It is that point of the 12 months the place for Australians, the climate is getting hotter and the solar is beginning to shine, with footy finals kicking off and cricket season on the horizon.
However for many who love setting their alarms for 3am, the month of September signifies that the incomparable circus of the NFL season is about to start.
Final season, Philadelphia produced an epic victory to assert the championship and one beloved Aussie wrote his identify into the historical past books.
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This time round, the Eagles go from the hunters to the hunted and there might be no scarcity of real Tremendous Bowl contenders chasing them, whereas there are many different main speaking factors forward of the primary sport of the common season.
Extensive World of Sports activities takes a take a look at the 5 largest query marks heading into 2025.
CAN JORDAN MAILATA’S EAGLES DEFEND THEIR CROWN?
Jordan Mailata celebrates the Tremendous Bowl victory Getty
It can perpetually go down as one of many biggest feats in Australian sporting historical past – however can Jordan Mailata change into a two-time Tremendous Bowl champion?
The previous rugby league hopeful has change into a family identify abroad and played a pivotal role in the Philadelphia Eagles claiming the title last season.
Mailata obtained excessive reward for his ever-improving work on the offensive line, particularly after the retirement of Jason Kelce within the low season.
The hulking Bankstown product’s affect allowed the likes of Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts to have career-best seasons and it culminated with a crushing victory over the Chiefs within the largest occasion on the American calendar.
Hurts particularly took his sport to a complete new degree with Mailata and Lane Johnson wreaking havoc up entrance and was finally awarded Tremendous Bowl MVP.
Jalen Hurts and Jordan Mailata have shaped a deadly bond AP
The largest query now could be whether or not the Eagles have what it takes to again it up.
Philly bade farewell to veterans James Bradberry and Darius Slay nearly instantly after lifting the Lombardi Trophy, however aside from that their core group stays in tact.
The final time the Eagles made it to the ultimate sport of the post-season, they began sizzling the next 12 months however ran out of gasoline, so it will likely be as much as coach Nick Sirianni and the senior gamers on the roster to make sure that historical past would not repeat itself.
The defending champions sit on the second line of betting to win the large one once more.
ARE TRAVIS KELCE’S CHIEFS ABLE TO BOUNCE BACK?
Travis Kelce AP
After successful back-to-back championships, many believed the Kansas Metropolis dynasty was destined to roll by the Eagles in final 12 months’s season finale.
What ensued was a demoralising 40-22 defeat, stopping the Chiefs from changing into the primary staff in Tremendous Bowl historical past to safe an elusive three-peat.
Whereas no person can low cost what the Chiefs have achieved over the previous half a decade, the loss might carry some psychological wounds into their 2025 marketing campaign.
Travis Kelce is one other 12 months older and was beginning to present indicators of slowing down, whereas the partitions seemed like they have been closing in on star quarterback Patrick Mahomes loads of instances – most notably within the largest sport of the season towards Philadelphia.
Mahomes is likely one of the all-time greats and it will take a courageous man or lady to put in writing him off from bouncing again to the top of the game, particularly with the enduring Andy Reid nonetheless on the headset and dealing with the clipboard.
Patrick Mahomes AP Picture/David J. Phillip
The opposite actuality is the Chiefs papered over numerous cracks final season, scraping by in a plethora of video games by one rating or much less – however that is what successful organisations can do and generally that is all they want to do by the common season.
Kansas Metropolis are proper close to the highest of the betting marketplace for the Tremendous Bowl this season, however a stacked AFC convention that additionally options the Buffalo Payments and Baltimore Ravens means it will not be a straightforward process to even make it that far.
WHO TAKES OUT THE MVP?
If the race for the Tremendous Bowl is as stacked as ever heading into this season, the league MVP race is much more so with some elite skills within the combine.
Final 12 months, Josh Allen gained the award for the primary time after an unimaginable marketing campaign that noticed him throw for 28 touchdowns and one other 12 speeding scores himself.
Josh Allen with the NFL MVP trophy AP
The truth that the highest particular person award skews closely in the direction of quarterbacks means Allen might be proper up there once more, particularly given the very fact the Payments are Tremendous Bowl hopefuls.
A victory for the fan-favourite would see him be part of each Mahomes and Lamar Jackson as present gamers with two MVP awards, whereas Aaron Rodgers sits clear with 4 gongs.
Rodgers – who’s getting into his twenty second and doubtlessly final season in new colors – is seen as a protracted shot to maneuver degree with Peyton Manning and win a fifth MVP award.
Regardless of a down 12 months for the Cincinnati Bengals that noticed them miss the playoffs, Joe Burrow continued to place up unbelievable numbers on offence and might be in rivalry, together with his two major weapons – Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins – signing new contracts.
