It has been two weeks since the Philadelphia Eagles dismantled the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, but for whatever reason, it feels like it has been two months. It is like the 2024 NFL season was just a distant dream, something that began forever ago and ended too quickly. As always, we got the standard elements for the long script. There were teams that expectedly made the playoffs, those that surprised us out of nowhere, those that fell short of their mark, and then others that just flat out disappointed in more ways than one. Just like last year, we’re going to revisit every team’s season and see what went right, along with the bumps and detours that they had to experience. Let’s hop right in.
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ARIZONA CARDINALS (8-9)
Even though the Arizona Cardinals were five times better than what they were over the last couple of years, I just didn’t see this as a successful season. As the months wore on, the team was just too inconsistent and their identity kept changing on a week-to-week basis. From September to early October, nobody thought that Arizona was even close to making the postseason. Even with impressive victories over the Rams and 49ers, four losses to eventual playoff teams showed that the Cardinals still had a long way to go towards achieving respectability. Then they went on a four game winning streak, and all of a sudden, Arizona was atop the NFC West! It started with two gutsy victories against the Chargers and Dolphins, then a couple of dominant blowout wins over the Bears and Jets! Their offense was finding its form and the defense was opportunistic, so even though they were not hailed as Super Bowl contenders, the Cardinals looked like a dangerous sleeper team to look out for in the playoffs! Unfortunately, the same vice that derailed Arizona’s seasons in 2020 and 2021 hit the organization once again this year: they collapsed. It began with two deflating losses to Seattle, continued with a blown thirteen-point lead to Minnesota, and then it culminated with an overtime defeat to a five-win Panthers team on the road that officially eliminated them from playoff contention.
2025 is a make-or-break year for the Arizona Cardinals. Kyler Murray might be the face of the franchise, but he has an incredibly low ceiling and it is only going to be a matter of time before this team starts searching for his eventual replacement. Head coach Jonathan Gannon and general manager Monti Ossenfort also have something to prove in their respective positions. Last year might have been a huge improvement, but this next season has to be one where they enter themselves into the playoff race. They have promising cornerstones in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride, along with a workhorse at running back in James Conner and a well-improved offensive line, but there are still holes that need to be addressed, particularly on the defense. The leading player in sacks was Zaven Collins with five, and the Cardinals only had two guys with more than one interception. This is supposed to be the unit that Gannon was supposed to turn around, yet they barely made any investments around it last year. The minute they add a couple of more dogs on that side of the ball, then I will start to have more hope for this franchise. Until then, I am just going to expect another average season, one where they start out strong and then fizzle out towards the end.
ATLANTA FALCONS (8-9)
I thought the Falcons were going to win the NFC South this year. I really did. It was definitely a bold take, considering that Kirk Cousins was coming off a torn Achilles, but I had faith in the roster to get the job done. Hell, they started 6-3 and it looked like they were going to keep climbing higher and higher. They stunned the Eagles on the road in Week 2 on Monday Night Football, they beat Tampa Bay twice, and dismantled the Cowboys in the process! Sure, the Falcons had flaws, but so did a lot of teams that ended up making the playoffs. After November 3, however, the collapse officially began. With Cousins as the starter, Atlanta lost four out of their next five games, throwing just one touchdown pass and nine interceptions! Four of them were in one of those losses to the Chargers. The only win was on Monday Night Football against a Raiders team that was quarterbacked by Desmond Ridder. Even then, the Falcons barely escaped 15-9 because Cousins can’t throw for more than 115 yards in a game against a defense without Maxx Crosby on the other side! Thank goodness that Las Vegas was terrible that season. However, at that point, Atlanta saw enough and pulled the plug on the quarterback they gave $100 million guaranteed earlier in the offseason. The Falcons benched Cousins for rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr., which might have been the wise pick in hindsight, but still makes the front office look even more idiotic. The first-year player out of Washington showed tremendous promise, but unfortunately, two overtime losses to the Commanders and Panthers officially eliminated Atlanta from playoff contention.
The future might be bright with Penix, but this was still a failure of a season. Kirk Cousins unraveled at the worst possible time, nobody stood out on the defensive side of the ball, and both Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot might be on the hot seat entering 2025. There is still time for things to turn around, especially since they have their quarterback, but they have a bleak offseason coming up. They are nine million dollars over the cap, mainly due to the fact that they owe Cousins $40 million this season, so there might be more than a few players that are going to be shown the door. Fontenot better not screw up this year’s draft the way he did the last two seasons, because if Atlanta somehow disappoints once again, then his days as the general manager will more than likely be over.
BALTIMORE RAVENS (12-5)
Another NFL season, another heartbreaking end for the Baltimore Ravens. Even when things are finally starting to head in the right direction, they can never overcome their postseason demons. It doesn’t matter that Lamar Jackson had the best season of his career with forty-one touchdown passes and just four picks. It doesn’t matter that Derrick Henry changed life for the Ravens offense with a 1900 yard campaign. This season was once again a failure. Heck, they started 0-2 and by the time November rolled around, they weren’t even leading their division! That was because the defense got off to an abysmal start, surrendering less than twenty points in only two games! When you get torched by the likes of Gardner Minshew and Jameis Winston, there were serious problems that needed to be addressed. Even though Baltimore was 5-3 at that point, giant alarm bells were ringing. Fortunately, that all got fixed when defensive coordinator Zach Orr moved Kyle Hamilton back over to deep safety, and the entire team completely resurged as a result. The Ravens only lost two more games in the regular season and ended up clinching the AFC North for a second year in a row, but instead of being excited and optimistic, nobody else cared. Why? Because this same movie has played out over and over again since Lamar Jackson has been the starting quarterback. We all knew what he was capable of in the regular season, but unless he validated himself with a Super Bowl victory, then this team was not going to get the ultimate respect they thought they deserved.
In the Wild Card round against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens handled their business with a resounding victory, but the biggest challenge was the following week on the road against the Buffalo Bills. The two leading candidates for MVP went head-to-head in a “win or go home” situation, and both guys knew that the loser would never hear the end of it from the rest of the critics. Take a wild guess as to which quarterback ended up suffering that fate. Even though Mark Andrews was the guy that dropped the two point conversion pass that would have sent the game into overtime, it was two turnovers from Lamar Jackson that allowed Buffalo to take a commanding 21-10 lead at halftime. Baltimore lost this playoff game the same way they did in their previous defeats: they kept getting in their own way! This is why I said that until I actually see it happen for myself, that I will not have faith in the Ravens winning the AFC. They can go 16-1 next year and it still wouldn’t matter. Congratulations, you are football’s version of the New York Yankees.
