The 2008 season opened with Tom Brady suffering a year-ending injury, ultimately resulting in the Patriots missing the playoffs after their 18-1 campaign. The defending champion Giants were derailed by Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg. MVP Peyton Manning and the Colts lost the AFC South crown to 36-year-old Kerry Collins and the Titans. Both conference title games featured a 6-seed. And the season ended with the Cardinals (9-7) — in their first winning season in a decade, led by 37-year-old Kurt Warner — coming within inches of winning the Super Bowl.
Now, a new candidate for the strangest NFL season of the past two decades has emerged.
Whether this is a one-year hiccup or the start of a new era, the NFL enters the final month of the regular season with an unlikely group of contenders.
In August, the AFC seemed certain to be won by one of the league’s four best quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow), but likely only the Bills (9-4) will even reach the playoffs.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
