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topicnews · September 5, 2024

Super Bowl & Munich game: The most important things about the NFL season

Super Bowl & Munich game: The most important things about the NFL season

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 February 9, 2025 in New Orleans The best teams from the AFC and NFC will compete against each other.

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 after 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 were in the Super Bowl last year together with the Chiefs, will also have a good chance. For the expensive squad around quarterback Brock Purdy, it could be one of the last opportunities to win the title before the NFL salary rules slow down the Californian team from 2025 and reduce their chances of success.

The Baltimore Ravens, the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles are also among the favorites before the season.

The Miami Dolphins cheerleaders in action at an NFL American football game.

The showgirls on the sidelines have long since become highly professional athletes. The training is extremely hard. But at the end there is a trophy or even a university scholarship.06.10.2023 | 44:20 mins

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, who came last last last year, were allowed to select a player first. In their opinion, the greatest talent was quarterback Caleb Williams – despite his experience, few eyes will be on him. 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 four-year contract worth a new $120 million. This makes the 24-year-old one of the highest-paid ball 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.

USA, Lake Forest: Football player Amon-Ra St. Brown (M) stands between his brothers Osiris (l) and Equanimeous after being selected at the NFL Draft

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 in the final, 53-player squads of their teams made it:

  • Jacob Johnson (Stuttgart/Fullback, most recently: New York Giants)
  • Equatorial 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 if other players are injured.

Who is missing?

Jason Kelce (center), the brother of Chiefs star and Taylor Swift partner Travis Kelce, has ended his career. 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. However, the digital recording of ball position, which was tested in the preseason, has been postponed until 2025.

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