Here we go again: The new NFL season starts on the night of September 6, 2024.
Things are starting up again in the NFL: The next season in the North American football league begins on Thursday night (kick-off: 2:20 a.m.). Who are the favorites to win the Super Bowl? What about German star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown? And how could a new kick-off rule create new excitement? Questions and answers about the start of the season.
What does NFL mode look like?
A total of 32 teams from the USA play against each other in the National Football League (NFL). They compete in two so-called conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference has four divisions: North, East, South and West.
After a regular season with 17 games, seven teams per conference reach the knockout phase, called play-offs. The final of the season is the Super Bowlwhich this time on 9. Februar 2025 in New Orleans The best teams from the AFC and NFC will compete against each other.
Teams in der American Football Conference (AFC)
- East: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
- North: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
- South: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
- West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders
Teams in der National Football Conference (NFC)
- East: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Football Team
- North: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
- South: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- West: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
Will there be another game in Germany?
Yes. The NFL is coming to Germany again this year: On November 10, 2024, the New York Giants will face the Carolina Panthers in Munich’s Allianz Arena. All tickets were sold out in just over an hour in the official sales – the only chance of getting (often very expensive) tickets is through resale options.
Who are the favorites to win the Super Bowl?
But the San Francisco 49ers, who played in the Super Bowl last year alongside the Chiefs, are also considered to have a good chance. For the expensive squad around quarterback Brock Purdy, this could be one of the last opportunities to win the title before the NFL salary rules slow down the Californian team from 2025 onwards and reduce their chances of success.
The Baltimore Ravens, the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles are also among the favorites before the season.
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Who could cause a surprise?
In the NFL Draft, in which the best college players are signed by NFL teams each year, the Chicago Bears were the last to select a player. In their opinion, the greatest talent was quarterback Caleb Williams – many eyes will be on him despite his limited experience. Aaron Rodgers (quarterback) is returning to the field for the New York Jets after a long injury break. Fans expect a lot from him too.
What about the Germans?
Amon-Ra St. Brown has long been a fixture in the Detroit Lions’ offense. Before the season, the wide receiver, who grew up partly in Leverkusen, signed a new four-year contract worth $120 million. This makes the 24-year-old one of the highest-paid catchers in the league. New to the NFL is the German-American Brandon Coleman: He is under contract with the Washington Commanders as an offensive lineman.
Sport
:The dream of an NFL career
Equanimeous and Amon-Ra St. Brown play in the NFL and dream of a great career. The story of a German-American football family.
Apart from that, German football players experienced a mixed summer: The Munich David Bada will probably be out for another season with an Achilles tendon injury.
Also not included in the final squads of their teams, each consisting of 53 players, were:
- Jakob Johnson (Stuttgart/Fullback, most recently: New York Giants)
- Equanimeous St. Brown (Placentia, USA/Wide Receiver, New Orleans Saints)
- Marcel Dabo (Reutlingen/Safety, Indianapolis Colts)
- Devery Hamilton (Stuttgart/Offensive Tackle, Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Julius Welschof (Miesbach/Linebacker, Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Lorenz Metz (Neuötting/Offensive Tackle, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Kilian Zierer (Munich/Offensive Tackle, Houston Texans)
However, some of them have been reinstated to NFL training teams and can therefore hope to step in in the event of injuries to other players.
Who is missing?
Jason Kelce (center), the brother of Chiefs star and Taylor Swift partner Travis Kelce, has retired. In 2017, Kelce won the Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. His former teammates Nick Foles (quarterback) and Fletcher Cox (defensive tackle) also hung up their helmets during the offseason.
Defensive aces Shaq Barrett (Miami Dolphins) and Aaron Donald (LA Rams) as well as special teams legend Matthew Slater (New England Patriots) will also be missing from the new season. Nick Chubb (Cleveland Browns), JJ McCarthy (Minnesota Vikings) and Marquise Brown (Kansas City Chiefs) will also miss the start of the season due to injury.
What rule changes are there in the new season?
To ensure more excitement, the NFL has adopted new rules for kick-off returns. Depending on where the ball lands, different requirements apply to the placement of the ball on the next offensive play. The league hopes that this will result in more playing time and entertainment for the spectators.
A side effect of the new rules is that collisions between players are less severe, which reduces the risk of dangerous head injuries. For this reason, a padded head protector known as the Guardian Cap was approved for use in games. The effective but dangerous hip-drop tackles were also banned. The digital recording of ball position, which was tested in the preseason, was postponed until 2025.