BUFFALO BILLS (13-4)
On the surface, the Bills had an excellent season. Josh Allen finally won his first MVP, he single-handedly led them to a thirteen-win season with another AFC East title, and they reached the conference championship for the first time since 2020. Yet, to say that this was another failed year would be an understatement because, you guessed it, they lost to the Chiefs… AGAIN! When Buffalo handed Kansas City its first defeat of the season at home in the regular season, my response was “who cares”? Because I knew that this was eventually going to happen in the playoffs. For the fourth time in five years, the boogeyman known as Patrick Mahomes crushed the hearts of every single member in the Mafia, and reminded everybody else who the hell he was. It just feels like watching the Toronto Raptors when they had Demar DeRozan. Every single regular season, they were a legitimate postseason contender that always had a strong chance of winning the Eastern Conference, but ran into the brick wall known as LeBron James every single time and got their souls completely shattered. For the Buffalo Bills, we all know what they have to do to win a Super Bowl: beat the Chiefs! Yet, they never stop creating ways to fail every single time. It doesn’t matter how many players they add or subtract, nor will it matter if Allen adds another MVP award to his resume. Unless Buffalo beats that team, then nobody should expect them to come out on top in the AFC.
Right now, the Bills are $14 million over the cap, which is the third worst in the NFL. Maybe it’s because Von Miller’s albatross of a contract is rearing over the organization’s heads, or that Allen is supposed to be paid close to $45 million next year. Once again, this is going to be another gloomy offseason for this football team that will include a few key departures, yet as long as they have their quarterback fully healthy, there is no doubt that Buffalo will still be a respected playoff contender. But like I said, until they finally knock off Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs from the throne, then the words “Super Bowl” should not be spoken surrounding this football team.
CAROLINA PANTHERS (5-12)
If you asked me what I thought of the Carolina Panthers at the end of October, I would have said that they were the biggest laughing stock in all of football. Bryce Young was benched after the first two games of the season with his confidence completely shattered, Andy Dalton only managed to win one of his five starts, and it looked like yet another lost season for this football team. We all knew that Dave Canales was placed in the worst situation possible to be a head coach, but nobody thought it was going to be this horrible yet again. But when the first-year guy in charge decided to give Young another shot to redeem himself, not only did the sophomore quarterback make the most out of his second chance, but he absolutely ran away with it. In the final ten games of the season, Young was responsible for twenty touchdowns and only six interceptions. Even though he went 4-6 in that span, there were still plenty of notable performances along the way. He took both the Eagles and Chiefs down to the wire, upset the New Orleans Saints in his first home start since the benching, and came up with two outstanding overtime victories against the Cardinals and Panthers. Canales has a reputation of turning around the careers of lost quarterbacks, such as Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith. Now, Bryce Young looks to be another promising addition and the future is finally looking bright in Carolina. They still have a lot of work to do in the offseason, but the Panthers have their quarterback and for once, David Tepper is not in the news for the wrong reasons.
CHICAGO BEARS (5-12)
When the Bears started out the season 4-2, I legitimately thought they had a strong chance of making the playoffs. Sure, those victories might have been weak opponents, but it felt like things were starting to turn the corner for Chicago. They drafted their quarterback for the future in Caleb Williams, their offense had a whole lot of talent and first-round pedigree, and their defense was a top ten scoring unit. But all it took was one blunder on a Hail Mary against the Washington Commanders for everything to completely fall apart. Since then, they went on an eleven game losing streak and it only got worse and worse for this football team. After a 19-3 loss against the Patriots, where Williams got sacked nine times, the offensive coordinator Shane Waldron got fired. The following week against the Packers, a potential game-winning field goal got blocked. Two weeks later on Thanksgiving against the Lions, Matt Eberflus decided to not burn a timeout on the final drive and not only lost the game, but his job as well. As the losses piled up, the team lost its heart and passion for the sport, but at least ended the season on a high note with a victory against the Packers at Lambeau Field. Unfortunately, it didn’t completely take away the sour tastes out of their mouths.
Williams was sacked the most times by far in the NFL and interim head coach Thomas Brown couldn’t get this ship back on the right track, but Chicago fans are hoping that 2005 is the year their team finally looks respectable. Now that former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is the next head coach, this Bears offense should definitely turn a new leaf with a more modern approach and brighter vision. He managed to assemble a quality staff with promising assistants, including Dennis Allen as the new defensive coordinator. It might sound skeptical at first, but then you remember that he is a better play-caller than a head coach. I am personally hoping that this team finally climbs its way out of the mud, but they have their work cut out for them. Not only do they play in an extremely tough conference, but the three teams in their division made the playoffs, so it’s going to take time for Chicago to reach their potential.
CINCINNATI BENGALS (9-8)
Don’t be fooled by the winning record. This season was an outright failure for the Cincinnati Bengals. “But how could you say that?”, you might ask. “Joe Burrow won Comeback Player of the Year for the second time in his career! Ja’Marr Chase was the Triple Crown Leader! Trey Hendrickson led the league in sacks!” Yeah, and they still missed the playoffs. The defense was outright abysmal, the offense turned the ball over at the most inopportune times, the offensive line woes prevailed, and it resulted in eight painfully heartbreaking defeats. However, there is one that sticks out to me the most. It wasn’t the pass interference penalty that cost them a victory over the Chiefs. It wasn’t getting torched by Jayden Daniels on Monday Night Football, nor was it losing to Baltimore twice. Instead, it was at home against the Patriots… in week one. Cincinnati might have run the table to finish the season 9-8, but if they found a way to win that particular game, then they might have gotten back into the postseason after all. Who knows? They might have been a dangerous sleeper team, especially since things on both sides of the ball stabilized over time.
Instead, there are lingering questions that are going to be answered this offseason. The first is what will Cincinnati do with Tee Higgins? The reports are that he is going to be placed under the franchise tag again, but that might be a problem considering that Ja’Marr Chase is due for a huge contract extension. The next is will Trey Hendrickson stay in the jungle? He might be a thirty year old player at an extremely physical position, but he was quite possibly the only reason why the Bengals defense was relevant that year. The owner Mike Brown is not exactly an aggressive one when it comes to splurging money, so the odds of both Hendrickson and Higgins returning are incredibly slim. The good news is that Cincinnati has the eighth most cap space in the league at around $58 million, but the huge question is what they are willing to do with it this offseason.
CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-14)
To say that the Cleveland Browns took a step back this season would be a total understatement. All it took was the opening game at home against the Dallas Cowboys to know that they were going to be a disastrous team. It went exactly the way that I feared it would. Deshaun Watson’s porous play was going to hold the team back, the defense would take a step back, and that’s why they only won three games. Nick Chubb tried to come back, but he was nowhere near the same player at limited strength, and he ended up breaking his foot. Amari Cooper got traded to Buffalo at the deadline, which was partly why Jerry Jeudy had a surprising breakout season with over 1220 receiving yards. But the worst part was that once again, Watson suffered yet another season ending injury in the middle of the year. This time, it was a torn Achilles that got ruptured again a few months later. Dorian Thompson-Robinson predictably flopped, Jameis Winston had a couple of promising wins against the Ravens and Steelers but remained a turnover factory, and to say that Bailey Zappe was disappointing would be viewed as a compliment.
