As if in a flash, the 2016 NFL regular season is over. In general, 2016 proved to be a wonderfully crazy year on many different fronts, and this football season is no exception. Here are the 10 things the 2016 NFL season taught us.
1. The Patriots can win with anyone.
Tom Brady faced a four-game suspension at the start of the year for his "role" in the infamous "Deflategate" scandal. New England called upon the services of Jimmy Garoppolo (up for the "Hardest Last Name to Spell in the League" award) for the first few games. Garoppolo gave an outstanding performance in the limited time that he played courtesy of shoulder injury sustained in Week 2. When Garoppolo went down, third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett stepped up and won a game against Houston on a Thursday night. If that three game stretch at the start of 2016 does not demonstrate the greatness of Bill Belichick, I frankly don't know what will.
2. The Raiders are fun again... finally.
For the better part of the 21st century, Oakland has largely been a wasteland in the greater landscape of the NFL. The goal when a player got to Oakland was to get out of Oakland. This year, the Raiders completely flipped the script. Derek Carr finally came into his own as a passer, Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree took it to another level and the defense stepped up in a big way at the most crucial moments. I genuinely enjoyed watching this Oakland squad perform week in and week out. It's honestly a shame that we are robbed of the chance to see Carr perform in the playoffs.
3. Cleveland is a dumpster fire.
The Browns came just one loss short of becoming the second team other than the 2008 Detroit Lions to go winless in a season in the modern era. Nothing about Cleveland went right. From the signing of RG3 to the horrendous defense, the Browns barely looked capable of beating a college team (Cleveland vs. Bama is a game I would love to see). Hopefully the Browns will make good use of the overall No. 1 pick they earned, but if I know the Browns like I think I do, they'll find some way to screw it up.
4. Ezekiel Elliot is a monster.
As you might be able to tell, Zeke Elliott had a pretty good year. Elliott juked, hurdled and powered his way to the rushing title. Zeke, as he is commonly referred to, racked up a whopping 1,631 rushing yards in 2016, and he's just a rookie (gulp). The sky seems to be limit for the newborn superstar as he progresses throughout his NFL career, but, in my opinion, Ezekiel Elliot is the one name every football-watching person got to know intimately in 2016.
5. Offensive lines are incredibly important.
Speaking of Zeke, let's talk about the big boys up front blocking for him. Three of the offensive linemen for the Cowboys have been named to NFL All-Pro 1st Team (Zack Martin, Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick). I know Elliott is a phenomenal talent, but the offensive line would get my vote for team MVP (or MVPs in this case).
6. Denver cannot live on defense alone.
As much as I hate to admit it, Denver's overwhelming recent success was largely caused by the arrival of Peyton Manning. Manning helped Denver win their third Super Bowl in franchise history because of his ability to avoid the big mistake. Trevor Siemian has yet to learn this skill, and it showed in the red zone. Siemian's biggest mistake of the season came on an interception thrown in a goal-to-go situation against the New England Patriots. That pick led to Denver losing the game and their playoff hopes, and the defense could only do so much. As we move into 2017, the Broncos need to find a competent quarterback in order to return to their recent glory days.
7. Backup quarterbacks have value.
From Tom Savage to Matt Moore, the job of an NFL backup is often an unappreciated one. That was not the case in 2016. In the case of Savage and Moore, they both played a significant role in leading their respective teams into the postseason. These two passers taught that there is value in having a good number two quarterback option on the team.
8. The Panthers are not the team we thought they were.
Was the 15-1 performance in 2015 a fluke? Maybe. Was the 6-10 performance in 2016 disappointing? Definitely. Cam Newton appeared to underperform all year despite getting his best wideout, Kelvin Benjamin, back. Luke Kuechly's concussion didn't help matters on defense. Carolina has some work to do if they want to get back to winning form.
9. The Lions don't need Calvin Johnson anymore.
After Megatron retired, there was a reasonable expectation that Detroit's offense would take a step back. The Lions did just the opposite in 2016. Matt Stafford produced even more now that he has a larger array of targets to throw to such as Golden Tate and Marvin Jones. Look for Detroit to continue this uptick in offensive output in 2017.
10. The NFL is not invincible.
It has been well documented that the television ratings have taken a hit for the league. While many cite this election cycle and historic World Series as the main culprits for the ratings dip, the fact remains that the NFL is not the unstoppable entertainment force that we have known to be for the last 20-plus years. Eventually, we could see the passing of the torch from the NFL to a more interesting and less controversy-sparking league.
