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The NFL is fun again. It doesn’t sound like much of an accomplishment, especially for a sports league. But considering how heavy the whole enterprise felt over the past year, it was uncertain whether it could get back to this point so quickly. It has, though, not because of any strategic or marketing brilliance, not because the leadership stomped its feet and demanded order and certainly not because President Trump’s virulent tongue forced any owners to “get that son of a bitch off the field right now.”
In fact, the NFL really hasn’t done anything to address its problems in a permanent or even logical way, which leaves it vulnerable to another eruption of controversy. However, in the first month of this season, the game has outshined all potential conflict. It helps that player protests have been largely muted, as several prominent stars are focusing more on community outreach than making controversial public gestures to bring attention to injustice. The shift had to be organic, not forced. For all of the league’s clumsy efforts to enact policy, mollify the president and pivot to football, the change is happening at its own pace and for its own reasons.
And so, naturally, it is easier to watch football when you’re not debating politics, patriotism and social justice at the same time. But the most pertinent and undervalued reason for the NFL’s struggles last season was that it had a shoddy product living off tradition, and the negative reaction to the protests knocked over a sport already standing on weakened knees. The inconsistent ratings and crowds were not, as Trump suggested, simply because light was being shed on the acts of players that he portrayed as ungrateful and unpatriotic. The game was bad and reeling from years of decay to begin with, and a lightning-rod issue made it easier for some fans to turn away.
[That time Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield had the craziest college QB duel ever]
Eliminating the protests couldn’t be the only solution. The quality of play needed a jolt as well. The 2018 season is just a quarter old, but the start has been refreshing. It has been exactly what the NFL needed coming off the low of 2017.
There’s a new star to be infatuated with or to consider overrated: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is a delightful combination of agility, arm strength and audacity. Like Aaron Rodgers, Mahomes can freestyle and make big plays from scratch. Like a young Peyton Manning, he’s a human touchdown generator. And he appears to be a winner willing to do whatever it takes. He just graced “Monday Night Football” with a running, left-handed shovel pass to evade pass rusher extraordinaire Von Miller.
“He’s tough,” Miller said after Mahomes orchestrated a 27-23 comeback victory over the Denver Broncos to improve the Chiefs to 4-0. “He’s fast. We’ve got to get him down. Plain and simple, he’s fast, he can run all day, buy time, especially to the right. He can run 20 yards deep and then throw the ball 40 yards. He’s a great quarterback.”
Of course, you have to evaluate Mahomes with caution. Former NFL coach Mike Holmgren often says it takes 40 starts to know what a quarterback can do. Mahomes has five.But his talent is mesmerizing, and it’s almost impossible for a single player in the team-driven NFL to capture the public’s imagination so soon. Mahomes possesses an “it” factor, and more than that, he has the potential to be an evolutionary type of quarterback. You watch him play, and you realize both how much the quarterback position has changed and where it might be headed.
But despite how good their offense looks, the Chiefs are neither the best nor most intriguing team so far. That honor belongs to the Los Angeles Rams, who employ a lot of stars, score a lot of points and also have a defense to be feared.
Of course, parity is always a factor in the NFL. The rules force it. Sometimes it means that a bunch of mediocre football is being disguised as compelling because the games are so close. This time, however, there is parity and early signs of a higher quality of play. The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles are vulnerable, even with Carson Wentz back and playing like Carson Wentz. The Cleveland Browns are competitive again. Let’s say that one more time: The Cleveland Browns are competitive again.
Scoring is up. The television ratings have been good, and the prime-time games have intrigue. Eighteen quarterbacks are on pace to surpass 4,000 yards. The top four rookie quarterbacks selected in the 2018 draft — Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen and Josh Rosen — have shown flashes of being franchise-carrying players. In a sport perpetually desperate for quality signal-callers, there’s a chance we will conclude that the majority of teams actually feel comfortable at quarterback. Offensive balance is returning, with the reemphasis of the running back, and the young star tailbacks are more versatile than ever.
[NFL power rankings: Jaguars and Saints gaining on Rams and Chiefs]
Some of the offensive brilliance is being legislated, and that warrants some concern. Defensive players are struggling to adjust to new tackling rules and points of emphasis. In particular, pass rushers and avid fans spent the first three weeks in shock over penalties for what used to be legal hits on quarterbacks. The NFL competition committee declined a recent opportunity to revise the new language on roughing the passer. But it did provide greater clarity on how the rule should be interpreted. As a result, just five roughing-the-passer penalties were called in Week 4, after 33 in the first three weeks.
But even that controversy seems refreshing because it’s about football. So is the Le’Veon Bell holdout in Pittsburgh. As someone who understood the intent behind the protests and didn’t mind players expressing themselves, I was never bothered that real life has seeped into diversion for about two minutes a game. And now that the protesting isn’t as prevalent, it’s not like the social issues once raised have lost validity. Still, I do understand — and have always understood — why some people just want their favorite trivial sport to stay trivial. My counter is that, while we all need diversion, I’d rather experience a slice of reality than risk becoming ignorant, dispassionate or possibly callous about the concerns of my neighbor.
We can’t evolve by turning the TV to something happy every time we’re uncomfortable. Or by turning around and covering our ears. The NFL became collateral damage in a culture war between politics and activism because Trump knew he could exploit fan emotion.
For most of the past year, the NFL represented many complicated and divisive things to people. Right now, though, it’s just the place where Mahomes is making eyeballs eject, and the end of New England Patriots’ dynasty is being debated once more, and the Rams are making Southern California love football again.
It has been a month of fun, nothing more. Nothing too heavy. It has been a while — long before the protests — that a season has shown this much entertainment potential. And, just as it should be, the players are leading the way with their performance. Good thing those disobedient troublemakers didn’t get run off the field when things were more complicated.
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