It’s no wonder why Myles Garrett, the best player on this team, wants the hell out. Cleveland is refusing to budge because they know they have no chance without him, but Garrett has all of the leverage in the world. He is not going to suffer the same fate as Hall of Famer Joe Thomas did and he absolutely shouldn’t because he is too great to be stuck on a dumpster fire. The fact that there are reports that the Browns are offering him an exorbitant contract is just incredibly desperate and pathetic, not just because of the trade request itself, but also due to the fact that they still have to pay Deshaun Watson’s awful contract. Cleveland has the second overall pick in this year’s draft, so they should draft Cam Ward or Shadeur Sanders as the eventual replacement, but how many more names can be added to that long shirt of quarterbacks that this team has ruined and wasted?
DALLAS COWBOYS (7-10)
I can hear the excuses now. “We would have made the playoffs if Dak was healthy!” “The defense substantially improved in the second half of the season!” “You all just hate on the Dallas Cowboys as a hobby.” Don’t even get me started Cowboys fans, you weren’t going anywhere regardless. When Dak was on the field, this team was an outright disaster. The defense under Mike Zimmer looked abhorrent, the offensive identity was “CeeDee Lamb or bust” with no running game whatsoever, and they didn’t win at home until Thanksgiving against the Giants with Drew Lock. Yes, it was unfortunate that Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury and CeeDee Lamb was playing through a sprained AC joint, but when an expected playoff team starts off 3-7, there is little to no chance of them jumping back into the race. To be fair, there were positive moments. They came up with a down-to-the-wire victory against Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football, upset the Commanders on the road with Cooper Rush in late November, and then surprised the rest of us by beating Tampa Bay in late December to improve to 7-8. Unfortunately for Dallas, the blowout losses were too staggering to overcome. They got demolished in their home opener against the Saints 44-19, slaughtered by Detroit 47-9, quashed by the Eagles 34-6, and pulverized by Houston 34-10.
As much as Jerry Jones wanted to pretend that everything was fine, he knew that changes needed to be made. He would have liked to have Mike McCarthy back as the head coach, but to block him from requesting interviews with other teams and then fire him a few days later was just classes in and of itself. But hey, Jerry might have the perfect replacement. Brian Schottenheimer… yeah you might as well write off 2025. Wait, Matt Eberflus is the defensive coordinator? Yep, you might as well not watch this team. I’m not surprised that Jerry chose a puppet to obey to his demands, but to promote an offensive coordinator that didn’t call the plays in Dallas and had failed experiences everywhere else just proves that the Cowboys do not care about winning. They’re just content with mediocrity, ratings, and headlines. You might as well have brought back McCarthy if we knew this was your Plan B. If Micah Parsons doesn’t get a new contract and decides to want out as well, then roll the tanks everybody.
DENVER BRONCOS (10-7)
Let’s just say that I was incredibly wrong about the Denver Broncos this year. I thought I wouldn’t be after an 0-2 start, but this organization completely exceeded expectations in a way I didn’t think possible. After the debacle between Russell Wilson and Sean Payton, it looked like this team was heading towards being a laughing stock, but the veteran head coach turned things around and established a strong culture in the Mile High. We should’ve known that their blowout victory over Tampa Bay in Week 3 wasn’t a fluke, or in the following road matchup against the Jets. Bo Nix slowly developed into one of the most promising rookie quarterbacks in the league, the defense was a dominant unit led by defensive player of the year Patrick Surtain II and Nik Bonitto, and it all culminated with a playoff appearance for the first time in almost a decade! Heck, if their potential game-winning field goal against the Chiefs didn’t get blocked, they would have swept the two-time defending champions! Even though Denver didn’t have enough to beat the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round, it was still an amazing season for them. Obviously they have a couple of things to patch up, but as long as they continue to build on their foundation, it is only going to get better for this football team.
DETROIT LIONS (15-2)
The Detroit Lions had the best season in franchise history. Jared Goff was an MVP candidate. Dan Campbell was nominated for Coach of the Year honors. Their offense was one of the most well-balanced and efficient units in the league. Yet they were one-and-done in the playoffs. The obvious reason why was because of the several injuries on their defense, which included the best player Aidan Hutchinson with a broken leg. Detroit had to resort to washed up veterans and unproven backups, which paid a price in the end, but I don’t believe that was the biggest reason why they lost to Washington in the divisional round. To me, it was five turnovers that the Lions offense committed, four of them from their quarterback. The only people that Detroit could have blamed for this playoff defeat were themselves because they kept getting in their own way ad nauseum. This might have been the team that everybody wanted to see in the Super Bowl, but in hindsight, they would have been ripped apart by Philadelphia in the NFC Championship. Heck, even if they did make it to New Orleans, the Chiefs would most likely be the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
Unfortunately, the pain did not end in that playoff loss. Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, the two coordinators that played a part in the revival of the franchise, are gone. Terrell Williams, their assistant head coach, accepted the defensive coordinator job with the Patriots. Plenty more assistants followed in different directions. This was the year that Detroit needed to win with the core they had and they completely failed. Now I’m not saying that this team is going to completely fall apart. They still have around $49 million in cap space and they are going to be a destination franchise for plenty of free agents. We all know that as long as they are fully healthy, this team can go places. However, general manager Brad Holmes knows that he has a ton of work to do by improving the depth on this roster, because he cannot continue to let the injury bug plague the hopes of this franchise and the city of Detroit.
GREEN BAY PACKERS (11-6)
The Packers reached expectations and made it back to the playoffs, but unfortunately, their season started and ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In the Wild Card, Jordan Love threw three interceptions in a bitter 22-10 defeat, and it was a car crash that I saw coming a mile away. Don’t get me wrong, Josh Jacobs had an outstanding bounce back season with 1300 rushing yards and Xavier McKinney was a beast with eight interceptions, but Green Bay had more than a few glaring flaws. Their defense lacked a pass rush or a healthy secondary, Jordan Love missed a few games due to injury, Christian Watson unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in the regular season finale against Chicago, and the team went 1-5 in the NFC North. That included getting swept by both the Lions AND the Vikings, two teams that also entered the playoffs, which placed the Packers in the second tier of NFL teams. They were a respected playoff squad, but not one that was going to go on a deep run. It sucks because they have a likeable roster and coaching staff, but that’s the fate for a lot of teams that are similarly constructed.
Green Bay knows that they have more than a few moves to make in the offseason, and while they save their best for the draft, they should not sleep in free agency. The team has around $45 million in cap space and it can be used to fill a lot of holes that were too apparent the year before. 2023 was the season they overachieved, 2024 was the year they went two steps ahead but one step back, so 2025 needs to be one where the potential is fully reached.
