What’s With All the Upsets in the N.F.L.?
The New York Times
As tempting as it is to blame parity, there are other causes for the underdog wins that have shaped the 2021 regular season.
If the N.F.L. season ended today, there would be no playoffs or Super Bowl because too few teams are worthy of the postseason. Or perhaps it just feels that way because so many of the league’s top contenders are reeling from recent upsets.
The Buffalo Bills lost to the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. The Dallas Cowboys lost to the middling Denver Broncos. The lowly Giants took down the surging Las Vegas Raiders.
The Los Angeles Rams lost to the Tennessee Titans, who were without running back Derrick Henry, the bulldozing focal point of their offense. Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the injury-plagued New Orleans Saints before their bye in Week 8; the Saints celebrated on Sunday by losing to the Atlanta Falcons. And while not technically an upset, the Green Bay Packers lost to the scuffling Kansas City Chiefs, due in large part to Aaron Rodgers’s Covid-related absence.
