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When the new professional football season dawned in August 2023, there were so many lingering questions waiting to be answered. Would Aaron Rodgers lead the Jets to a Super Bowl? Could literally any team in the NFL figure out a way to stop the Brotherly Shove? Would Mark Davis finally look in a mirror and change his haircut? 

Now that the regular season is over and we made it to the other side, the NFL seems to be left with even more questions, as well as some lingering regret. Still, 2023 didn’t disappoint with its splashy storylines, feel-good moments, and quarterback drama. 

These are the top eight stories that the 2023 NFL season gifted to us, in no particular order. 

Aaron Rodgers Played Four Snaps 

Aaron Rodgers dominated the offseason when he left Green Bay to become the New York Jets’ quarterback. After 18 years in Green Bay, cryptic comments to the media, and a darkness retreat in Oregon, Rodgers traded in his Packers jersey for a different shade of green. The Jets experienced intense preseason hype and were touted as potential Super Bowl contenders. 

Then in the first Monday Night game of the season, Rodgers tore his Achilles on the offense’s fourth snap. The air left Met Life stadium as every single Jets fan did the surrender cobra.

Instead of leading his team to the end zone, Rodgers left the field on a medical cart. It was a good reminder that nothing is guaranteed in the NFL—and that season-ending injuries are even more devastating when a player doesn’t get to finish their first game. 

Truth be told, though, more sympathy went toward the Jets and their over-before-it-could-even-begin season than Aaron Rodgers himself. We’d all probably feel more sorry for the guy if he hadn’t continued to be in the news by constantly claiming he’d defy modern medical techniques and make a comeback during the season. At least he gets points for being the NFL’s biggest diva. 

Damar Hamlin Made His Return

It’s rare for NFL players to become household names. In 2023 everyone knew who Damar Hamlin was, but for all the wrong reasons. 

On January 2nd, Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, took a hard hit as he was making a tackle in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals and suffered cardiac arrest. His teammates watched, stunned, as he was resuscitated on the field. The Monday night game was completely called off.

For several hours, as it wasn’t clear whether Hamlin would survive, the reality of what a dangerous sport football is settled in. While the postseason proceeded as normal and more should have changed in the wake of Hamlin’s injury, especially in terms of player safety, January 2nd shook up the professional football world.

Fortunately, Hamlin not only made a full recovery from his injury, he also returned to the field as an active member of the Bill’s roster during the 2023 season. Hamlin has made a significant impact in his philanthropic endeavors, including raising awareness on AED education and cardiac arrest events in sports. 

Young & New Quarterbacks Stood Out

From Brock Purdy winning the starting position for the 49ers to Tommy DeVito’s Italian magic (and cutlets?), 2023 was filled with rookie and young quarterbacks who had feel-good stories. 

Purdy was Mr. Irrelevant, the very last pick of the NFL draft, in 2022. DeVito was completely undrafted this year when the New York Giants tapped him as their starter. DeVito’s success wasn’t as sustained as Purdy’s, but on top of winning a few games, he became a national sensation with his infamous hand gestures and attention-grabbing agent, who’s totally not in the mafia. 

Then there was Jordan Love, who had to escape Aaron Rodgers’ shadow and successfully led the Packers to the playoffs after the team’s general manager said Love had 10 games to prove his worth. There was C.J. Stroud, the second pick of the 2023 draft, who had an incredible rookie year and also led his team to the playoffs when the Texans were supposed to be in complete rebuild mode. 

Actually, Stroud’s entire background story is incredible—check out this in-depth article on his journey from nearly becoming homeless to entering the NFL draft. 

Someone Named Taylor Started Dating a Guy Who Plays for the Chiefs

It’s a love story if you just say yes. As if Taylor Swift’s 2023 wasn’t already successful enough, she also took the NFL by storm when she started showing up to Kansas City Chiefs games to support tight end Travis Kelce. After a couple of games where Swift clearly and obviously left the stadium with Kelce and he gushed about her on his podcast, the couple publicly confirmed their relationship. 

Kelce’s jersey sales skyrocketed immediately. Suddenly the NFL realized that celebrities show up to games, and Tony Romo got excited. At first, Swift seemed to be a good-luck charm—then the Chiefs started losing. 

Good luck or not, the NFL’s hoping that this is a romance that’ll last longer than one season; the league’s profiting off the fact that Swift had a blank space and wrote Kelce’s name. Since the Chiefs got into the postseason, there’s at least one more chance for the NFL’s cameras to creep on Swift’s suite and take advantage of the Taylor Swift effect.

