2020 NFL Preview: Power Rankings, Predictions, Analysis For New Season

At long last, football has returned.

The 2020 NFL season will look and feel different than any year in recent memory, but it is nice to have pigskin back in our lives. Whether we can keep it around — such is life amid a global pandemic — remains to be seen, but we can’t wait to tee it up for real this week.

A lack of preseason paired with the unprecedented experience of having the NBA and NHL playoffs in the middle of August and September perhaps have slightly tempered excitement about the NFL season. The looming specter of COVID-19 outbreaks might keep some of us from diving in headfirst like we have in the past. But that should all change starting Thursday night when Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs begin their Super Bowl defense against the Houston Texans.

That excitement surely will carry into Sunday where a feast of divisional matchups await, highlighted by a can’t-see showdown between Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (still weird) visiting Drew Brees’ New Orleans Saints.

To get you ready for kickoff, NESN.com is putting out NFL preview content every day this week leading up to Thursday night’s debut.

Here’s what we have:

MONDAY
— Offseason trades, signings you might have missed
— Six ways COVID-19 pandemic might affect NFL season
— Ranking new teams’ uniforms from worst to best

TUESDAY
— What’s best- and worst-case scenario for Tom Brady, Bucs?
— What’s best- and worst-case scenario for Cam Newton, Patriots?
— Quarterback power rankings for 2020 NFL season
— Five players who could become stars in 2020

WEDNESDAY
— Week 1 NFL power rankings
— Five dark horse Super Bowl contenders
— 20 Patriots predictions for Year 1 without Tom Brady
— 20 bold predictions for 2020 NFL season

THURSDAY
— Super Bowl picks

Thumbnail photo via Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports Images