What Are We Learning?

One thing that occurs constantly in the NFL is the process of learning. Players are continually learning the playbook, coaches are learning about their players, teammates are learning from one another, and everyone is learning from their mistakes. They are learning how to play better and gaining knowledge after each game.

Also, while watching the games as fans, we learn something about the coaches, players, the team as a whole, or even the league as a whole. 

So far this season, we have learned the following about the NFL:

• Sometimes players aren’t the right fit with the team that drafts them, and they need to go somewhere else to thrive. Baker Mayfield, Daniel Jones, and Sam Darnold are all demonstrating this.
  

• After so many comebacks this season, teams are learning not to let up or slow down because even double-digit leads are not safe.

Regarding coaching, here is what we’ve learned so far:

• Head coach Mike Macdonald has made the Seahawks competitive, while the team he left (the Ravens) has struggled without him leading their defense. We’ve also learned how the Seahawks are better on the road than at home. They are 4-8 at home and 10-1 on the road since he took over in 2024.
  

• Head coach Mike Vrabel is a difference maker, as he has quickly turned the Patriots around, with a 4-2 record and a three-game winning streak. Meanwhile, his former team, the Titans, just fired the coach who replaced him.
  

• It doesn’t matter who the coach is for the Jets—this roster can’t win.

We have also learned the following during the first six weeks of the season:

• Aaron Rodgers can still play winning football, as evidenced by his Steelers' 4-1 record.
  

• The Bengals are a mess without quarterback Joe Burrow and have now lost four straight.
  

• Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers can win games when their rushing attack is successful.
  

• As long as Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes are still leading the Chiefs, they should never be counted out.
  

• The Cowboys' defense is a disaster, costing them games. According to ESPN Research, the Cowboys are the seventh team in the Super Bowl era to score 175 or more points and allow 175 or more points in the first six games of a season.
  

• As Cris Collinsworth pointed out, the Lions aren’t built to play from behind after they fell to the Chiefs on Sunday night. 
  

Every game teaches us something about each team, and as the season progresses, we will continue to learn more about each player. After each game, we gain a deeper understanding of how they play and acquire knowledge about a team’s abilities. 

The teams also learn about themselves after each game, as the mistakes teach them lessons about what to do differently. They then build on the good things they learned that worked, intending to repeat them. 

Just like the process of learning is always taking place in the NFL, the same should be true of our lives, especially as followers of Jesus. 

We want to continually learn from others as well as from our own mistakes so that we can do things differently. We must consider what lessons God is teaching us during each “game” or test and trial we face.

We also want people to learn about God’s love and transforming power by the way we live our lives and what we communicate to others about Him.

We ought to desire to know God personally and learn more about Him, understand His will, and gain insight and wisdom from His Word. 

Our prayer can come from Psalm 25:4-5 (ESV): “Make me to know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.”

2 Timothy 3:16 (AMP) says, “All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage].”

As followers of Jesus, let us continue to learn from Him and learn to live as He lived. 

He tells us in Matthew 11:29 (AMP), “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.”

Just like NFL teams, let’s build on the good things we learned that worked, with the intention of repeating them.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:9 (ESV), “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Titus 3:14 (ESV) states, “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

As we deepen our understanding of God and His ways, and learn more about ourselves and how He created us, we’ll become wiser, more fruitful, and more impactful.

As we study the Bible and read Proverbs, which is the book of wisdom, Proverbs 1:5 (AMP) explains, “The wise will hear and increase their learning, And the person of understanding will acquire wise counsel and the skill [to steer his course wisely and lead others to the truth]...”

Proverbs 9:9 (NLT) says, “Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more.”

Today, let’s acknowledge how much we’ve already learned and put it into practice, and let’s humbly admit we have so much more to learn as we seek God.

In times of introspection and prayer, let’s ask, What am I learning about God’s character? What am I learning about myself? What are others learning about me and from me? What do I need to learn from this trial or test? 

Let’s never stop learning!

I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I’m thankful that I can turn to Your Word and follow Jesus to learn what I need to know. Help me to continue to learn about Your character, to learn from my mistakes, and to learn from the trials I face. I pray that others would learn about You from the life I live. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.