HOUSTON TEXANS (10-7)
When you look at the surface, you might say that the Texans were not as different as the year before. They went 10-7, won the AFC South, dominated in the Wild Card, and then fell to a powerhouse in the second round. That would be an easy viewpoint, but if you ask me, this team looked five times worse than the year before. With all the moves they made on both sides of the ball, I thought they would be the biggest threat to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. Then the season started and I was proven very wrong. Yeah they might have made the playoffs, but I don’t know how Houston wouldn’t have been able to win that sorry excuse of a division that is called the AFC South. In almost every victory, the Texans barely pulled it out, relying on the opponent’s self-destruction to bail them out. Just ask Josh Allen what happened in Week 5 this season. But for the most part, when they had to play a real team, they got exposed as a wannabe pretender. CJ Stroud fell into a stunning sophomore slump, the offensive line was one of the most undisciplined and inefficient units in the league, both Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs suffered season-ending knee injuries, and the defense fell apart in more than a few games. Take a Sunday night game against the Lions, where Jared Goff threw five interceptions as Houston led 23-7, only to choke the game away by surrendering nineteen unanswered points and capping it off with a walkoff field goal by Jake Bates. Two blowout defeats to Minnesota and Baltimore were just flat out depressing, but then two stunning upset losses to the Jets and Titans just proved that they were a guaranteed first round exit in the playoffs. If it were not for a man named Caleb Williams, Stroud would have been the most sacked quarterback in the NFL this year.
Some respect was regained after Houston demolished the Chargers in the Wild Card 32-12, but there was still anger because we have been waiting for a performance like that from this team all season long. Then reality slapped the Texans in the face in the next round against the Chiefs, but according to them, it was the refs that won that game. They are totally the reason why Stroud got sacked eight times and Ka’imi Fairbairn whiffed three kicking attempts. As it relates to the upcoming 2025 season, there is no doubt that they are the better team in the AFC South. The problem is that it is not saying much at all. They have the talent to go on a deep run, but for whatever reason, things just never clicked on all cylinders. Bobby Slowik went from a potential head coaching candidate as a promising offensive coordinator to a guy that was searching for employment one year later. DeMeco Ryans was a deserving Coach of the Year candidate last season, but the team took a skid in his direction and it will be up to him to get them back on the right track. More importantly, CJ Stroud has to prove that last year was a fluke and get back to where he was in his rookie season, where he took the league by storm and put the team on his back to victory. Once they acknowledge that last year was unacceptable, then things can start to improve over time.
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-9)
I’m not going to lie. When I typed in the record for the Indianapolis Colts this season, I was seriously stunned that they won eight games. When you look at their quarterback carousel, porous defense, and some of the losses that they endured, it is a flat out miracle that this team even had a chance of making the playoffs. But when Drew Lock torched this sorry excuse of a team at MetLife Stadium, Indianapolis was mercifully eliminated from contention. Way to waste another promising season from Jonathan Taylor, everyone. Despite the win-loss record, this team was incredibly hard to watch. Before the year started, I said that Anthony Richardson was going to be this team’s X factor that would determine if they would be successful or not. That answer was a resounding no as he had the league’s worst completion percentage record at 47.7%. It makes Tim Boyle and Bailey Zappe look like promising backup options. It is why some of the top guys on their offense were under utilized and why Richardson got benched in the middle of the year, only to be thrusted back into the lineup because Joe Flacco no longer had the magic he had when he was in Cleveland last year. At least the offensive line was still a sturdy unit, but I wish I could say the same for the defense because it was still a wreck and it ended up costing Gus Bradley his job as the defensive coordinator.
Entering 2025, everybody’s jobs are on the line. Shane Steichen apparently cannot win the locker room, Chris Ballard has well reached his expiration date, yet Jim Irsay is still deluded in the sense that the Colts are still competitive and can make the playoffs. Even if they do overachieve, what is the reward? Getting destroyed by a division winner with bigger aspirations? Who in the world wants to see that? Unfortunately, I don’t think Indianapolis can do much when it comes to upgrading at quarterback. The draft class for that position is incredibly weak and there aren’t a lot of promising free agents available, so unless Richardson comes out of nowhere and turns into the next Cam Newton, then it’s going to be another mediocre year at best. Such is the price when you think that no changes need to be made.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-13)
My goodness, this season was a trainwreck for Jacksonville. I knew they weren’t good enough to make the playoffs, but I at least thought that they would have a decent season. It turned out that the Jaguars did not recover from their collapse last year and decided to carry it over into 2024. Some fans want to blame it on the injury bug, but let’s face it, the season was a disaster long before it happened. Before getting injured, Trevor Lawrence proved to the rest of the world that the contract extension he received is already an albatross, throwing just eleven touchdowns and seven interceptions in ten games played. Mac Jones wasn’t completely awful in backup duty, but he was nowhere near the solution that Jacksonville needed to save their season. Besides Tank Bigsby proving to be a reliable running back, the only bright spot that this team had was Brian Thomas Jr., who shined as a rookie with close to 1300 receiving yards and ten touchdowns, cementing his spot as the focal point of the passing game. I wish I could say the same about the defense, which once again imploded. I thought the hiring of Ryan Nielsen would have made them a better unit, but instead, they surrendered the second most yards and fifth most points. Who knew that you needed more than two players to be a legitimate unit?
Because of the abysmal season, the Jaguars decided to let go of head coach Doug Pederson, which was honestly the right move to make. He might have brought this team back to the playoffs after the abysmal Urban Meyer run, but since then, that has proven to be a fluke. Yet general manager Trent Baalke stayed put for the next couple of months, and it proved to be a costly decision, because two of the top head coaching candidates decided to back out because of potential managerial conflicts. What an absolute surprise! Eventually, Shad Khan did what he should have done in the first place and shove Baalke out the door, which prompted Liam Coen to reconsider the head coaching position! Better yet, why not add a rising executive in James Gladstone to be the new general manager, a long-time scout with the Rams? I’m not going to say that the Jaguars are back on the map because it is going to take a lot of work for this team to return to its winning ways, but things are starting to improve. Hopefully, Coen can unlock the potential in Trevor Lawrence the way he did for Baker Mayfield last year in Tampa. Jacksonville didn’t give him that ridiculous extension to look average, but to lift this team into playoff contention year after year. Otherwise, his career is going to be in grave jeopardy and the Jaguars might have to start from scratch yet again.
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (15-2)
Some of you might still be stunned that the Chiefs got incredibly punked by the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl a couple of weeks ago. Yet when you look back on it in hindsight, it was inevitable that this would happen from the first game of the regular season. Obviously, the old saying is that “great teams find ways to win”, but it was blatant that Kansas City was not as feared as they were in the past. It took a toe to beat Baltimore, a flag to beat Cincinnati, a blocked kick against Denver, a botched snap against the Raiders, an overtime victory over Tampa, and a walkoff field goal against Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers! Even in some of their double digit victories, the Chiefs were only leading by one score entering the fourth quarter. They might have finished 15-2 with the number one seed in the AFC, but they realistically could have had a worse record, even if they still managed to escape with the division.
