As the NFL season kicked off on Sept. 9, fans cheered on their teams for the upcoming season. The first game between reigning super bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Dallas Cowboys took place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, resulting in a 31-29 victory for the Bucs.

“This season is so highly anticipated because it will really prove if Tom [Brady] and the Bucs are really as good as people think they are,” Nicholas Wolfgang (‘23) said.

The 2020 season ended with the Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl by a score of 31-9, beating the Kansas City Chiefs for their second Super Bowl in franchise history. Other teams look to do what Brady did last season and win a Lombardi, for not only their team but their city as well. As of 9, the Chiefs are the favorite to win the Super Bowl this season with +500 odds followed by the Buccaneers with +650 odds and then the Buffalo Bills with +1200 odds, according to CBS Sports.

“I think the Chiefs will win, if I’m being 100% honest. My prediction for the season is that Mahomes has his best season yet and not only wins the Super Bowl, but also MVP,” Sander Johnson (‘23) says.

Questions to be answered this season include, whether rookies like Trevor Lawrence can succeed against an NFL defense or if Jameis Winston is really the future of the New Orleans Saints. Better yet, who will win the Super Bowl and be deemed the best team in the NFL?

“This is what the NFL is all about and why so many fans are so excited for it to come. We will finally get answers to our questions that we’ve been asking for such a long time now,” Johnson said.

This NFL season is projected to have lots of excitement to offer. This will be the first time in over a year that stadiums are back to full capacity. Not only will fans reep the benefits from this, but players will as well.