2025 NFL Season Thread: Can Uncle Rico save the Broncos or will they be Nixed?

Ranking purely from a likelihood to win it all:

1. (Sigh) Bills

Allen is objectively the best player in football and with the whole of the AFC cratering, who would you rather have even if you need 3 road wins to get to the SB?

2. Rams

I feel less good about this than I did last week but they’re still the most complete team in football. Losing the 1 seed if it happens will be a huge hit, losing the division probably ends them

3. Pats

They’ll land the 1 seed, on that alone this has to be their floor

4. Texans

Their defense is really really really ****ing good. It’s possible stroud was overrated but their offense is passable enough even if he is. If they get in this is a potential runaway freight train

5. Lions

I’m believing less and less with each passing week but someone has to be here

6. Eagles

See: Lions

7. Niners

This is entirely based on their 1 seed equity and literally nothing else. Bob Salah is a god

8. Seapoops

I mean it’s all or nothing on Darnold which it is getting clearer and clearer is not a place you want to be in. Excellent team otherwise and JSN is the ldo OPOY

9. Packers

Count me among the last non-believers in Love

10. Ravens

I’m only putting the ravens here cuz I can’t put the bungles with JOE in anything resembling playoff position. Defense seems to be figuring **** out and I refuse to believe lamar is this bad

11. Chefs

I mean how can you rule out the big evil

12. Jags

What’s crazy is at any given point this team can be elite as **** or the biggest sack of ass you’ve ever seen. Reminds me of when bortles had a 2 score lead in the 4th of the AFCCG against bardy. Gotta give them their due though I think

13. Sorry

Heels

14. Chargers

Honestly they’re a better team than their record. Injuries ripped apart any elite status they had and left them a husk of themselves. Can’t in good conscience put them higher

in some ways it feels like the most open SB in many years. in other ways, it still doesn't because most teams in that top 14 really don't seem good enough to win 2-3 playoff games.

someone has to win ldo, but oh man they all seem flawed

I'm not worried about the Rams tbh. that was a standard dumb NFL road game where the better team lost the turnover battle 3-0 and the other team accepted the gifts and played pretty well

This is the year that some underperforming teams have a good chance of winning it all because they have an elite QB. An elite QB has the best chance to run the table in the playoffs. I'd love for the Chiefs to get knocked out because of this. Lamar hasn't been great in the playoffs but he is still capable of going on a run. Amazingly, the guy I am afraid of is Joe Burrow. It's not out of the question for the Bengals to win the division. Josh Allen is terrifying even though the Bills are not good.

I agree with you about the Rams. They have the complete package. I would say watch out for the Seahawks but I don't trust Darnold to take them to a championship. He is playing great but he just doesn't have Championship DNA.

The packers will be scary if all of their offensive weapons are healthy. Losing Kraft hurts a ton.

The Lions will still be there I think.

The problem with the rams is they have the lions then seattle in Seattle in succession

If they go 2-0 there, crown them. No problem. If they go 1-1 it’s dicey if they go 0-2 they’re ****ed

I agree with you about the Bills.

I would drop the Pats to around 10.

The Niners have no shot. They lost Warner, Bosa and they have no QB.

The Broncos should be in the top ten but you know that.

Great post SRM, and not just because you have the Bills as #1.

tell me about it

but it's foosball after all

Agreed, it’s a solid list. And that’s not because I made it.

This season wackadoodle parity and self ownage.

I'll plant my flag with the Seahawks.

Seahawks vs Bills Marshawn Lynch Bowl would be epic.

SEA/NE, same as it ever was

SEA over SF in the NFCCG after SF upsets LA just because SRM doesn't get nice things

NE over DEN in the AFCCG when DEN runs into a one score game they can't overcome.

NE over SEA because none of us can have nice things.

Just curious? Who is currently #1 seed in NFC?

with no elite team in the league right now, just make the playoffs and get hot. Those teams with elite QBs have the best shot of that.

by feel wrath m

https://www.espn.com.au/nfl/story/_/id/47168474/colts-say-sauce-gardner-achilles-ok-ir-move-not-being-mulled

ESPN.com

Gardner

no Achilles injury (yet) for Sauce but recent NBA Achilles injuries seem to follow calf strains so....hopefully they'll be careful with him. Albeit...it's the NFL so they probably won't be

You just traded 2 FRP for the guy. If you play him again this year, it's probably malpractice.

Best Shane can do is a shotgun, wildcat run with Tyler Warren at QB on 4th and 1 to lose the game or something similar. Sorry.

So you're saying the Bears are a lock

Coaches and GMs do not have much in the way of job security.

Least of all these two, a problem that could be solved by firing at least the GM right now. If it's too late tonight, tomorrow morning would be fine too.

buy now most of us familiar with results of flipping know how that graph ends

Spoiler

Show

further analysis post serum dose listing team chances to win everything is code for heavy lean toward wide open odds and or the qb happened to sit on a space needle or was simply born looking like a wookiee

Poor Max Brosmer. He threw four interceptions in a 26-0 Seahawks rout. It was the Vikings’ sixth loss in seven games and their first shutout since 2007.

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The Dolphins, now 5-7, matched their longest win streak (3 wins) of the past three seasons.

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Eleven years. Andrew Luck’s third NFL season. That’s how long it’s been since the Colts won the AFC South. The Colts and Jaguars will meet next week in Jacksonville, where the Colts haven’t won since … 2014.

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The Texans have held opponents under 20 points nine times this season, most in the league, and are on pace to allow the fewest yards by any defense since the 2009 Jets.

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DK Metcalf is averaging 13.4 yards per reception, 25th in the league through Sunday night.

Hey I would love to see the Bears go deep, I’m not a hater and they shipped it I’d root for it (provided the Niners were not at risk)

But let’s be honest with ourselves

So you have them less than 14th best chance? They have flaws for sure but they run the ball better than anyone. The defense is surprisingly good at taking the ball away (part luck for sure but part skill too). But I think Johnson is the best coach in football right now. With anyone else they are 3-9 instead. They are improving every week.

Objectivity is a mother****er, trust me, I get it

The bears are conclusively a better team with Ben Johnson but if you think they’re better than a dark dark darkhorse Super Bowl contender I can’t help you

They’re definitely not far off though. Still needing pieces

They’re 6 games over .500 and 6 points better than breakeven

Bears are currently 13th favourite for the Super Bowl on my book paying $26

Load up Mr B

pretty great spot for both Titans and Giants if they remain 1 and 2 in the draft order and the NFL decides that there are multiple potential QB starters in the 2026 draft

Saints, Raiders, Jets, Browns (picks 3, 4, 6 and 7) all definitely need a QB and there's a good argument that the Cardinals and Vikings in 8 and 9 need one too.

Barring an absolutely legendary CFP I can’t see anybody backing the truck up for Mendoza

That said, I can’t wait to use mcbain pics/vids when he does arrive