As the playoffs approached, there was only one thing surrounding the Chiefs organization: the first three-peat in NFL history. The media couldn’t shut up about it for months and if Kansas City were to succeed, everybody was ready to praise Patrick Mahomes as the GOAT over Tom Brady, which would have sent the sports world into a frenzy. Kansas City predictably handled its business against the Texans into the divisional round and held on against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills for the fourth time in five years, but the real test was in the Superdome against Philadelphia. The Chiefs did their best to stay relaxed and keep their cool for two weeks, but the Super Bowl fatigue was starting to set in for every player. Little did we all know how bad they would be defeated. It was 24-0 at halftime, 34-0 at one point in the third quarter, and then 40-6 in the fourth. The only reason why the final score was 40-22 was because of stat-padding against a backup defense in literal garbage time. The dreams of a three-peat were crushed and the GOAT talk that should never have been started in the first place was thrown into the trash can. Mahomes was sacked six times and turned it over thrice, and even though Kansas City’s defense kept Saquon Barkley in check, they were picked apart by Jalen Hurts for most of the night.
This might have been one of the worst losses in franchise history, but it was honestly for the best. There is a reason why a team has never been able to win three championships in a row and it is because it can take a massive toll, both physically and psychologically. There is no doubt that as long as they have Patrick Mahomes, they are still going to be a championship contender, but some questions still need to be answered. Does Travis Kelce have enough juice left for one last ride? Will the team be able to resign Trey Smith or Nick Bolton? How can they solve their issues at left tackle? These are minor issues, since the Kansas City Chiefs we are talking about. I’m not going to go out on a limb and say that they are going to have a down year because they are too great of a franchise to let that happen. But if this offseason doesn’t give anybody the chance to finally let out a huge sigh of relief and clear their minds, then let’s just say it might be a while before we see this team back on top.
LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (4-13)
So much for me thinking that the Raiders could have a decent season. However, when a team doesn’t have a contingency plan at quarterback and the defensive identity is “Maxx Crosby or bust”, then it’s no wonder why they only won four games this year. After they upset the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2, I truly thought that maybe Antonio Pierce would have taken this team in the right direction. Then the following week, they lost to Andy Dalton and the Carolina Panthers, which completely crushed any false hope that I might have had for this football team. Even though they were 2-2 by the start of October, the Raiders proceeded to lose ten straight games. In that span, Davante Adams was traded to the Jets, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was fired, and Maxx Crosby was ruled out for the season with an ankle injury. Gardner Minshew won the starting job at the start of the year, but not only lost his job to Aidan O’Connell, he also fractured his collarbone in a loss to the Denver Broncos that ended his season. O’Connell eventually came back and wasn’t completely horrible, but he proved that he was nowhere near the long-term solution for this football team. In a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he nearly suffered a season-ending knee injury that forced Desmond Ridder to start a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, but the Raiders were eliminated from playoff contention long before.
The miserable season that Las Vegas had to endure forced Mark Davis to fire both Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco. What a shocker, the Raiders blowing it up once again. Soon after, they found their next head coach in Pete Carroll and new general manager John Spytek of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There is no question that Carroll still has the enthusiasm and energy to be a head coach, but is he really the right guy moving forward? He might have been largely responsible for the renaissance of Geno Smith’s career, but his final years in Seattle were mediocre at best and he reached his expiration date long before he stepped down in 2023. He could be an excellent short-term solution, but if they don’t address the several weaknesses and flaws on the roster, then it is not going to take long before Davis pulls the trigger once again. They desperately need a quarterback, a running back, some complimentary wide receivers to help out standout tight end Brock Bowers, and the defense is not exactly the most sturdy unit in football. Enjoy a seven or eight win season at best, Vegas.
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (11-6)
I knew that Jim Harbaugh was going to be a successful head coach in Los Angeles, but it didn’t take too long for this team to make it back to the playoffs. Even though Justin Herbert didn’t post the most promising numbers, you can make the argument that he didn’t have to carry a huge chunk of the load the way he was forced to under Anthony Lynn and Brandon Staley. If you know anything about teams coached by Harbaugh, there are three principles that they always adhere to: run the ball, play sound defense, open up the passing game. In the 2024 regular season, Los Angeles achieved all of those goals.
After two season-ending knee injuries in three years, JK Dobbins had an incredible bounce-back campaign with over 900 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, which made him a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. Rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey became Herbert’s favorite target with over 1100 yards and seven touchdown receptions, which made him the focal point of the entire passing game! The defense, on the other hand, had the most impressive turnaround. They went from giving up the ninth most points in the league last year to allowing the fewest this season under Jesse Minter! However, their final game of the season turned out to be their worst. In a Wild Card game against the Houston Texans, where they were favored to win by two and a half points, the Chargers completely imploded. Justin Herbert had the worst game of his career with four interceptions, and while the defense did its best to keep the team in the game, they eventually wore out as the entire team got dismantled 32-12.
Even though the future is bright for the Chargers, that playoff defeat exposed the fact that they are going to be slotted in the second tier of NFL teams at best. They might have solid pieces on both sides of the ball, but neither of them have proved that they can show up in the biggest games, especially Justin Herbert. You can say the obvious and say they need to make a few changes with their roster, but they didn’t give their quarterback a huge contract extension to have an average season and get bounced out of the first round in the playoffs. It comes down to mental strength and toughness, so unless they can finally emerge out of nowhere and establish themselves as a legitimate contender, then all this team will be viewed at is “good but never great.” It was that way for years with Philip Rivers and it might happen again with Herbert.
LOS ANGELES RAMS (10-7)
This was honestly a weird season for the Los Angeles Rams. Yes they won their division and dismantled the fourteen-win Minnesota Vikings in the Wild Card round, but this team went through a lot of twists and turns. Earlier in the year, LA dealt with way too many injuries on both sides of the ball, which forced them to start the season 1-4. Fortunately, the more players that returned, the more wins the team stacked up. After struggling to beat opponents with a winning record last year, the Rams were able to take down some of the best in each conference. They overpowered Minnesota in an October Thursday night showdown, survived a high-scoring shootout against the Bills, swept the defending NFC champion 49ers, and came through in the clutch against Seattle! A five game winning streak in December not only earned Los Angeles a playoff berth, but they clinched the NFC West with a defensive victory over the Arizona Cardinals, the same team that blew them out 41-10 in their second game of the season.
The devastating wildfires that affected Los Angeles forced the Wild Card game to move to StateFarm Stadium in Arizona, but that didn’t stop the Rams from blowing out the Vikings 27-9 thanks to a nine-sack performance from their defense! Unfortunately, the Rams faced reality in the next round as the Philadelphia Eagles held on 28-22 in the snow, largely because of a 200+ yard performance from Saquon Barkley.
Normally in an offseason where there should be hope for the future, the Rams are not exactly heading in that direction right now. Both Sean McVay and Les Snead know that they cannot run it back with the same group in 2025 and it’s because of the inconsistency from the last two seasons. They have already announced that they are going to trade Cooper Kupp, the former Super Bowl MVP and triple crown winner, but the bigger headline is with Matthew Stafford. They haven’t granted him permission to seek a trade, but they have allowed him to meet with other teams to see what his value would be if the idea was presented. If Stafford stays on board for 2025, then there is no question that they are going to make the playoffs. But the Rams have not been able to reach their elite form since their Super Bowl season in 2021, so their ceiling is not as high as they would love for it to be right now.
