The 10 Biggest What If Moments from 2025 NFL That Still Haunt Fans
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
2025 was quite a year and season across the NFL—many of the league’s top franchises were down… meanwhile… There were some underdogs who came charging up.
On average, this season will be remembered by many fans for what could’ve been… because more than a couple of teams made strange decisions… or had a bad bounce… or an injury that completely changed the trajectory of their season.
Think about it— One different phone call. One different draft pick. And one different handshake… and the entire playoff picture could look completely different right now.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into the 10 biggest what-ifs from the 2025 NFL season.
What are the biggest what-ifs in the 2025 NFL season?
What If the Jets Had Kept Aaron Rodgers?
This one is classic Jets… The problem was staring ownership in the mirror, and of course, they looked elsewhere and pointed a finger.
Sure… 2023 was a lost year, but it wasn’t Aaron Rodgers’s fault—and yes, there was a lot of noise around the team thanks to his, shall we say, quirky nature… But he put up 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2024. Both of those numbers are third on the Jets’ all-time single-season list.
The Jets went 5 and 12… and decided that was somehow Rodgers’ fault.
They released him in February, took a big dead cap hit, and watched him sign with the Steelers, where he has continued to build on his recovery from that Achilles tear and play great football.
The truth hit them in the face fast this NFL season…
Week 1… Rodgers makes his Steelers debut against his former team. Goes 22 of 30 for 244 yards and four touchdowns. Zero interceptions. Pittsburgh wins 34 to 32.
By the end of the season, Rodgers had the Steelers in the playoffs as AFC North champions—winning the division on a game-winning touchdown with 55 seconds left against the Ravens.
Meanwhile, the Jets’ season blew up in humiliating fashion… again.
Maybe the problem wasn’t the future Hall of Famer. Maybe the problem was everything around him.
What If the Falcons Had Committed to Kirk Cousins?
This might be the most confusing quarterback situation in NFL history.
In March 2024, the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract. Massive commitment. Clear signal that Cousins was the franchise guy.
Then, weeks later, they used the eighth overall pick on Michael Penix Jr.
Cousins himself said he felt “a little bit misled.” And honestly… can you blame him?
The whole thing spiraled from there. Cousins got benched in Week 16 of 2024 after a brutal five-game stretch with nine interceptions and just one touchdown. Penix took over as the starter heading into 2025.
But Penix wasn’t great either… And after seeing how this season went, there is reason to wonder if the Falcons were too hasty to name him the starter…
He got benched during a 30 to 0 loss to the Panthers after posting a 40.5 passer rating, then he suffered a knee injury that ended his season… slotting Cousins back in as the starter.
And wouldn’t you know it, the team started to play much better football, rattling off a couple of nice wins to muck up the NFC South and finish 8 and 9.
If Atlanta had just committed to Cousins from the start… maybe this season looks different.
What If the Browns Had Selected Jaxson Dart?
Cleveland fans… I’m sorry. But you need to hear this.
The Browns had the second overall pick in the 2025 draft. They needed a quarterback. Everyone knew it. And according to NFL insider Dianna Russini, they wanted Jaxson Dart.
But what did they do? They traded back from second to fifth overall.
Okay, fine. Maybe they had a plan to trade back up and get their guy…
NOPE.
Instead, they watched the Giants trade into the end of the first round to the 25th pick and grabbed Dart. Cleveland? They used TWO picks on quarterbacks—Dillon Gabriel AND Shedeur Sanders—hoping one of them would hit.
Dart has taken some rookie lumps this NFL season, but he has looked like the real deal so far in New York… Meanwhile, Gabriel, it took just a handful of starts to rule him out as a potential quarterback of the future.
And Sanders took over mid-season and showed more than his fair share of rookie growing pains.
The Browns wanted Dart. They had the ammunition to get him. And they still managed to miss on a quarterback… again.
What If Lamar Jackson Had Been Healthy?
The Ravens finished 8 and 9 and missed the playoffs—and now their long-time head coach, John Harbaugh, is out… but man, this was a sliding doors year, because honestly, a healthy Lamar Jackson probably changes everything this season.