Lamar Jackson Burned All of His Critics 

Lost in the Aaron Rodgers drama of last spring’s offseason was the Lamar Jackson drama. In March, while Rodgers was still insisting that the Jets’ hiring of Nathaniel Hackett had nothing to do with him, the Baltimore Ravens placed their quarterback on the non-exclusive franchise tag. 

What does that tag mean? It means that Jackson’s contract extension was under negotiation, Jackson was asking for more guaranteed money than the Ravens were willing to commit, and while Jackson was free to pursue other teams, the Ravens were to trying to restrict the circumstances so they could keep him.

Surprisingly, no one else in the league took a chance, despite Jackson’s 2019 MVP and franchise-defining quarterback play. In the end he stuck with his old team. 

That was complacency many quarterback-needy teams are surely regretting. The Ravens ended the season as the AFC’s #1 seed and Jackson is once again the favorite for winning the Most Valuable Player award. 

Lamar Jackson knew his worth. The teams who couldn’t accept that are watching the Super Bowl this year, instead of playing in it.  

Rich Owners Had Poor Attitudes 

Before the 2023 season started, Ron Snyder was finally and officially outed from owning the Washington Commanders. Snyder’s ownership was defined by sexism, racism, and just a few financial problems. It was well-known that he was the worst owner in the entire NFL (imagine being the worst person in a room full of billionaires)—to the point where fans cheered and cried when it became official that their team could embrace a new era. 

Snyder’s departure left the role of Worst Owner™ unfulfilled. So, it was immediately taken by David Tepper, who owns the Carolina Panthers—those Panthers, who are 2-15 on the season and don’t even have the first pick in 2024 because they traded that away to get Bryce Young. 

Like the Broncos, the Panthers haven’t been able to replicate the success of their 2015-2016 season, and Tepper is making it worse with his rash decisions and extreme impatience. Tepper’s only owned the team since 2018, but is already on his sixth head coach. At one of the Panther’s last games, he threw his drink at an opposing team’s fan. If Tepper loses his cool that much in public, imagine what he’s like in staff meetings.

So Snyder is out, but apparently NFL ownership still has to have That Dude. We can take a moment to appreciate the Bears’ owner, Virginia Halas McCaskey. 

Russel Wilson Isn’t Cooking in Denver 

In 2012, Peyton Manning rode into Denver, was nicknamed the Sheriff during four winning seasons, and rode away into the sunset with a Super Bowl trophy at the end of the 2015 season. The Broncos haven’t been able to find a decent quarterback since. 

Russell Wilson was hoping to repeat Manning’s sunset ride, but after two mediocre seasons it looks like Denver is moving on from Wilson as quarterback. A new sheriff’s in town—head coach Sean Payton—and he’s running the offense his way.

After a not-too-hot start (that one 70-point loss, anyone?) and some heated sideline arguments, even a four-game winning streak couldn’t save Wilson. He was benched for the team’s last couple of games and seems to be on the outs, despite a record-breaking contract extension that was supposed to last for years. 

If it’s true that the Broncos will be letting Wilson go in the offseason, the only thing Wilson will be leaving Denver with is a bunch of regrets. Let’s ride, Broncos Country? Let’s not. 

Dynasties Are Falling

The 2023 season was a good reminder that success is hard to sustain. While it’s easy to think of Super Bowl winners as simply the best team of the year, a lot has to fall into place in order to play in February—let alone to play in the big game consistently, or at least compete for the privilege several years in a row. 

2023 saw the fall of a couple of dynasties. Teams that used to be an automatic given for the postseason have faded—most notably, the Patriots and the Chiefs. While the Chiefs are in the playoffs, they finished 11-6 on the year and have a postseason game on the road for the first time during the Mahomes era. While its defense was one of the best in the NFL, the Chiefs’ offense often seemed lost and confused.

The Patriots, meanwhile, were out of the playoffs by October. They ended the season 4-13, lost to the Jets for the first time in almost ten years, and rumors abounded that Bill Belichick was seeing his final days in Boston. This season was nothing but bad break after bad break for Belichick’s winning record. 

But does anyone actually like seeing the same teams go to the Super Bowl year after year? AFC fans are rejoicing because they can finally experience something different. The road to the Super Bowl doesn’t run through Foxborough or Kansas City?! We’re officially living in an alternate timeline. Or are good teams finally getting their due?

Either way, it’s tough to hold sympathy for franchises that are are so used to dominating, they literally can’t handle losing. Welcome to how the rest of the NFL feels! There’s always next year… or next decade.