"The AFC was turned completely on its ear. The perennial conference champion Kansas City Chiefs never really reached solid footing, then Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL and Andy Reid's team was a rare down and out. The Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson started 1-5 and didn't make the playoffs, and Joe Burrow was hurt early and the Cincinnati Bengals were never a factor. The only mainstay was the Buffalo Bills, led by Josh Allen, but they fell in the divisional round in agonizing fashion again."
"The NFC was much less turbulent, unless you considered putting the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, two more preseason afterthoughts, on your division winner dance card. Both played beautifully in the playoffs. The second NFC preseason pick behind Philly was the Detroit Lions, who were left on the sideline in January. So, why wouldn't we have a Super Bowl matchup between two teams that missed last year's postseason?"
The 2025 NFL season produced broad upheaval and rare parity across both conferences. Only the NFC East repeated, with the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles winning the division but exiting in the wild-card round. The AFC experienced major disruption: the Chiefs struggled after Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL, the Ravens and Bengals were hampered by slow starts and injuries, and the Bills again fell short despite Josh Allen. High-profile coaching departures followed in Buffalo, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, while the Jacksonville Jaguars unexpectedly claimed a division title. The NFC produced surprise division winners in Chicago and Carolina, and Detroit missed the playoffs.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]