The NFL season is now 18 weeks long, and many of us fans are thrilled.  But the league continues to overestimate interest in "America's teams" — the Giants, Jets, Cowboys, Raiders, Patriots, 49ers, and Packers — and the favorites list looks the same as it did decades ago.  The NFL claims that those teams have more viewers, but this bias also deters other teams from gaining fans.

Instead of the defending champion Bucs opening the season against a real contender — the Packers, Saints, Chiefs, Rams, Colts, Bears, or Bills — the Bucs will host the Cowboys, who with their 6-10 record did not win the worst division in the league.  Yes, Dak Prescott will be back; that's no excuse.  Similar blunders will be staged throughout the season. Somehow the Giants, 49ers, and Vikings also show up in prime time.

Fans like me will figure out how to watch more games featuring teams we actually want to see.  Those include hometown favorites, of course, but also hot teams like the Cardinals, Ravens, Dolphins, Browns, Bills, Colts and Titans.

And with a few exceptions, the 2021 playoff picture will likely look a lot like last year's.  The NFC East will send a mediocre team (because that's the rule), but the true NFC contenders will come from the South and West.  The AFC's top guns will come from the North.  No, I am not dissing the Chiefs, Packers, and Bills; it's just that I expect the divisions I just named to send two — maybe three — teams to the playoffs while other divisions send (the mandatory) one.

The NFL Draft changed the 2021 season very little.  A few teams (the Jaguars and Falcons, for example) came out of it with players who will have immediate impact.  There are certainly many other great players in the 2021 crop, but they may not have any sizable effect this season.

Free agency had a much bigger influence over the 2021 season.  I think the Jets, Falcons, Cardinals, and Bengals made big strides, and the Cowboys and Giants got a little bit better.  Hopefully, one of the NFC East teams will at least post a winning record this time.

In the battle for the NFC title, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and Dak Prescott bring a lot of experience and continuity, but there are new quarterbacks in both L.A. and Detroit.  With Drew Brees retired and Aaron Rodgers' fate still up in the air, there could be quite a shakeup in the NFC.  

The AFC title race looks a lot more stable, with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Ryan Tannehill, Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield, Ben Roethlisberger, Justin Herbert, and Derrick Carr all calling signals for the same teams as they did last season.  

Looking ahead, the most ardent fans may want to explore NFL Sunday Ticket and Game Pass.  Doing so will ensure that we can see the teams we are excited about, not the teams who have the oldest, largest, traditional fan base.