MIAMI DOLPHINS (8-9)
I am not going to sugarcoat anything. I was not surprised in the slightest that the Dolphins missed the playoffs whatsoever. Don’t give me the excuse that Tua got injured again because when he was on the field, this team never learned from their mistakes last year. They continued to crap the bed against legitimate opponents, their offense was a travesty without Tua in the lineup, and the defense had little to no depth. It is honestly insulting to see a team with that much talent and star power on both sides of the ball fail to make the postseason, because it just shows that they didn’t have the chemistry nor the leadership it needed to finally shut down the narratives and overcome the odds. It is no wonder why Tyreek Hill demanded out after the final game of the year against the Jets, only for him to back out of his request. Head coach Mike McDaniel and general manager Chris Grier are largely responsible for letting this team spiral into this type of state, and even though they will return for the 2025 season, their seats are incredibly hot. One more underachieving year and both of them are going to be shown the door. You can sign as many players and throw as much money as you would like, but unless you fix the culture and toughen this team up, then the Miami Dolphins are going to be viewed as nothing more than overrated pretenders.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (14-3)
I normally don’t do this, but even though the Minnesota Vikings were one-and-done in the playoffs, I can’t be mad at them for coming up short. When you look at what they had to go through in the offseason, it was incredibly stunning to see them have as much success as they did. Think about this for a minute. Their rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson died tragically in a car accident, their rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy suffered a torn meniscus, Sam Darnold was the starter for this football team, and they still won fourteen games and only lost to two teams. Yes they got absolutely demolished in their final two matchups against the Lions and Rams, but the Vikings were by far the most surprising playoff team of the entire 2024 season. Sam Darnold had a renaissance in his career as he finished fifth in passing yards and touchdowns, Justin Jefferson continued to remind everybody he was the best receiver in football, and the defense under Brian Flores finished in the top five in both points allowed and sacks! Kevin O’Connell deservingly won Coach of the Year as a result of this amazing turnaround, but there is one huge question that he is eventually going to have to answer. Which quarterback will they roll with next year?
The numbers that Darnold posted were unbelievable, but his stock took a huge dip after two straight losses to end the season. There was a reason why Minnesota traded up to draft McCarthy in the first round, but because of that torn meniscus, we don’t even know what type of player he can be in this league. There is no question that the Vikings have the talent to make a deep playoff run, but without a long-term solution at that position, then their fortuitous ride is going to end too short once again.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (4-13)
I knew that the Patriots were not going to be good this season, but I did not think that they would only have four wins once again. I thought that now that Bill Belichick was gone that Jerod Mayo could be a breath of fresh air and finally lead this team in a promising direction. After they upset the Bengals in week one, the false hope was swimming in my veins. Then reality quickly set in as New England was exposed as a terrible team with no depth whatsoever, while their head coach Jerod Mayo proved to be Jim Tomsula 2.0. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett started the first five games before the keys were handed over to the rookie Drake Maye. It turned out he was the only bright spot of the offense. The offensive line was one of the worst in league thanks to a combination of injuries and ineffectiveness, the only reliable receivers were the tight ends, and Rhamondre Stevenson had a fumbling issue that forced him to sit the bench on multiple occasions.
As for the defense, to say that it completely regressed in the first year without Belichick would be a total understatement. It all began in the offseason when Matt Judon got traded to the Falcons and Christian Barmore was ruled out indefinitely due to blood clots, but it got worse from there. In the second game, Ja’Whaun Bentley suffered a torn pec and it caused the run defense to completely plummet as a result. A few weeks later, Jabrill Peppers was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List due to assault charges that were later dropped. The only bright spot on that unit was cornerback Christian Gonzalez, a candidate for both Comeback Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year with his ability to shut down some of the best receivers in the league! But the rest of the depth on this unit was outright abysmal, they had the second fewest takeaways, and were ranked dead last in sacks. At least they got to humiliate the Jets again, yet when a team loses thirteen games with several blowouts, the fans are never excited but just surprised.
Not even two hours after the final game of the season, Mayo was fired. It sucks because the politics of one-and-done coaches are cruel and unfair, but he didn’t do himself any favors by throwing everybody under the bus while taking little accountability for himself. Pretty soon, the Krafts found their replacement in Mike Vrabel. It was pretty obvious considering that is who they wanted all along ever since they fired Belichick, but because he was still under contract with the Titans, they had to settle with the original plan and stick with Mayo. Bringing back Vrabel is definitely a high risk high reward move. You know that he can establish a winning culture and be a tremendous upgrade over Mayo, but his last years in Tennessee didn’t provide the best results, so New England needs to be extremely aggressive in this offseason for them to not suffer the same fate. They have the most cap space in the league and the fourth overall pick in the draft, so if they don’t take advantage of their opportunities, then 2025 is going to be another frustrating year. But you know what everybody, things will be fine after all. You know why? Josh McDaniels is back! This team is turning into the Bruins, isn’t it?
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (5-12)
After week two, the Saints looked like the hottest team in football. Demolishing the Panthers 47-10 at home in the first game was one thing, but to obliterate the Cowboys on the road 44-19 gave everybody so much optimism about New Orleans being a scary playoff team. Myself included! Offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak was already getting mentioned in head coaching talks, Dennis Allen was being listed as a Coach of the Year candidate, and Derek Carr looked like he was returning to his 2016 form. Three months later, we can now say that this two-week stretch was a complete fluke. New Orleans proceeded to lose seven straight games and the team fell apart so badly that Allen was fired in the middle of the season after a stunning loss to Carolina in Week 9. Thank goodness that Marshon Lattimore got traded out of there while he still could. One huge reason why was because of the amount of injuries they suffered. Carr, Chris Olave, Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, Ryan Ramczyck, Paulson Adebo, Taysom Hill, and Erik McCoy are just some of the names mentioned. They had to rely on Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler as their backup quarterbacks, and when you finish below Carolina in the standings, then there is something seriously wrong with how your football team is being run.
If you thought the regular season was bad, then just enjoy another boring and uninspiring offseason full of cap hell and mediocre draft selections. It’s no wonder why Kellen Moore was the only one that wanted the head coaching job. They are $47 million over the cap, which is by far the worst in the NFL. Not only are the restructure penalties coming back to bite this team, but Carr is supposed to be owed $51 million! Why is Mickey Loomis still the general manager again? At least there’s the Pelicans… oh that’s right, they’re also garbage this year. Have a nice day New Orleans!
