superbowlmvps Archives

Aaron Rodgers in primetime, a Super Bowl LVII rematch, and the best 2023 NFL regular season games

May 12, 2023

Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will face the Eagles in Week 11

The NFL schedule is here. All 17 games for your favorite teams now have a when, as opposed to the who and where that was decided months ago. This all really could’ve been an email, Roger. But we have to draw this out like American Idol in the mid-2000s, releasing more parts of the schedule … after the break.

Sifting through the 272 regular-season games, here are the top matchups. While everyone has the potential to be exciting, some are guaranteed to be duds. And we’re listing the ones with the least chance of being disappointing. Why not start where the league left off, two quarters after Rihanna’s brilliant halftime performance?

Image for article titled Aaron Rodgers in primetime, a Super Bowl LVII rematch, and the best 2023 NFL regular season games

Instead of in Arizona, the two teams who played in last season’s Super Bowl will do battle again from the home of the last five AFC Championship games, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. It’ll take place on Nov. 20, the Monday before Thanksgiving, kicking off a stacked week for the NFL with its trio of Thanksgiving games. And one matchup with the usual Detroit and Dallas duo stands out.

The NFL’s biggest rivalry in a prime spot on a holiday should draw a huge audience for the NFL. These teams play in the NFL’s best division and this will be a critical showdown for positioning late in the season. The last time the teams played on Thanksgiving was in 2020, when the then-Washington Football Team dominated “America’s Team” 41-16.

This will be a matchup that’ll be more important for off-the-field reasons than anything that will get determined by an early-season AFC East showdown. It’ll be Tom Brady’s return to Gillette Stadium to be celebrated by New England for his decades of devotion to the franchise. It’ll skip over him leaving though I’m sure. Those years in Tampa never happened.

How does the Aaron Rodgers era officially start in East Rutherford, New Jersey? By welcoming Super Bowl contender Buffalo to MetLife Stadium. After last year’s disappointing finish to the season for the Bills, ruining the coronation of King Rodgers of Northern New Jersey is first on the to-do list.

Another Super Bowl rematch here of teams that have gone in completely opposite directions since that day at SoFi Stadium. It looks like it’s a matter of when, not if, the Bengals win the franchise’s first Super Bowl since losing to the Rams two seasons ago. L.A., on the other hand, has looked like anything since Super after becoming NFL champions. This will be a fun early-season Monday Night Football game.

Arguably the top two picks to represent the AFC in next year’s Super Bowl will have a regular-season showdown at Arrowhead on New Year’s Eve, with positioning for home-field advantage likely hanging in the balance for this one. Anytime Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes are playing against each other, it’s must-see television.

The two winners of NFL Draft week face off to begin the season in Baltimore. After Lamar Jackson’s offseason filled with drama led him to get exactly what he wanted, a huge contract with the Ravens, he’ll start the next chapter of his career against C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson, and an oddly hopeful Houston team.

The biggest losers of NFL Draft weekend were Detroit and we’ll have an early indication of how those moves worked out for them by the fourth weekend of the NFL season. Not to be lost in all the Aaron Rodgers mess was the team he left behind, and a big in-division test for Jordan Love will be a great sign of whether he’ll be the third Packers’ QB in a row to have a Hall of Fame career. Hopefully he’s not as much of a whack job as the other two.

This NFC West matchup got drawn into the late-game slot on Thanksgiving Day. If Philadelphia isn’t the favorite to win the NFC, it’s San Francisco. And the 49ers toughest-division test this season will come from Seattle. These two will play twice over the span of three weeks, making both showdowns critical for hopeful playoff positioning.

I’m calling it now; this game will decide who wins the NFC South and the other team won’t make the postseason. In a post-Tom Brady era in Tampa, how the franchise moves on from the near-geriatric quarterback against the No. 1 overall draft pick in Bryce Young will be scintillating for those in the stadium in Charlotte.

Black QBs make NFL Draft history while white QB sits in green room

April 28, 2023

Will Levis was expected to be drafted in the first round, possibly top 10

What happened to Kentucky quarterback Will Levis wasn’t funny. It felt cruel watching someone experience their most humiliating moment on the night in which their dreams were supposed to come true. But for African-Americans — or at least for myself — it was impossible to ignore the irony. For decades, this league (NFL) and this game have dehumanized, disrespected, and even blackballed Black quarterbacks. And on the day in which four — don’t forget about Lamar Jackson, either — of them made history, it was the white one who was stuck on the other side of the coin — for once.

The First Round of the NFL Draft wasn’t some type of vengeful redemption. It was the next step of a flawed system rectifying itself.

A historic night for Black NFL QBs

Thursday, April 27, 2023, will go down as one of the most important days in the history of football, as it was the day that the league officially treasured Black quarterbacks more than their white counterparts. Earlier in the day, Lamar Jackson announced that he and the Baltimore Ravens had agreed in principle to a five-year, $260 million contract extension ($185 million guaranteed) — making him and Jalen Hurts the two highest-paid players in the NFL.

A few hours later, Bryce Young became the No. 1 overall pick as he’s the new face of the Carolina Panthers. C.J. Stroud was up next at No. 2 to the Houston Texans, as they became the first two Black quarterbacks to ever go 1-2 in the NFL Draft. Two picks later, Anthony Richardson went fourth overall to the Indianapolis Colts.

Three Black quarterbacks were taken in the Top 5 — think about that for a moment.

Another milestone for Black QBs

Now think of Jan. 31, 1988. That was the day that Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to start a Super Bowl, win a Super Bowl, and take home Super Bowl MVP. Remember April 21, 2001. The day that Michael Vick made history as the first Black quarterback to ever be drafted with the No. 1 pick. And then reflect on what we witnessed in February at Super Bowl LVII, as Patrick Mahomes and Hurts marked the first time the NFL’s biggest game featured two Black quarterbacks.

All of those dates and moments led us to what took place on Thursday night in Kansas City. Because from the Super Bowl to the NFL Draft, 2023 has been a historic year for Black quarterbacks.

Now let’s get back to the white quarterback.

Will Levis, all hype?

Over the last few weeks, Levis had been experiencing what automatically comes with his whiteness — privilege. Slowly, but surely, his name was skyrocketing up mock drafts, as he became an intriguing prospect that teams were starting to take more seriously. There were internet rumors that he could go as high as No. 1 overall. And ESPN’s analytics had him destined to be a Top 10 pick.

It didn’t happen. We don’t know when Levis will be drafted. It could be on Day Two or even Day Three. Your guess is as good as mine, as we’ve never quite seen anything like this, with the “coveted” white quarterback having to wait in purgatory while his Black counterparts celebrated at their draft parties.

But, who knows, this might be the best thing for Levis’ career. Five years ago, Jackson was left in the green room as he was the last pick of the first round. By Thursday, the former unanimous MVP was the highest-paid player the game has ever seen.

Despite how bad things have been, and still are, for Black coaches in the NFL, the tide has been increasingly changing for Black quarterbacks. And that’s what made Thursday night feel so good. Despite how bad of an evening it was for Will Levis’, it was a monumental one for any Black boy or man that’s ever been under center, or in shotgun formation. Quarterback is the most popular, and important, position in all of sports. And on Thursday, the NFL finally acknowledged that the Black men who play it are not only valued but needed more than ever.