Jackson missed three games with a hamstring injury early in this NFL season. The Ravens went 1 and 2 during that stretch. Then, in Week 15 against the Patriots, he took a knee to his lower back and couldn’t even walk out of the locker room after the game.
Not to mention all of the reports that nagging injuries were hampering his performance throughout the year, even when he was on the field.
And sure, the Ravens had other issues. They were 2 and 5 in one-score games, and the turnover differential was negative. But when your best player can’t stay on the field, everything else gets harder.
Our thesis is that with a fully healthy Lamar Jackson, the Ravens are probably AFC North champions—and John Harbaugh still has a job!
What If the Cowboys Hadn’t Traded Micah Parsons?
Look… we’ve seen Jerry Jones play hardball before. It’s kind of his thing. But this one backfired in spectacular fashion.
Jerry looked Micah Parsons in the eyes. They shook hands. They had a deal. And then Parsons’ agent tried to get a little more money out of the situation… and Jerry blinked. Or rather, he didn’t blink—he shipped Parsons to Green Bay for two first-round picks and Kenny Clark.
And wouldn’t you know it… the Cowboys defense completely fell apart. They finished dead last in points allowed. Dead last in total defense. The worst third-down defense in the entire NFL.
The results have been catastrophic.
Meanwhile, Parsons went to Green Bay and put up 12.5 sacks in 14 games before tearing his ACL. Even hurt, he proved he was worth every penny of that $188 million contract, helping put the Packers in a position to make the postseason.
While the Cowboys missed the playoffs again… Have to think that based on the flashes we saw from Dallas this NFL season—with Parsons still in the mix, they could’ve been at least in that 7th spot in the NFC that Green Bay occupies… maybe even higher!
And who knows—maybe staying in the warm climate, Parsons never gets hurt—and the ripple effect is felt across the league!
What If Tampa Bay Had Made Liam Coen Head Coach?
Liam Coen was the architect of Tampa Bay’s offense in 2024. Baker Mayfield was thriving. The unit was humming. Everything was clicking.
When Jacksonville came calling with a head coaching job, Coen initially said no. He verbally accepted an offer to become the highest-paid coordinator in NFL history and stay in Tampa.
Then he ghosted them.
The story goes that Coen secretly flew to Jacksonville after the Jaguars fired GM Trent Baalke and met with owner Shad Khan.
Then he took the job without ever telling Tampa Bay.
But here’s what you have to think about: there is more than meets the eye here… Rumors have surfaced that the Bucs were not all in on their pursuit of Coen, thinking that they had him in the bag, and took their eye off the ball.
This one, however, goes deeper than their inability to retain him as their OC… because the reality is that they should’ve ripped the Band-aid off and fired Todd Bowles to keep him—than it would’ve been the Bucs whose offense was lighting the league on fire again, not Jacksonville.
Look at what Coen built in Jacksonville. The Jaguars went from 4 and 13 to 13 and 4. Trevor Lawrence is playing the best football of his career. They’re one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs.
And Tampa Bay? Todd Bowles is still there, posting the same lackluster results he always has.
The Bucs had the chance to promote Coen and keep him in the building. They didn’t. And now they’re watching him succeed somewhere else.
What If Ben Johnson Had Stayed With the Lions?
Detroit went 15 and 2 in 2024. Best record in the NFC. Super Bowl favorites across the board. Then Ben Johnson left to become head coach of the Chicago Bears… and everything fell apart.
The Lions’ offense went from first in the league to middle of the pack—it got so bad that head coach Dan Campbell had to take over play-calling duties mid-season for replacement offensive coordinator John Morton, who, no shocker, was fired after one terrible year.
Was it all about Johnson leaving? No. But the offensive decline was undeniable.
Ben Johnson held that offense together. And when he left, the whole thing collapsed.
Granted—keeping him would not have been easy. He is a great coach and had ambitions of running his own shop, but the Lions front office should’ve opened up the checkbook and given him legit, tier 1 head coach money, and who knows—maybe he would’ve stuck around, and Detroit would have been making another deep playoff run instead of spectating this year’s playoffs.
What If the Steelers Had Kept George Pickens?
