Football seasons are so odd. They hold a character all their own, complete with lingering blasts from the past, a solid middle ground, and an unanticipated, perhaps even premature evolution. These ingredients remain the perfect recipe for ever-expanding ratings.
2025 was endlessly entertaining while dangerously unpredictable. Some might argue this year was kookier than most, although it seems we have this same conversation every year. How the hell did that just happen and how did we not see it coming? I’d pull up an old quote from years past, but I’m too busy obsessing over new highlights. Out with the old players (and coaches: Tomlin, Harbaugh, McDermott) and in with the new breed, many advancing far sooner than expected. Expectation, after all, is the name of this game; if you don’t meet them, off you go in real time. The leash is short and tightening.
Within moments, a superstar, a franchise, and a fan base can run an entire range of emotions, from exhilarated, to downtrodden. Look no further than Caleb Williams’ improbable touchdown prayer to Cole Kmet that shook Soldier Field to its core. It’s our flair for the reactionary and the emotion that the slow simmer of a season, and lifetime of fandom, brings all of us fortunate enough to watch.
Tensions rise as the season progresses. Into the postseason, the games dwindle down with fewer footballs to watch. The countdown to next season for 28 teams has begun, some elated, already looking forward to next season, most pissed, close but no cigar.
This uneasy feeling is based upon expectations and perceived trajectory. Why are the Jaguars, who made it farther than the Texans, more elated about their future than their conference foe? The Bills and Bears both lost in overtime on the same weekend. The Bills lost on the road to the higher seed. The Bears lost at home to the lower seed, yet the Bears celebrate their season, and the Bills fired their coach. Hope is a wonderful thing yet runs its course when facing the burden of expectation.
After a convincing win in Pittsburgh, ending Mike Tomlin’s 19 year run with the Steelers, the Houston Texans stood one win away from a franchise milestone: the AFC Championship Game, winless in six previous tries. That was until CJ Stroud threw four interceptions and went from their offensive clear leader to having people wonder whether he was the right man for the job. Their 2025 defense was already being compared to the all-time greats, perhaps prematurely, for without a remotely comparable offense, those memories fade and opportunities wasted. What a difference a quarter makes, not that those questions didn’t already exist. They were merely compounded by a historically bad performance.
On the other side of the football, first year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, a man of instilling culture, turned around a 4-13 team to go 14-3 and somehow remain underestimated, featuring a second-year quarterback and a defense that under the radar rivaled Houston’s. The sentiment in those locker rooms couldn’t be more different, Houston dejected, New England two wins away from the inexplicable.
The Bills, with lofty expectations every year they trot out Josh Allen, fell short again, a sentiment all too familiar with their fan base. It’s the most predictable book ever written, yet we reread still knowing the outcome.
Their opponent that afternoon was the top-seeded Denver Broncos and second year quarterback Bo Nix. Unexpectedly, they’d also achieved the inconceivable, a number one seed and an AFC championship game berth. After upsetting the wrongly favored road team in Mile High, celebration was short-lived. Bo Nix broke his ankle on one of the final plays of the game. Theirs was as devastating a victory as there has ever been.
Grown men cry, Allen on the verge of tears, Sean Payton openly mourning the fact that his young quarterback wouldn’t get the opportunity to play for a Super Bowl, his bloodshot eyes an unfortunate indication of a season of hard work suddenly for naught, a rug pulled out from under them, turning one’s ankle in the process.
Bears fans went from nearly leaving the building to celebrating a touchdown pass we were scrambling to find a nickname for… until they lost to the Rams in a game that saw snow fall from start to finish. While disappointed, Bears’ fans know the future is bright, but winning football games is not easy and getting as far as they did rarer than that.
We feel for Stroud, wonder whether Maye’s ready, mourn Nix’s opportunity gained then lost, wonder whether Darnold can silence critics, anticipate Williams’ future, wonder whether Rodgers still has one, marvel that Stafford can still function at close to forty and ask who the hell Jarrett Stidham is. And these are just the quarterbacks, the mention of all others wholly irresponsible if it weren’t for the fact that quarterbacks make up the majority of a team’s payroll. Even though Nix, Maye and Williams aren’t making their lion’s share yet, rest assured, they will be soon.
Chargers decimated behind an offensive line, Eagles riddled by dysfunction and question marks, the list of also-rans left to its usual shuffling of coaches and position players, their off-season already begun although in the NFL, there is no off-season.
There are four teams left and only three games to play. All four of these teams have won Super Bowls; all have expectations. We’re not sure how this will end. But I expect us all to be watching.
