We love the NFL, even when it doesn’t love us back
Football is pain. Beautiful, exquisite, pain. For 17 weeks we fall in love all over again, maybe longer if we’re lucky — knowing full well that the season will likely end in heartache. We keep coming back, year after year, even when our team is terrible, because loyalty mandates it. It’s love often unrequited, spurred on by the fleeting hope that even the smallest of chance at glory is impossible to resist.
The majority of us know deep down that 2025 won’t be our year. Even if we don’t want to admit it. The shaky offensive line, the questionable quarterback, the suspect defense, all foes preventing us from finding the promised land on Super Bowl Sunday. Those of us who love mediocre teams treat the season less like a campaign for glory, and more like wistful hope for a problematic family member: We don’t expect them to be great, just a little better than the last time we saw them.
This is the one-sided love affair we have with football. We’re a nameless and faceless mass to the teams we love and the league itself. A commodity, to be traded on, marketed to, used to fill coffers, and expand. We will never be loved back the way we love our team, and somehow that’s okay. We’ve accepted it. We’ve grown, as child-like wonder at the titans of the NFL get replaced with the realization that players are the same flawed, complicated, messy people we all are.
This year we’ll be back. Next year we’ll be back. 10 years from now, we’ll still be back. Nothing on this earth is like NFL football. It’s not our summer fling, but our fall obsession — one that twists our weekends, consumes us like no other sport can, and leaves us in the cold of winter. We will probably be left wanting when the dust settles, and that’s okay, because there’s always next year. — James Dator
The New Orleans Saints are last. The Cincinnati Bengals are No. 19. The Kansas City Chiefs are No. 4. Check out our preseason power rankings, and come remind us how wrong we were during the regular season.
There’s no question the Ravens and Bills are two of the powerhouse teams in the AFC; heck, the entire NFL — but both have struggled to break the glass ceiling installed by the Kansas City Chiefs. With so many “close, but no cigar” moments, it’s right to ask whether 2025 is make or break for these teams as constructed, and what might need to change in the future.
In the constant push and pull of dominance on the gridiron, it felt like defenses finally started to gain the advantage again. Offenses were struggling, passing yards were down, and everyone was wondering where the explosive plays went. One of the ways NFL defenses fought back is through the use of simulated pressures, which has constantly seen their usage go up. According to PFF’s Jason DeLoach, 2024 saw all NFL teams use simulated pressures on 19.2% of snaps, the highest it’s been over a six year period starting in 2018. Yet, the trend that really stands out is that the sim pressure percentage has constantly risen in that same time period.
Let’s rank the NFL’s best offenses and defenses
JP Acosta predicted the best offenses and defenses for the 2025-26 season. Read his work:
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Doug Farrar’s top-101 NFL players for the 2025-26 season
Forget the NFL 100. Here’s a better look at the top 101 players in the NFL this season from Doug Farrar. Read his list here:
Could there really be five first-round QBs in next draft? We think so. The wild card will be a quarterback with the most recognizable last name in the sport, and he could change everything.
Superstars may lead the discussion when it comes to success in the NFL, but more often than not, it’s the guys you barely know who will make the plays needed when they’re needed.
Get to know the underdogs of the NFL through Doug Farrar’s Hidden Gems series, analyzing the best under-the-radar veteran, free-agent acquisition, and 2025 NFL Draft pick for all 32 teams.
From obvious comeback players of the year like Christian McCaffrey and Aidan Hutchinson, to a bold prediction that Travis Hunter can win BOTH offensive and defensive Rookie of the Year.
Pete Carroll is in, and Las Vegas is trying to right the ship with a culture shift. Mark Schofield is all-in on the Raiders, and believes they finally have what it takes to challenge the best teams in the AFC West in 2025.
Whether it’s underperformance or high expectations, these are the players who need to step up in 2025 if they hope to continue their careers as starters moving forward.
We hear football terms every weekend, but do you know what it all means? If you’ve struggled to understand your Tampa 2 and your Cover 0 we’ve got you covered. There’s no shame in needing a refresher.
From Andy Reid to Zac Taylor, we tier list the head coaches entering the 2025 season based on where we think they slot in. Where does your coach rank?
Everyone deserves to be excited for the season. We give you one reason to be hyped about your teams entering the 2025 season, and plenty of reasons to hate on your rivals.
