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Bill BarnwellESPN Staff Writer
This wasn’t anything like a normal year, but there is still a lot to learn from the strangest NFL season in recent memory. The rules of the game haven’t changed, but in the midst of the highest-grossing season in league history, there are both tried-and-true takeaways that repeat themselves and new lessons to carry through to 2021 and beyond.
Let’s take a look at some of the lessons I learned from the 2020 season and how they showed up in week 15. Let’s start with something the league’s worst team should have known from the start:
Jump to a topic:
There is no tank in Frank Gore
Success in coaching is difficult to predict
QBs can really improve (and decrease)
Superstar QBs do not guarantee success
Playing badly with QB can break a foul
High ankle sprains are a disaster
Teams don’t improve on linear paths
Lesson # 1: There is no tank in Frank Gore
If Jets fans regret their fate for the next decade as quarterback Trevor Lawrence revives the Jaguars, they’ll have Adam Gase and his favorite veteran run back to thank them. The Jets drove their usual touchdown on the opening drive and a few field goals to a 13-0 lead over the Rams on Sunday, then mostly tried to kill the clock on the back of their 37-year-old lead rusher.
Gore played for a winless team whose fans wanted nothing more than 0-16. Gore’s 23 rushes were the most for the veteran since his time with the Colts in 2017. Those runs yielded only 59 yards, but he converted a fourth-and-goal for a touchdown, then took a few first downs on the final drive to seal the first win of the season in New York.