NFL (2025 Season)

[webny99]

Josh Allen scored his 76th career rushing TD today, officially passing Cam Newton to set the new NFL record.
He now has 83 rushing TD's including playoffs, second only to Derrick Henry among all NFL players since 2018.

[webny99]

The old NFL saying that "the season doesn't start until Thanksgiving" seems more apropos than ever this year.

Only 10 teams (4 in the AFC, 6 in the NFC) are truly cooked, and the remaining 22 have life as we enter December, so it's no surprise that there will be a lot of games with major playoff implications down the stretch. I'm counting no less than seven great games with playoff, division title, and/or seeding implications next week alone.

File that under least shocking upsets of all time.

Exactly how I feel about Panthers 31, Rams 28. Everyone had become WAY too comfortable with the Rams as the unanimous, undisputed best team in the league. In about an hour the Panthers will officially be relevant in December for the first time in many years. They will have a real shot at the NFC South title if they can win one or both matchups against a mediocre Bucs team.

[thenetwork]

And how did I know that last night's SNF would go into overtime, and the Broncos fate would be revealed in the last few minutes of the game, AGAIN?

Because they are the 2025 Denver Broncos!

[JayhawkCO]

Is it just me, or is it that there are no "really good" teams this year? The Rams had looked the best and then lost to the Panthers. Patriots, Broncos, and Bears have good records, but I don't trust any of them at all.

[NWI_Irish96]

Is it just me, or is it that there are no "really good" teams this year? The Rams had looked the best and then lost to the Panthers. Patriots, Broncos, and Bears have good records, but I don't trust any of them at all.

Right now I'd say the Rams and Seahawks are the best teams.

As for the Bears, I've been saying their record is a product of a weak schedule, but they looked awfully good Friday. Still want to see them win at least 2 of 3 remaining division games before I buy in fully though.

[JayhawkCO]

Is it just me, or is it that there are no "really good" teams this year? The Rams had looked the best and then lost to the Panthers. Patriots, Broncos, and Bears have good records, but I don't trust any of them at all.

Right now I'd say the Rams and Seahawks are the best teams.

As for the Bears, I've been saying their record is a product of a weak schedule, but they looked awfully good Friday. Still want to see them win at least 2 of 3 remaining division games before I buy in fully though.

They might be the best teams, but I think the top tier teams this season are much worse than top tier teams of seasons past.

[webny99]

https://x.com/NFLFrascella/status/1995501149080686630

Thoughts on this take that 20 teams (10 per conference) could potentially win the Super Bowl this season?
Among teams with a real chance to make the playoffs, the Steelers are the most notable absence.

[NWI_Irish96]

https://x.com/NFLFrascella/status/1995501149080686630

Thoughts on this take that 20 teams (10 per conference) could potentially win the Super Bowl this season?
Among teams with a real chance to make the playoffs, the Steelers are the most notable absence.

I agree the list is much larger than normal, but nowhere near that long.

Rams, Seahawks, Bears, Packers, Eagles, Patriots, Bills, Broncos, Ravens

[thspfc]

https://x.com/NFLFrascella/status/1995501149080686630

Thoughts on this take that 20 teams (10 per conference) could potentially win the Super Bowl this season?
Among teams with a real chance to make the playoffs, the Steelers are the most notable absence.

Fair chance: Rams, Seahawks, Broncos, Packers
Outside chance: Patriots (don't strike me as a contender but could be 1 seed in a weak conference), Eagles (gotta figure it out), Bills (run game, Josh Allen, maybe no Chiefs), 49ers (need legendary CMC carry), Colts (offensive upside), Texans (defense)

Nobody else has the upside. CHI is not good enough at QB and turnover-reliant on defense. KC would need to win 9 straight, of which 7 would be against .500+ teams and 5 would be on the road. BAL, even if healthy, is half the team they were the previous two seasons. And no one else is worth mentioning in that discussion.

[jgb191]

Not meaning to sound like I'm underestimate my Texans, (but actually everyone at work keeps saying I'm always sounding like overselling the opponents) I can't help but feel worried that the KC Chiefs, as bad as they've looked lately, are going to turn on their switch this Sunday Night and playing lights out against my team; I almost think they're intentionally saving their best game against the Texans. 

Remember last year I was downright paranoid having to face the 4-13 Patriots in Foxborough, a place where the Texans had never won before last year?  Yeah this is my classic default mode: every team in the NFL is scary to me even the teams with the worst records can beat any other team on any weekend.

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://x.com/NFLFrascella/status/1995501149080686630

Thoughts on this take that 20 teams (10 per conference) could potentially win the Super Bowl this season?
Among teams with a real chance to make the playoffs, the Steelers are the most notable absence.

