Flacco remained an unsigned free agent until early November, when Cleveland lost QB1 Deshaun Watson to a season-ending shoulder injury. The Super Bowl XLVII MVP then turned back the clock, winning four of five starts to lead the Browns to the playoffs and an 11-6 record. Overall, the 39-year-old completed 123-of-204 (60.3%) passes for 1,616 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions during his short stint in Cleveland.According to ESPN Stats, Flacco would have led the NFL with an average of 323.2 passing yards per game had he finished the regular season among eligible players.By comparison, Hamlin produced fairly forgettable numbers in five regular season and two playoff games with the 2023 Bills. However, he was widely considered the favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year after returning to Buffalo’s active roster and#039; less than eight months after suffering cardiac arrest and quot;Monday Night Footballandquot; game in January 2023..
Heading into the 2023 NFL season, Taylor dominated the headlines. Colts linebacker Jonathan Taylor has been waiting for a contract extension to build on his generation of wealth and change the running back market as we know it. By season’s end, Taylor, the NFL’s standout, was a global icon, showing off his gag phase with Travis Kelce during Chiefs games. You never know where the NFL is going from year to year, but it’s never boring.Field results are a little easier to predict in the Patrick Mahomes era. After three Super Bowl wins in five years, it’s now safe to say that anyone betting against Mahome
s is a fool. However, looking back at our Guardian NFL picks from last September, it appears that some of us writers were a little off the mark, not only doubting Mahomes’ ability to survive due to a lack of supporting cast, but in many of our predictions. in general. . Again, one of us got a spot in a Super Bowl. Let’s take a wild look (you can read the full predictions here) as we saw the season.The Best Team Not to Make the PlayoffsWhat We Said Before the Season: We liked the New York Jets’ new look, but concerns about Aaron Rodgers’ declining mobility and whether he will have a positive impact on the team’s offense . culture” kept us from their postseason ticket from stamping properly. Let’s not talk about our prediction that “Todd Monken’s offensive overhaul may be too big for the Baltimore Ravens.”What Really Happened: Rodgers’ mobility was significantly reduced: He played exactly 94 seconds for
the Jets before he tore his Achilles and the team recorded its eighth straight losing season. At least the Ravens dominated the regular season and made it to the AFC Championship Game.MVPWhat we said before the season: One of our candidates was Justin Herbert, who said he would “explode with Kellen Moore at the helm.” One of us picked Joe Burrow, referring to what we thought was his great relationship with a certain receiver (“There are a lot of talented quarterbacks out there, but none of the combination of Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase.”) Josh Allen and Trevor Lawrence was our second. Shouts from us to Lamar Jackson, the de facto MVP, and Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy, who also competed.What Really Happened: Usually, the number one MVP tag bounces. Tua Tagovailoa and Prescott were a bit of a competitor. So were Jalen Hurts and Brock Purdy. None of the names we mentioned were in the conversation as the season progressed, although Burrow’s campaign was marred by injury. In the end, the competition died
down and Jackson, who had the best season of his career, ran away with the award.Rookie to WatchWhat We Said Before the Season: Oh, are we on Bryce Young. “If Young is as ready for the NFL as he appears to be, he could do some real damage.” The same goes for Bijan Robinson, who we called a once-in-a-lifetime prospect. But we were especially high on Eagles defensive end Jalen Carter: “Watch the ‘baby rhino’ as he destroys offensive lines.Related: Super Bowl 2024: Chiefs stun 49ers in overtime for second straight NFL titleWhat Really Happened As We Predicted, Carter was a beast, constantly facing opponents behind Defensive Player of the Year Will Anderson Jr. The Falcons did not use Robinson badly, while Young’s impact was not zero. Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud, with his endless bag of tricks, is already a star — we just didn’t pick him first.AFC East ChampionWhat we said before the season: Half of our votes went to the Buffalo Bills, who we thought were “one of the most complete teams in football” even though we had
“question marks about their lack of depth.” pass rush. and receiver.” The other two votes went between the lethal McDaniel-Tagovailoa combination of the Miami Dolphins and the Jets (“Player for player, they have as much talent as anyone in the league”).What Really Happened: No , the Patriots didn’t shock the world. Miami lost the division thanks to an early offensive blow. Meanwhile, Buffalo’s season fell into disarray thanks to a wildly inconsistent quarterback and a head coach who came under fire for shocking comments about 9-11 snappers. Just when the season seemed lost, the Bills finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak, including a Week 18 win over Miami to secure second place. As for the Jets, maybe a little.
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