This one is different for Steelers fans, now that we’ve seen what George Pickens became in Dallas with an actual quarterback to throw him the ball…
For those who don’t recall—or for Steelers fans that blacked it out of their memory—Pittsburgh traded him to the Cowboys in May for a third-round pick and a fifth-rounder. The reason?
Maturity issues, they said!
So they pushed him out the door and brought in DK Metcalf on a $30 million per year deal, a guy who surely wouldn’t have any maturity issues of his own!
Except… Metcalf ended up missing critical games down the stretch of the season due to an altercation with a fan—one of the most obvious “you can’t do this” in the NFL…
And George Pickens went to Dallas and had a breakout year.
93 catches. 1,429 yards. 9 touchdowns. All career highs. He ranked third in the entire NFL in receiving yards and looked like a legit wide receiver 1.
This was a prove-it year for Pickens—the final season of his rookie deal. And he proved it. The Cowboys are expected to either extend him or slap the franchise tag on him this offseason.
Now here’s the what-if that haunts Pittsburgh…
Imagine that production with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball instead of Dak Prescott.
The Steelers thought they were upgrading. They thought Pickens was too immature to handle the moment. Instead, he became a star somewhere else.
What If the Vikings Had Kept Sam Darnold?
This is the one. The biggest what-if of the entire 2025 NFL season.
Minnesota went 14 and 3 in 2024 with Sam Darnold as their starting quarterback. He earned a Pro Bowl selection. He won Comeback Player of the Year. The roster was stacked with veterans ready to win.
Not to mention some of the most explosive offensive weapons in the league with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison…
And the Vikings let him walk.
They wanted to see what J.J. McCarthy could do. The 10th overall pick from 2024, who missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus. They thought he was ready.
Spoiler alert: he wasn’t.
McCarthy missed seven games this season with three separate injuries—an ankle sprain, a concussion, and a hairline fracture in his throwing hand. When he did play, it didn’t do much to inspire hope.
The crazy thing is that the Vikings’ initial backup plan, Daniel Jones, proved to be a better option than McCarthy as well! But he signed with the Colts instead, where, before he got hurt, he outplayed 9 by a significant measure.
Things got so bad in Minny that when McCarthy went down, they were forced to lean on an aging Carson Wentz… who ended up needing season-ending shoulder surgery… pushing the unheralded Max Brosmer into action.
No shocker here, but that did not go well… and Minnesota fell from 14 and 3 to 8 and 8, missing the playoffs and wasting an incredibly talented roster.
Meanwhile, Sam Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with Seattle. He put up over 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns. The Seahawks are the number one seed in the NFC with a first-round bye.
The Vikings had the answer. They had the guy who could run their offense at an elite level. And they let him walk because they wanted to see what a second-year quarterback could do.
Now they know. And it’s too late to go back.
What If the Saints Had Started Tyler Shough All Year?
The Saints finished 6 and 11—dead last in the division. But here’s the thing… it didn’t have to be that way!
The Panthers won the NFC South at 8 and 9, the Bucs finished 8 and 9, and the Falcons finished 8 and 9. Three teams tied at the top with losing records—meaning they weren’t all that far off… just three wins away from taking hold of the NFC South crown.
And when you look at how their season unfolded… You have to wonder what could have been. The Saints started Spencer Rattler and went 1 and 7. It was ugly. Then they finally made the switch to rookie Tyler Shough in Week 9… and everything changed.
Shough went 5 and 4 the rest of the way, but it wasn’t just the wins or the stats—it was the way the team looked with him running the show. The entire aura around the organization was different.
And Chris Olave came back from a brutal 2024 NFL season—the concussions, the retirement talk—and had one of his best seasons as a pro. 100 catches. 1,163 yards. 9 touchdowns. All career highs. He’s a Comeback Player of the Year candidate—and a lot of production came from a spike in performance once Shough took over.
If Shough starts from Week 1, and they win just two or three of those early games that Rattler lost… the Saints are 8 and 9. Maybe 9 and 8. And in the lowly NFC South? That wins you the division. Too bad they waited too long to make the change!
