8 Key Questions About the Chiefs, Cowboys and More

The 2024 NFL season is fast approaching. As with any season, there are stars fans want to see and storylines that will unfold, while there are pleasant surprises and counterintuitive disappointments on the horizon.

The Chicago Bears drafted USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick and sent Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been betting on quarterbacks, also acquiring Russell Wilson after he underperformed in two seasons with the Denver Broncos.

The San Francisco 49ers fell short in the Super Bowl, but they will be determined to win their first title since 1995. Expectations are high in Houston, as C.J. Stroud is coming off a spectacular rookie season that has Texans fans thinking big. And the Kansas City Chiefs are still the Kansas City Chiefs, and the two-time defending Super Bowl champions enter the season with a purpose.

Yes, many teams have high hopes for the 2024 season, which will undoubtedly be full of great performances, great moves and great matches.

Here are eight key questions for the upcoming season.

1. Can the Chiefs repeat their success?

The Chiefs have won the Super Bowl two seasons in a row. No team in NFL history has won three in a row, and perhaps no defending champion entered the season under as much scrutiny as Kansas City did this season. But the questions about how the team will fare are tied to a whole subset of other questions.

The Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance didn’t stop the team from winning a championship last season. Will it do the same this year? There’s also wide receiver Rashee Rice’s legal troubles and the ongoing controversy surrounding kicker Harrison Butker’s graduation speech at Benedictine College this spring.

While the team will try to overcome these off-the-field issues, there are also questions on the field. Even with players like Patrick Mahomes and Kelce leading the way, the Chiefs didn’t have a dominant offense last year and barely made it through the regular season, so can they withstand any sluggish play for a second straight year? Will rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy finally provide Mahomes with a viable option not named Kelce? Furthermore, is the team even worn down by the fatigue and fraying that came with playing so many games over the past few seasons?

2. Will Aaron Rodgers return to form?

Aaron Rodgers’ 2023 New York Jets debut ended in the most possible way for the New York Jets when he suffered a season-ending injury four plays into the game. The Jets never recovered, but Rodgers returned and added pieces around him. It’s Super Bowl or bust for a team whose fans are hungry for a title.

Will Rodgers, who enters the season at age 40, be as healthy and effective as he was in his Green Bay Packer days? Tom Brady is the only quarterback to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy at age 40 or older, and the Jets will likely go as far as Rodgers allows them to go.

3. Will the changing of the guard bring any change for the Los Angeles Chargers?

Jim Harbaugh won a national championship with the University of Michigan in January. Now he is the new coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, led by talented quarterback Justin Herbert.

Harbaugh has won everywhere he’s coached, and the Chargers are perennial underdogs, so this could be a good fit, although the team could use some help at wide receiver. The Chiefs are the team to beat in the AFC West, but the Chargers could be poised to make some noise.

4. What will happen to the Dallas Cowboys?

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t win the Super Bowl last year. Hell, they didn’t make it out of the wild card round of the playoffs, which just makes things even more exciting.

The story has become familiar in Big D: The Cowboys are a great regular-season team that wilts in the playoffs. They simply can’t afford to do the same this year, or coach Mike McCarthy could lose his job and quarterback Dak Prescott could end up as a center on another team.

5. How will the Baltimore Ravens react?

The Baltimore Ravens have a star quarterback in Lamar Jackson, who was the NFL MVP last season. That’s great, but like Prescott and the Cowboys, he needs to improve in the playoffs, where he’s struggled, most recently in last season’s AFC Championship loss to the Chiefs. The AFC looks to be on the rise again, so can Baltimore handle the pressure of the regular season and then keep it up in the postseason? Jackson and company will need to play at their level.

6. Is this the year the Green Bay Packers return to the NFL’s elite?

The Packers weren’t very good for much of last season, and there were rumors that Jordan Love wasn’t Aaron Rodgers’ replacement after Rodgers left for the Jets. But then they fixed things up and demolished the Cowboys in the playoffs before scaring the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.

This looks like a team on the rise, and it may just be a question of how high it can soar as it takes the next step. While Detroit should be tough in the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings are in transition and the Bears could be going through some growing pains in Chicago, so don’t overlook Green Bay.

7. Has a new day dawned in New England?

This year, the New England Patriots will begin the season without Tom Brady or Bill Belichick on the bench for the first time since 2000. The Pats have been really bad the last few years, but with Jerod Mayo replacing Belichick as head coach and quarterback (and 3rd overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft) Drake Maye on board, a new era has definitely begun.

Point guard Joe Milton III was also taken in the draft, and veteran Jacoby Brissett was brought in and will start the season opener. The question is, how long will it take for the team to get back on track? And how patient will the fans, who are so used to winning, be?

8. Who will bounce back?

After losing in the Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles seemed poised to become a force again last season. They started 10-1 before the wheels fell off, losing five of their final six regular-season games before quietly being eliminated from the playoffs with a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Future Hall of Famer Jason Kelce retired, and new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was brought in to help the Eagles get back to where they expect to be.

Joe Burrow is one of the league’s brightest lights, but injuries have derailed his 2023 plans. As one of the bigger threats to the Chiefs dynasty, Burrow must stay healthy if the Cincinnati Bengals want to win their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

Josh Allen is a great quarterback, but his recklessness can lead to turnovers. With wide receiver Stefon Diggs gone, who was traded to the Texans, the pressure is on Allen and the rest of the Buffalo Bills. The Jets should be better, and the Dolphins have proven to be formidable, making the Bills’ ability to rule the AFC East a more difficult challenge, not to mention their chances of dethroning the Chiefs. Some say the window of opportunity may be closing in Buffalo. Time will tell.