The biggest NFL storylines of the 2025 season ended like this: the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX, the Kansas City Chiefs missed the playoffs at 6-11 after Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL, and second-year quarterbacks Drake Maye and Bo Nix each went 14-3.
Updated November 1, 2026.
The NFL doesn’t just come back each fall. It reboots and rewrites itself, and opening week feels like the premiere of a new TV season: familiar faces, fresh twists, and a promise that what you thought you knew will be tested before the season is half over. For years I have watched the standings more closely than the news, and every August it’s the same thing. The preseason storylines are mostly about quarterbacks, and quarterbacks never stay put. A star gets hurt, a rookie jumps a level, a coach changes the offense, and the story you wrote in August is gone by Halloween. By the time the Super Bowl ads air in February, half the preseason favorites are at home. 2025 was a clean example.
NFL storylines for the 2025 season, and how each ended
| Storyline | Preseason question | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | Can the dynasty bounce back from Super Bowl LIX? | 6-11, missed the playoffs; Mahomes tore his ACL |
| Texans | Does Stroud take a leap in year three? | 12-5, lost in the divisional round at New England |
| Chargers | Can Herbert thrive under Harbaugh? | 11-6, lost the wild-card game at New England |
| Year 2 quarterbacks | Williams, Daniels, Maye and Nix | Maye and Nix 14-3; Williams 11-6; Daniels played 7 games |
| International games | Seven games in five countries | Played as scheduled, with first NFL games in Ireland and Spain |
| Special teams | New kickoff and onside rules | Touchback spot moved to the 35; onside kicks allowed any time while trailing |
| Jordan Love | Can the Packers keep rising? | 9-7-1, lost the wild-card game at Chicago |
| Super Bowl LX | Who gets to Levi’s Stadium? | Seahawks 29, Patriots 13 |
Chiefs: Mahomes tears his ACL and the streak ends
The question was whether Kansas City could recover from missing the three-peat in Super Bowl LIX. Some called Mahomes’s 2024 season a down year, the core around Travis Kelce and Chris Jones was getting older, and rookie Josh Simmons had to guard Mahomes’s blind side at left tackle. Rashee Rice was facing a possible suspension, and Xavier Worthy and Marquise Brown were new targets. The answer was no. The Chiefs finished 6-11, third in the AFC West, and were eliminated on December 14, 2025, after a 16-13 loss to the Chargers, their first elimination from playoff contention since 2014. Mahomes tore his left ACL in a non-contact injury with about two minutes left in that game. He had thrown for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 14 games, 6-8 as the starter.
Gardner Minshew was hurt a week later, and Chris Oladokun started the last two games. The Chiefs lost their final six, and a 20-10 loss to the Texans on December 7 ended a run of nine straight AFC West titles. Anyone who has watched a long winning streak knows it feels like it will last forever, right up until it doesn’t. One bright spot: Travis Kelce caught his 84th career touchdown at Denver on November 16, passing the franchise record.
Texans: a third straight playoff trip, but no leap
The Texans came into August on the rise. After a bumpy 2024, with line trouble and hurt receivers, they added linemen Cam Robinson and Laken Tomlinson and drafted tackle Aireontae Ersery to protect Stroud. Christian Kirk and rookie Jayden Higgins stepped in at receiver after Stefon Diggs left and Tank Dell was hurt. Houston went 12-5 and finished second in the AFC South behind Jacksonville’s 13-4, which made the Texans the No. 5 seed. They started 0-3, then won nine straight games during the season, and beat Pittsburgh 30-6 in the wild-card round for the first road playoff win in franchise history. New England ended the run 28-16 in the divisional round.
C.J. Stroud’s third year was steady, not spectacular: 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 14 games, 9-5 as the starter. He threw four interceptions in the first half against the Patriots. The strength was the defense under DeMeco Ryans, which set franchise records by allowing 17.3 points and 277.2 yards a game. Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr. were first-team All-Pros, and new coordinator Nick Caley replaced Bobby Slowik on offense. Most fans know the feeling of a team that looks great on paper and then plays just okay.
Chargers: Harbaugh, Herbert and another wild-card exit
The question was whether Jim Harbaugh’s run-first approach could turn Justin Herbert into a playoff winner. His passing numbers had dropped in 2024, and the team had a habit of late-season collapses, so the hope was that he could mix efficiency with impact. Not yet. Los Angeles finished 11-6 as the No. 7 seed and lost 16-3 at New England on January 11, 2026, its second straight wild-card exit. Herbert threw for 3,727 yards, 26 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, went 11-5 as the starter and made the Pro Bowl.
His best day was 420 yards and three touchdowns against Indianapolis in Week 7, though the Chargers lost 38-24. They started 3-0 for the first time since 2002 and swept Kansas City for the first time since 2013, but a Week 17 loss to Houston ended their division hopes. Afterward the team fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman.
Year 2 quarterbacks: Maye, Nix, Williams and Daniels
Four 2024 rookies, four very different second years, and none of them is in the conversation about the greatest quarterbacks of all time yet. Drake Maye went 14-3 with 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns and 8 interceptions and took New England to the Super Bowl. Bo Nix also went 14-3, with 3,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and Denver earned the AFC’s No. 1 seed before losing the AFC title game 10-7 to the Patriots in the snow.
Here is where they started. Caleb Williams went 5-12 as a rookie with 3,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, and Chicago carried the old “quarterback graveyard” label. Jayden Daniels was Offensive Rookie of the Year, with 3,568 yards, 25 touchdowns, 891 rushing yards and Washington at 12-5. Drake Maye took over in Week 6 and had 2,276 yards, 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 13 games. Bo Nix threw for 3,775 yards and 29 touchdowns and got Denver into the playoffs, though some still called him a game manager. Anyone who follows music knows the second album is the hard one, and quarterbacks are no different.