NEW YORK GIANTS (3-14)
Everybody knew that the Giants were going to be garbage the minute they let Saquon Barkley sign with their division rival Philadelphia Eagles, but nobody knew that it was going to be this horrible of a season. Andrew Thomas breaking his foot after six games played was a huge blow, but that’s not even the worst thing. It wasn’t the offensive line continuing to be a garbage heap or the defense underachieving, we all knew that would happen. Instead, it was the quarterback carousel that New York went through. I don’t know what’s more humiliating. The fact that Daniel Jones didn’t score a single touchdown at home until November or that the team decided to finally cut their losses and release him. After an overtime loss to the Panthers in Germany, Jones was demoted to the fourth spot on the depth chart. Then he was somehow playing on the scout team at safety. Finally he got cut and was allowed to sign onto the Vikings practice squad, which officially ended his tenure in the Big Blue. Enjoy Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito, and Tim Boyle for the next seven weeks Giants fans!
We all knew that this scenario would play out, but it happened a lot sooner than anybody could have guessed. Yet at the same time, who knew that handing a below-average quarterback a $160 million contract for four years would prove to be a complete disaster? The fact that Joe Schoen still has the job at general manager is mind-boggling, but John Mara is going to give him and Brian Daboll one last shot to bring this team back to respectability.
Not only did they suck at winning, but they couldn’t even tank right. With a chance to secure the first overall pick and select either Cam Ward or Shadeuer Sanders, all they had to do was lose at home against the Indianapolis Colts, yet Drew Lock decided to light up the Jersey skies with five total touchdowns in a 45-33 victory. Now they have the third pick in the draft, behind two teams that also need a quarterback. To put the final cherry on top, Barkley became the driving force of the Eagles offense and led them to a Super Bowl championship. Once again, how the hell is Schoen still there?
There is no question that if New York gets off to another atrocious start to the season that Mara is going to clean house once again. It’s just getting more and more apparent that their playoff appearance a couple of years ago was just a fluke, so unless they emerge out of nowhere from the shadows, then they will continue to rot in the league’s basement.
NEW YORK JETS (5-12)
I would say that this season for the Jets was yet another Butt Fumble, but that would imply that there was anything funny about this year. Watching them was outright depressing. Aaron Rodgers looked like a hollow shell of himself, the head coach and general manager were scapegoated and fired in the middle of the season, and everything came crashing down as a result! They stripped Nathaniel Hackett from offensive play-calling duties, they shipped Mike Williams out of town, and even traded for Davante Adams, yet New York was still a tragic dumpster fire. The only thing that Woody Johnson was known for that year was looking at player’s Madden ratings than trying to build a competitive football team. No wonder why he was the league’s worst graded owner by the NFLPA. Even when I thought the Jets had a chance to turn things around, they kept falling down to Earth and the jury was out on Rodgers’ tenure with the Jets. Once New York hired Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey as the next coach and general manager, they informed the future Hall of Famer that he would be released in the offseason, forcing the Jets to eat $23.5 million.
When New York made the move for the four-time MVP, the hope was that he would finally be the missing piece to an incredibly talented team that just needed a quarterback to make a long playoff run. Then the Achilles injury happened and those dreams were quickly crushed. Even when he returned, he was nowhere near the same and to be honest, I don’t know if he ever will be again. Yet at the same time, I don’t feel bad because he is the reason why this year was a disaster. Why do you ask? He’s the one that got Saleh and Douglas fired. He wanted to bring his guys with him, thinking that would be the best for the team, when it was only to keep him happy in reality. Hopefully, Glenn and Mougey can establish a strong foundation right away and get this team back on the right track, because I don’t know how much more pain the state of New York can deal with. They already have one garbage heap of a franchise playing in MetLife Stadium, but two is just too much to overcome.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (14-3)
If you told me that the Eagles were going to win the Super Bowl after getting demolished by Tampa Bay in Week 4, I would say you would know nothing about football. But since that loss, Philadelphia proved to be one of the best teams in the league, and it was mainly because of two factors: Saquon Barkley and an elite defense. The Eagles proceeded to go 12-1 for the rest of the regular season, they clinched the NFC East, and earned the second seed in the NFC. Barkley became just the ninth member of the 2000 rushing yard club, while Philly’s defense was by far the best in the NFL, after being one of the worst just last season. Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts wasn’t asked to carry a huge chunk of the load the way he was last year, and played his role perfectly. By the time the playoffs arrived, Philadelphia was a feared contender and the only team that could beat them was themselves.
In the Wild Card round against the Packers, the defense picked off Jordan Love three times and the offense was incredibly balanced in a 22-10 home victory. The following week against the Rams, even with Jalen Hurts getting sacked seven times, Barkley ran for over 200 yards with two explosive touchdown runs and survived 28-22 to advance to the NFC Championship. In that game, the Eagles scored 55 points and forced four turnovers against a red-hot Commanders team. The rematch against the Kansas City Chiefs was set and the only thing that Philadelphia was seeking for was revenge. In the Superdome, not only did the Eagles succeed, but they completely dismantled Kansas City’s chances of being the first team to win three consecutive championships. It was 24-0 at halftime, 34-0 at one point in the third quarter, and 40-6 in the fourth! Jalen Hurts won the MVP of that Super Bowl with a near-flawless performance, while the defense sacked Patrick Mahomes six times and forced him to cough the ball up three times.
For the second time in franchise history, the Eagles are Super Bowl champions and took down the best quarterback both times to reach that mountain top. What a way for Brandon Graham to end his career. Everybody in this organization deserves the utmost praise, including Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts, who were counted out all season long and still managed to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end. Cheers to you guys.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-7)
Of all of the teams in the National Football League, I was the least surprised with the Pittsburgh Steelers. I knew they were going to be mediocre and fluke their way into the playoffs, only to get destroyed in the first round. Justin Fields started the first six games of the season due to a nagging calf injury for Russell Wilson and led Pittsburgh to a 4-2 start, but the formula for winning was the same as it had been in the past: play great defense and manage the game on offense. However, when Wilson came back from injury, it looked like this team was finally going to move up to the top tier and establish themselves as a legitimate contender. He won six of his first seven starts, and before Christmas, the Steelers were 10-3 and atop the AFC North! It wasn’t like most of their wins were against terrible teams either! They were able to beat Washington and Cincinnati on the road, then stun Baltimore at home, which was supposed to widen the gap in the division! But once again, Pittsburgh outright collapsed. They lost their final four games of the regular season, stumbled into the postseason as the sixth seed in the AFC, and got bounced out by that same Ravens team in the Wild Card. The defense wore out and the offense became one-dimensional, but what matters apparently is that Mike Tomlin continued his long streak of consecutive seasons with a winning record. No he is never getting fired so the national media should stop trying to hype that narrative up.
It’s pretty obvious that Pittsburgh is not going to change because they are too stubborn to do so, but one question they do need to answer is what direction they will lean towards at quarterback. The draft class for that position is incredibly weak so the Steelers are either going to stick with Wilson and Fields, or they will go “bold” and acquire either Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford. Either way, they are still going to be a mediocre football team barring a miraculous turnaround, and it is going to stay that way because of complacency.