Burrow sat on the high of the pile for passing touchdowns final season with 43 and there is motive to consider the eccentric poster boy can put up comparable numbers once more.
Joe Burrow Getty
The likes of Detroit’s Jared Goff and Washington’s Jayden Daniels look to be primed for standout seasons, whereas third-year quarterback Jordan Love ought to profit from an ever-improving roster on the Inexperienced Bay Packers and appears to be rising in confidence.
Jalen Hurts cannot be discounted both, whereas Justin Herbert and Baker Mayfield would want a lot to go their method to be named because the league’s greatest participant.
Mahomes, Allen and Jackson have established themselves because the cream of the present quarterback crop, however do not be stunned to see a contemporary face take out the MVP.
WILL AARON RODGERS HELP SNAP STEELERS CURSE?
Aaron Rodgers in Steelers coaching camp Getty
He is one of many biggest gamers to ever placed on an NFL helmet, however the legendary profession of Aaron Rodgers seems set to be coming to an finish.
The four-time league MVP will enter his twenty second season however might be donning new colors, together with his well-documented transfer to the Pittsburgh Steelers dividing opinion.
Rodgers, at the least from a numbers perspective, is an improve on what Mike Tomlin has had at his disposal within the quarterback place for the previous few years.
Nevertheless, there are query marks over Rodgers given he turns 42 in December and can also be coming off a tricky two-year run with New York Jets, the place he missed a complete season as a result of an Achilles rupture and tasted victory simply 5 video games final 12 months.
Regardless of the very fact Tomlin has by no means coached a dropping season in his 20-year stint, the difficulty for the Steelers is that they have not gained a playoff sport in nearly a decade and have been bundled out on wildcard weekend in two-straight years.
Might the polarising and eccentric Rodgers be the one to finish that undesirable streak and finish his profession with some sort of unlikely fairytale?
With one of many NFL’s greatest defences headlined by TJ Watt, Jalen Ramsey and Cameron Heyward at their disposal, Pittsburgh will at all times discover a method to be within the contest – however the offence has been a significant concern since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement in 2020.
T.J. Watt is likely one of the greatest linebackers within the NFL Getty
Final season, the Steelers averaged simply 22.4 factors per sport – which ranked them fifteenth for the league – as Russell Wilson and Justin Fields shared the quarterback function.
Rodgers has some weapons to work with within the type of DK Metcalf and Pat Freirermuth, however the depth within the extensive receiver room seems fairly dicey after George Pickens’ exit.
Roethlisberger stated on his personal “Footbahlin” podcast that this present Steelers staff has been constructed to push for a championship this season with Rodgers underneath centre.
However in actuality – even when it will be a dream method for Rodgers to exit – there will not be many tipping the Steelers to assert an elusive, record-breaking seventh Tremendous Bowl.
CAN THE LIONS END SUPER BOWL DROUGHT?
Jared Goff Getty
It has been heartbreak central for Detroit over the previous two seasons and their followers might be determined for a flip of fortunes this time round.
Within the 2023 playoffs, the Lions have been one half away from reaching their first Tremendous Bowl however blew a 24-7 lead towards the San Francisco 49ers within the NFC championship sport.
Final season, Detroit began off extremely sizzling and it seemed prefer it was going to be their 12 months, particularly with Jared Goff enjoying the very best soccer of his profession.
Sadly, regardless of ending with the very best document within the NFC, a mounting injury toll saw the Lions limp into the post-season and so they have been quickly bundled out by a red-hot Commanders outfit within the divisional spherical.
One of many key males who spent a lot of final season on the sidelines was former No.2 draft decide Aidan Hutchinson, who went down with a broken leg in week six of the regular season and didn’t return after Detroit’s untimely playoff exit.
With the stud defensive finish returning to the sphere for the 2025 pre-season and coach Dan Campbell already singing Hutchinson’s praises, that ought to give the remainder of the Lions defence a large enhance in confidence.
Aidan Hutchinson Getty
On the offensive facet of the sphere, extensive receiver Amon-Ra St Brown and tight finish Sam Laporta proceed to cement themselves as a number of the elite gamers of their respective positions, whereas the one-two punch of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs at working again makes the Lions a dangerous risk with Goff within the chief playmaking function.
Detroit did lose offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to move teaching roles at rival franchises, but when Campbell and Goff will help the squad overcome these setbacks, there’s nonetheless loads of motive to be optimistic.
If they can not overcome their Tremendous Bowl hoodoo this season, issues might get a little bit testy within the Motor Metropolis for a fanbase determined to cheer their staff in the direction of glory.
