It’s crazy to think that we are now six weeks deep into the 2020 NFL season. We’re more than a third of the way through and it has gone by in the blink of an eye. There has been the expected (Patrick Mahomes is good), the unexpected (Aaron Rodgers is back), injuries and the ever-present threat of COVID-19.
The 2020 NFL season has also been a learning experience. Here are four noticeable things we have taken away so far.
Lessons learned from the 2020 NFL season
Preseason probably isn’t such a bad thing
Four preseason games are too many, but zero is also not the answer. Rookies look lost, timing has been off and defenses have been fairly bad. But it’s not just the players who benefit from the preseason. The referees also need those meaningless games just to get up to game speed.
Football needs fans in the stands
The action hasn’t been bad. However, every time the camera pans away from the field and you get a glimpse of empty seats, it does kill the ambiance. It just makes the game feel less important. Also, there is nothing cool about hearing the players on the field, no matter how many times the announcers try to tell you otherwise.
The NFL can’t play 17 games
We hate everything about the 17th game proposal the NFL is trying to push through. But the 2020 NFL season has shown players shouldn’t really try and push their bodies through an additional game each year. The public loves football, but no one wants to see the likes of Wayne Gallman, Brett Rypien, Frank Gore or whoever the Philadelphia Eagles dredge up to catch passes. An extra game means more injuries which equates to more backups playing.
Football > Everything
Football has brushed aside every other sport since kicking off in September. The NBA Finals, MLB Playoffs and Stanley Cup Playoffs all took a very noticeable backseat to the 2020 NFL season. It’s not a great look for any of those leagues to be honest.