Fair chance: Rams, Seahawks, Broncos, Packers
Outside chance: Patriots (don't strike me as a contender but could be 1 seed in a weak conference), Eagles (gotta figure it out), Bills (run game, Josh Allen, maybe no Chiefs), 49ers (need legendary CMC carry), Colts (offensive upside), Texans (defense)

Nobody else has the upside. CHI is not good enough at QB and turnover-reliant on defense. KC would need to win 9 straight, of which 7 would be against .500+ teams and 5 would be on the road. BAL, even if healthy, is half the team they were the previous two seasons. And no one else is worth mentioning in that discussion.

Even if BAL (or PIT) wins the division, they are going to be "one and done" in the playoffs. The AFC North is a weak division this year.
KC has a tough road ahead of them to even get into the playoffs (Last five games in their schedule- Texans (SNF), Chargers, Titans, Broncos (TNF on Christmas), and Raiders). Heck, the Chargers have an even tougher schedule to end the season (Eagles (MNF), Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans, and Broncos)!

[Ted$8roadFan]

Patriots beat the hapless NY Giants 33-15 on Monday Night Football for their 10th straight win. They're now 11-2 heading into the bye, best in the league. Their turnaround is unbelievable.

[jgb191]

They're now 11-2 heading into the bye, best in the league. Their turnaround is unbelievable.

Mike Vrabel is easily the Coach of the Year -- it shouldn't even remotely be a debate!  Case Closed!!

[thspfc]

They're now 11-2 heading into the bye, best in the league. Their turnaround is unbelievable.

Mike Vrabel is easily the Coach of the Year -- it shouldn't even remotely be a debate!  Case Closed!!

Should be 3rd to Shanahan and Ben . . .

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Outside of 2019, Vrabel's teams had a bad habit of major playoff letdowns with the Titans, and that tends to follow coaches wherever they go.

[webny99]

Their turnaround schedule is unbelievable.

FTFY.

[Henry]

They're now 11-2 heading into the bye, best in the league. Their turnaround is unbelievable.

Mike Vrabel is easily the Coach of the Year -- it shouldn't even remotely be a debate!  Case Closed!!

It helps that he was coached by Bill Belichick back in the day, and he's probably borrowed heavily from that guy's playbook. And crowning someone the next Tom Brady is proving to be a very tall order, but I like what I'm seeing from Drake Maye. (Remember, the Patriots sucked when Brady came on board too, and look where he got them!)

[Ted$8roadFan]

Yes, the Pats have been helped by their lighter schedule, which they won't have next year. And high draft picks resulting from their 8-26 record the last two seasons. But they've certainly made the most of it.

[mgk920]

The Bears play their division rivals Packers twice in the next three weekends, too, including this coming Sunday at Green Bay.  We shall see how it goes.

Mike

[NWI_Irish96]

The Bears play the division rivals Packers twice in the next three weekends, too, including this coming Sunday at Green Bay.  We shall see how it goes.

Mike

Bears probably safely in the playoffs with a split and possibly win the division. Packers are such an enigma. Some games they look like Super Bowl champs and other games they look like they could lose to the Jets.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Packers are such an enigma. Some games they look like Super Bowl champs and other games they look like they could lose to the Jets.

Their defense will probably keep them in every game, the question will be if they can manage enough offense once they get in the playoffs. It's only one regular season game, but how their offense does against the Broncos in a couple weeks will probably tell a lot about how far they can go.

[webny99]

Packers are such an enigma. Some games they look like Super Bowl champs and other games they look like they could lose to the Jets.

Meanwhile, the Bills have beaten Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield while losing to Tua, Michael Penix Jr and Davis Mills.

[jgb191]

KC is a 3 to 4 point favorite against Houston and for several justifiable reasons:  The Chiefs have the better offense; they have home-field, the crowd, & weather advantage; they know these Texans very well (having beaten them twice a year ago); they have the NFL's desire to see the Chiefs in the playoffs; and with their season on the line the Chiefs are widely expected to play the best game of their lives to keep their title hopes alive for another week. 

Can our Texans defense keep our team in the ballgame or possibly even win it for us?  Stay Tuned -- Even though the Texans are my team, I'd be too foolish to bet against KC.

[webny99]

For those curious about the state of the AFC North: There is currently a ~90% chance that the AFC North winner ends up as the AFC's #4 seed, per ESPN.

Even the Bucs, who are in first place of quintessentially awful NFC South, have a better chance of earning a #3 seed or higher.

[Henry]

Bears probably safely in the playoffs with a split and possibly win the division.

I, and everybody else in Bear Down Nation, look forward to the day Caleb Williams makes his playoff debut. Who knows how far they'll go, but for right now, they're tops in a very tough division that figures to also send the Packers and Lions to the postseason as well. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they'll have to wait til next year, but it's not like they're 1-11 or anything (4-8 as of today, and could easily play spoiler to the contenders).