Caleb Williams set the Bears’ single-season passing record with 3,942 yards, added 27 touchdowns against 7 interceptions, and Chicago went 11-6 and won the NFC North under first-year coach Ben Johnson. The Bears lost in overtime to the Rams in the divisional round. Jayden Daniels played only seven games, going 2-5 with 1,262 yards, 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and Washington finished 5-12.
International games: seven games in five countries
The NFL played seven regular-season games abroad in 2025, part of its push to grow new fan bases. It opened on Friday, September 5 at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo, where the Chargers beat the Chiefs 27-21. Pittsburgh beat Minnesota at Croke Park in Dublin on September 28, the first NFL regular-season game in Ireland. London hosted three: Minnesota over Cleveland on October 5 and Denver over the Jets on October 12, both at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Rams over Jacksonville at Wembley on October 19.
Indianapolis beat Atlanta at Olympiastadion in Berlin on November 9. Miami beat Washington at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid on November 16, the first NFL regular-season game in Spain. Most of us know how a long flight and a few time zones can wreck a normal routine, and these teams still had a game to play.
Special teams: new kickoff and onside kick rules for 2025
Two rule changes shaped the kicking game, and the “Dynamic Kickoff” that was tested in 2024 became permanent. A kick that sails into or past the end zone now gives the receiving team the ball at its own 35-yard line, up from the 30, so a touchback is worth five more yards to the receiver. That means kickers have to think more about where the ball lands. A kick that lands in the field of play and then bounces into the end zone still comes out to the 20.
Onside kicks can now be tried at any point while a team is trailing, not only in the fourth quarter. The kicking team lines up one yard closer, and the kick is taken from the 34 instead of the 35.
Jordan Love’s rise: a 2025 NFL season storyline that stalled
Jordan Love came off a 2024 season of 3,389 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, a 9-6 record as the starter and a wild-card exit. The August talk was that a more pass-heavy offense could push him toward 4,200 yards and 30 touchdowns in the Packers’ first years after Aaron Rodgers. He did not get there. Love threw for 3,381 yards and 23 touchdowns with 6 interceptions and went 9-5-1 as the starter. In Week 8 at Pittsburgh he tied a franchise record with 20 straight completions, finishing 29 of 35 for 360 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-25 win. First-round receiver Matthew Golden, the No. 23 overall pick, started five games at the second receiver spot.
Green Bay finished 9-7-1 as the NFC’s No. 7 seed and lost 31-27 at Chicago in the wild-card round, its first playoff loss to the Bears since 1941. Micah Parsons tore his ACL in Week 15, and Love missed Week 17 with a concussion. The Packers dropped four straight to end the regular season.
Super Bowl LX: the 2025 NFL season’s final storyline
Seattle came in as the NFC’s No. 1 seed at 14-3 and beat the 49ers 41-6 and the Rams 31-27. New England was the AFC’s No. 2 seed at 14-3 and beat the Chargers 16-3, the Texans 28-16 and the Broncos 10-7. At Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on February 8, 2026, Seattle won 29-13. Running back Kenneth Walker III was MVP with 135 rushing yards on 27 carries.
Seattle led 12-0 after three quarters on four Jason Myers field goals. In the fourth quarter Sam Darnold threw a 16-yard touchdown to AJ Barner, Maye answered with a 35-yard score to Mack Hollins, and Uchenna Nwosu’s 45-yard interception return sealed it. Bad Bunny headlined the halftime show, with Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin as guests.
Several preseason favorites never got there. In August the Eagles were the reigning champions and the team to beat. Most of us have watched a big game where the team everyone picked ends up going home early. The Eagles finished 11-6 as the NFC’s No. 3 seed, the Lions went 9-8, the Ravens 8-9, and the 49ers lost their divisional game 41-6 in Seattle. Levi’s Stadium is the 49ers’ home field, which would have made a great story, but they never got close.
What were the biggest NFL storylines of the 2025 season?
Who won Super Bowl LX?
The Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 on February 8, 2026, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Running back Kenneth Walker III was MVP with 135 rushing yards on 27 carries. Seattle had entered as the NFC’s No. 1 seed at 14-3, and New England as the AFC’s No. 2 seed at 14-3.
Did Patrick Mahomes play the whole 2025 season?
No. Mahomes tore his left ACL in a non-contact injury late in the Chiefs’ 16-13 loss to the Chargers on December 14, 2025, and missed the rest of the year. He finished with 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 14 games. Chris Oladokun started the final two games after Gardner Minshew was also hurt.
Which international games did the NFL play in 2025?
Seven: Chiefs at Chargers in São Paulo, Vikings at Steelers in Dublin, Vikings at Browns and Broncos at Jets in London, Rams at Jaguars at Wembley, Falcons at Colts in Berlin, and Commanders at Dolphins in Madrid. Dublin and Madrid hosted the first NFL regular-season games in Ireland and Spain.
Who won MVP and Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2025?
Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams was named MVP, and Tetairoa McMillan, a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers, was Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Rams finished 12-5 as the NFC’s No. 5 seed, and Carolina went 8-9.
Did the Texans win the AFC South in 2025?
No. Jacksonville won the division at 13-4, and Houston finished 12-5 as the No. 5 seed. The Texans won 30-6 at Pittsburgh in the wild-card round, the first road playoff win in franchise history, then lost 28-16 at New England in the divisional round.