NFL 2021-2022 Season Preview

By Chase Bailkin

These are my season predictions and I feel really good about them. Football is BACK baby so lets kick our feet up on Sundays, eat some wings, drink some beer, and make some god damn money. I am picking absolute LOCKS this year fellas so don’t miss out. Make sure you subscribe to the website (at bottom of the page), follow me on instagram (biggamereport), and tail these picks. Lets make some money together.

The BGR is BACK folks. It’s been a quiet summer without sports, but the break was much needed. The NFL starts just in time because I was starting to really miss sports and getting that gambling itch (you know what I’m talking about). The league is riddled with young talent and it should be really interesting to see some stars emerge this year. It will also be interesting to see veterans make their final attempts to win it all this year, but there can only be one winner so we are bound to see some heartbreaks this year. I’m talking about guys like Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, and Matt Ryan. There is also a class of mid-career veterans trying to finally win a ring and hoping this is the breakthrough year. Guys like Matt Stafford, Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, and Cam Newton are all trying to get over the hump and win the big one. The third class is the young talent (very promising category) who are looking to make names for themselves. These are guys like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Baker Mayfield, and Kyler Murray. Lastly, there is a guy in a league of his own. He possesses no weaknesses or flaws in his game. He is a nightmare for defenses and an absolute threat at all times. He has already won the big one in just 3 shorts years in the league. His name is Patrick Mahomes and his team is as strong as it was 2 years ago when they won the Super Bowl. This year should be as competitive as it’s ever been and I cannot wait to see it unfold. Check out some of my favorite season picks below.

I’m a little surprised that the Chiefs opened as the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl. I would think it would be the Buccaneers because they have the best all around team, but I guess the oddsmakers are expecting Brady’s age to be a factor (not too much though since they are second). I don’t disagree because the Chiefs are a disgusting team, and they do have Pat Mahomes, but I am confident that Mahomes cannot keep up his style of play forever - he takes too much damage and does too much risky shit to not get injured. Last year is a perfect example -

He got a concussion in the conference finals because he charged head first into a defender to try and get a first down rather slide and avoid damage. This definitely had an effect on his performance in the Super Bowl. I don’t worry about that kind of thing with Brady because he always plays for the next down. No play is ever end all-be all with him and he never lets emotions dictate his decision making, which is why he is one of the best to ever play the game. So, in my opinion, I think Brady will run it back with the Bucs, and that we will (unfortunately) see injuries plague the Chiefs. I don’t think the Ravens will get over the hump, and as sad as it is to say, Lamar Jackson will never win a super bowl. He’s an amazing individual talent, but the quarterback is supposed to make the whole offense better and a super bowl winning team needs to click on all cylinders and not rely on one player to make magic. I really have no idea why the 49ers are ranked so high. They are going to get smashed by the Rams and Seahawks in the regular season and I honestly think they’ll miss the playoffs altogether. The Rams and Seahawks are my favorite sleeper picks to win the Super Bowl this year. The Rams because they have the best and toughest defense in the league by far (Buccaneers second) and now they have an elite quarterback in Matt Stafford, very solid receivers in Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Desean Jackson, and Tyler Higbee, and solid young running backs in Cam Akers and Sony Michel. They have the perfect team to win a Super Bowl, and they have playoff and Super Bowl experience too, so I think they have a real good shot. Putting some money on the Seahawks isn’t a bad idea either. You can never count out Russell Wilson, and he has dangerous targets still in DK Metcalf and Doug Baldwin, as well as Chris Carson in the backfield and a solid defense. Unfortunately they are in a tough division so we will see what happens with them.

The MVP award is an interesting bet because there is bias involved. In most cases, there is no clear winner like there is in a game. A lot of the award has to do with expectations of players and sometimes off the field things like stories or events that enhance a players persona. There are a lot of factors and it i definitely the hardest bet to pick. I try to look for guys who get better every year, but don’t have a ton of expectations behind them just yet. A guy I am hot on this year is Dak Prescott because of his athletic ability and he has shown he can be an elite quarterback if he stays healthy and has receivers to throw to. He has been a good quarterback so far in his career but this is definitely a year he could break out - it seems he and the Cowboys offense have all the pieces to be lethal. I think the time off that Dak had and his huge new contract are motivating factors for him to have a huge year. I can easily see him throwing for 4k yards and 40 touchdowns, and he will still be a threat as a runner as well. Other candidates that I think have a good shot at the award are Josh Allen if he has another season similar to his last (although I am not totally sold on him yet because we haven’t seen him play well consistently). He is still young and has many more years to win this trophy, but he seems to mesh with the current Bills team and they were so close to going to the Super Bowl last year - a lot of people thought they were going to (including me) because of how well rounded they were. Aaron Rodgers also has a good shot, but my favorite sleeper pick for this award is Matt Stafford at +1700. I don’t think anyone understands just how elite he is because of how bad the Lions were, but now he has legitimate receiving threats, an amazing defense to set them up, and a great coach. I think we will see Stafford thrive in LA and I’m happy for him because he’s one of the coolest and toughest players - I love to watch him play.

I am NOT hot on the 49ers this year. Sure they have a good defense and a decent coach, but Raheem Mostert is coming off a bad ankle injury, and their QB situation is shaky with Garoppolo amd Trey Lance both at the helm. Garoppolo has never been the guy and IDK if the rookie can really make that much of an impact on a team that is so run heavy and defensively focused. They are also in one of the toughest divisions in my opinion. I think the Rams and Seahawks both have big years, upwards of 10 wins each and that the 49ers will have to play for a wild card spot, if anything. That being said, take the 49ers to not make the playoffs at +164, and the 49ers under 10.5 wins at -120.