SAN FRANCISCO 49ers (6-11)
It is sad to think about this now, but when Patrick Mahomes threw the game winning touchdown to Mecole Hardman in Super Bowl 59, it completely slammed the Super Bowl window shut for the San Francisco 49ers. What happened the season after was a carbon copy of the 2020 season. Not only did several injuries prove to be too much for the team to overcome, but if you looked at how they played in the regular season, they looked like a team emotionally drained and exhausted. The offense was not as explosive as it had been in the past, the defense was no longer the feared unit that it was in the last few years, and even Jake Moody was starting to feel the pressure mounting with eleven missed kicks. They lost too many games that they couldn’t afford, their wins looked more and more fluky as time passed, and they were officially eliminated from contention after a crushing road loss to the Miami Dolphins of all teams.
Unfortunately, this offseason is not going to get any better. Even though Brock Purdy is going to get himself a nice contract extension, key pieces from their playoff runs will not be lucky. Deebo Samuel is more than likely going to be traded, Javon Hargrove will be released due to cap purposes, and more will come in the following weeks. I personally hope that San Francisco can bounce back from the doldrums in 2025, but their dreams of a Super Bowl championship have long been dead.
SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-7)
Not once did I think the Seahawks were going to have as successful of a season as they did. Even though they missed the playoffs, the fact that they won ten games and had a chance of winning the NFC West was flat out scary. However, thanks to an improved defense and a clutch offense, Seattle was able to overachieve far sooner than expected. Unfortunately, there were more than a few reasons why they came up short in the end. The first was that after starting the season 3-0, they lost six of their next seven games, which put Seattle in a hole that we thought they would be in at the beginning of the season. The second is that after rebounding to form at 8-5, they had two “must win” games against the Packers and Vikings at home, only for the Seahawks to fall flat both times. The third was that they lost the tiebreak to the Los Angeles Rams, who also beat them at home in overtime, so that ultimately gave LA the chance to make it back to the playoffs. If you fix either one of those three situations, you don’t have to worry about the near impossible.
The inconsistencies that hurt the team unfortunately cost offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb his job, but that doesn’t mean the future isn’t bright in Seattle. Besides Klint Kubiak leaving New Orleans to be the next offensive play-caller, head coach Mike McDonald did a great job installing a new attitude in this football team and he did an even better one turning around this defense. However, there are going to be more than a couple of questions surrounding this football. Is Geno Smith still the long-term solution moving forward? Will Seattle look to move on from DK Metcalf? What will the future be regarding Tyler Lockett? Whichever direction this franchise wants to head towards, the last thing they want is to take another few steps back. Seattle was within striking distance last season, so 2025 can’t be a year where they are stuck in the middle once again.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (10-7)
I’m personally happy that Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were able to win the NFC South once again and make it back to the playoffs, but I was not surprised that they went home in the first round. Mayfield might have had an awesome season with 4500 passing yards and forty-one touchdowns, but he also was tied for the league lead in interceptions and it reinforced his high-risk gunslinger attitude. The defense had way too many holes in all three levels, and when Antoine Winfield Jr. missed an extended period of time due to injury, it took more than a couple of steps back. Yet, they weren’t the up-and-down football team I thought they would be at the beginning of the season.
Even with a demoralizing defeat to Denver in Week 3 and a heartbreaking loss to Atlanta two weeks later, the Bucs started the year 4-2 and was in the driver’s seat of winning the NFC South. Unfortunately in a home loss to the Ravens on Monday Night Football, not only did they lose Mike Evans for four games because of a hamstring, but Chris Godwin suffered a dislocated ankle and was gone for the rest of the year. That caused the team to go on a four game losing streak and completely fall out of the playoff picture. But just like last season, Atlanta collapsed just when Tampa was able to turn it around, which saw the Buccaneers capture the division in a regular season finale victory to the Saints. Evans was able to return and post another 1000 yard campaign, Bucky Irving emerged as one of the best running backs in the league as a rookie, and many were hoping that Tampa could go on a deep playoff run.
Unfortunately, those hopes were vanquished in a decisive defeat to the Washington Commanders 23-20. From start to finish, Jayden Daniels picked apart the vulnerable Buccaneers defense, and a costly turnover in the fourth quarter allowed Washington to take the lead and win the game with a walkoff field goal. In hindsight, Tampa was going to lose to the Philadelphia Eagles no matter what, but it was still a heartbreaking end to another good season.
2025 is supposed to be a “make or break” year for the Buccaneers. Their offensive coordinator Liam Coen left to become the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, so Baker Mayfield will have a lot of pressure on his shoulders to continue to lead the offense in a positive direction. However, if Tampa Bay disappoints everybody once again, it won’t be Mayfield’s seat that will be on fire. That would go to head coach Todd Bowles. I think he’s a defensive genius and has done a solid job since Bruce Arians retired. But his units have only gotten worse as the years have gone by and it has been a huge reason for the playoff futility over the last four seasons. If these issues don’t get corrected soon and they have to rely on another late-season turnaround, then the Buccaneers might have to consider heading in another direction.
TENNESSEE TITANS (3-14)
Behold, the Carolina Panthers of the AFC! A team with terrible ownership, inept management, overwhelmed coaching, and a roster that implodes on itself with regularity! I knew this team wasn’t going to make the playoffs, but not in my wildest dreams did I think they would be the worst team in football. Everything that could have gone wrong for the Tennessee Titans did in more ways than one. Will Levis was an outright disaster and saw the bench on multiple occasions. DeAndre Hopkins got traded to Kansas City in the middle of the season and Calvin Ridley threw the coaches under the bus for not utilizing him properly. Linebacker Ernest Jones got traded for a downgrade named Jerome Baker. Their top acquisition L’Jarius Sneed got injured. The only good things that came from the Titans organization were the memes. Brian Callahan proved that he is nowhere near ready to be a head coach, yet he is going to stay on board for 2025. General manager Ran Carthon, on the other hand, will not. After beating Mike Vrabel in a power struggle last year, ownership decided that they probably screwed up and blew it up yet again. So you know what? Let’s take the assistant general manager from the Chiefs! That is definitely a way to promote some optimism for the fanbase. One last thing, I hope you all enjoyed watching AJ Brown win the Super Bowl!
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (12-5)
Who could have ever expected the Washington Commanders to be the most exciting team to watch in football, let alone the NFC? Thanks to Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels, the Commanders are finally back on the map as a respectable franchise again! Dan Snyder, you do not get to enjoy this one bit. I don’t think anybody believed that Washington was going to go 12-5, pull off two stunning road upsets against the Buccaneers and Lions, and then advance to the NFC Championship! Even though they ran into the brick wall known as the Philadelphia Eagles, this was still an amazing season for them! Daniels completely blossomed from day one and won the offensive rookie of the year, the offensive line went from a liability to an improved asset, and the defense molded into one of the most opportunistic units in the league. With the addition of a few more pieces to solidify the roster, there is no question that the Commanders are going to go on more than a couple of deep playoff runs. However, they have their work cut out for them. They might have overachieved this season, but now that everybody knows what to expect, Washington is going to have to overcome a lot more obstacles to get to the ultimate destination.
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