiefs. The Buccaneers defense was able to shut down Patrick Mahomes and his offense. The final score was 31-9 with the Buccaneers winning their second Super Bowl in the team’s history and Tom Brady winning his 7th Super Bowl, which is the most won by any player. 

This past season was very interesting and fun to watch even with COVID-19 still around. Now everyone who watches the NFL turns their attention to the offseason.