The 5 Good, 5 Bad And 5 Ugly From The 2025 NFL Season
This article was originally published on Total Pro Sports.
With the Super Bowl now behind us, it is time for some reflection on the year that was… and, well, let’s just say the 2025 NFL season was absolutely WILD. Even for this league’s standards!
There was a little bit of everything…
We had redemption arcs, devastating collapses, records broken, and storylines that will be talked about for decades. How about we break down the five GOOD, five BAD, and five UGLY from this unforgettable season
So… without further ado, let’s get into it…
What was the most memorable stuff that happened in the 2025 NFL season?
GOOD: Sam Darnold’s Redemption
Let’s start with arguably the greatest comeback story in NFL history.
Sam Darnold—yes, THAT Sam Darnold of New York Jets lore—is a Super Bowl champion. The former bust who was written off by the entire league just won it all with the Seattle Seahawks, defeating the Patriots 29-13 in Super Bowl LX.
And what made the whole thing even crazier was that this came on the heels of Minnesota letting him walk after he went 14-3 in 2024.
Seattle swooped in with a 3-year, $100.5 million contract, and Darnold proved he was worth every penny.
In 2025, Darnold went 14-3 AGAIN—becoming only the second quarterback in NFL HISTORY to win 14 games in his first season with two different teams. He threw for 4,048 yards, 25 touchdowns, and had the Seahawks atop the standings for almost the entire year.
BAD: Lamar Jackson
Coming into the 2025 NFL season, the whispers were everywhere… this was going to be the year that Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens got over the hump… Or else!
As it turns out—it was the or else—as John Harbaugh was shown the door after a disastrous and frustrating 2025 campaign.
It started with a hamstring injury that cost him three games early in the season. Then he came back, looked like himself for a stretch, and then injured his back against the Patriots in December and was sidelined again.
Nevertheless, the ravens somehow clawed back from a 1 and 5-start to 8 and 7, and then… Week 18. Winner-take-all against the Steelers for the AFC North crown—and Lamar suited up—only to lose and miss the playoffs after rookie kicker Tyler Loop missed a kick with time expiring.
UGLY: Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes had the worst season of his career—and it ended in the most brutal fashion imaginable.
The Chiefs finished 6-11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Mahomes had his lowest completion percentage at 62.7%, his fewest touchdowns at 22, and his worst passer rating ever.
The offense that had dominated the league for years looked broken and in need of a hard reset.
Then came Week 15 against the Chargers. Mahomes dropped back, made an awkward plant, and went down with a torn ACL and LCL, marking his season official over and putting the dynasty on pause.
But it’s stunning how fast things fell apart and went from bad to worse in Kansas City.
GOOD: Mike Vrabel
Mike Vrabel took over a Patriots team that went 4-13 in 2024. They were a laughingstock entering the 2025 NFL season. The dynasty was dead. In Year 1, Vrabel went 14-3 and reached the Super Bowl.
That’s a 10-win improvement—tied for the BEST single-season turnaround in NFL HISTORY.
The Patriots went 9-0 on the road, including playoffs—the FIRST team EVER to accomplish that feat. Have to think that the Tennessee Titans are kicking themselves for chasing a coach like Vrabel out of town.
BAD: Nick Sirianni’s Eagles Underachievement
The defending Super Bowl champions had all the talent in the world. They had Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, and DeVonta Smith. They should have been running it back to another title.
Instead, the Eagles went 11-6 and lost in the Wild Card round to a depleted 49ers in rather embarrassing fashion, 23-19.
The problem underpinning it all seemed to have been. Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo. After Kellen Moore left for New Orleans, Patullo took over, and the offense completely stalled. They finished 24th in total yards, 19th in scoring, with one of the most talented rosters in football. How does that happen?
That all rolls back up to Sirianni, who happens to be close friends with Patullo, by the way… He saw his offense spiraling and didn’t do anything about it until it was too late.
UGLY: The Indianapolis Colts’ Collapse
Here’s a cautionary tale about peaking too early and going all-in at the wrong time.
The Colts started the 2025 NFL season 7 and 1. They had the NFL’s best record. Daniel Jones was in the MVP conversation and the feel-good story of the year.
Then everything fell apart.
Jones decided to play through a fractured fibula. His mobility—which was key to their offensive resurgence—completely disappeared. Then, in Week 14 against the Jaguars, disaster struck: a non-contact torn Achilles.
Keep in mind, this was after they pushed their chips to the table and mortgaged the future to trade for Sauce Gardner!
From 7 and 1 to 8 and 9 and out of the playoffs… yikes.
GOOD: Caleb Williams and the Bears Breakthrough
After years of quarterback misery—Trubisky, Fields, the whole mess—Chicago finally has its guy.
Caleb Williams threw for 3,942 yards—a franchise record—with 27 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. The Bears went 11 and 6 and won the NFC North for the first time in years.
But here’s where it gets special: Williams had SEVEN fourth-quarter comebacks—setting an NFL record for the most by any quarterback under 25 in a single season. This kid is clutch.
The playoff loss hurt, but Williams was special in that game—and throughout the entire run. The future is finally bright again in Chicago.
BAD: Josh Allen’s Playoff Heartbreak Continues
At what point do we start asking the hard questions about Josh Allen?
In the 2025 Divisional Round, Allen and the Bills lost to the Broncos 33 to 30 in overtime. Allen had FOUR turnovers—two fumbles, two interceptions. He was in tears on the sideline after the game.
Here’s the painful context: No Mahomes in the playoffs. No Lamar. No Burrow. This was his BEST chance to finally break through.
Josh Allen now has 78 wins in six seasons without a Super Bowl appearance—the most by any quarterback in their first six seasons in NFL history.
Have to wonder what it will take for him to finally get over the hump.
UGLY: The New York Jets’ Historic Futility
If you thought the Jets couldn’t get worse… You underestimated the Jets. They went 3-14. Tied for the worst record in the league. Point differential of -203—the worst since the 2021 Jaguars. But here’s the truly UGLY stat:
New York became the FIRST TEAM IN NFL HISTORY since 1933 to NOT record a SINGLE interception all season. Zero. In 17 games. Not one. They had just FOUR forced turnovers total—the lowest since the merger.
Their defense literally could not take the ball away, and that’s after bringing in new head coach Aaron Glenn—a defensive-minded guy hired specifically to fix the defense…
Fans watched his unit go from 3rd in the league to 25th and resort to a fire sale, trading Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams at the deadline for future picks.
Somehow, the Jets found a way to be even MORE dysfunctional than usual in the 2025 NFL season. It’s almost impressive.
GOOD: Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s Breakout
Seattle got their franchise quarterback in Sam Darnold. But the real truth is that offense runs through Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
JSN led the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards and 119 receptions. He added 10 touchdowns and won Offensive Player of the Year as a unanimous first-team All-Pro—and was a serious threat, underneath, and coming out of the backfield all year.
In the NFC Championship against the Rams, he went off for 10 catches, 153 yards, and a touchdown when it mattered most.
Here’s a wild stat: JSN accounted for 44.1% of the Seahawks’ receiving yards—breaking Michael Irvin’s record of 42.8% for the highest percentage by a receiver on a Super Bowl-winning team.
He’s just 23 years old and already the first Seahawk to win OPOY since Shaun Alexander in 2005—and has all the makings of a bona fide star in this league.
BAD: The Browns Quarterback Carousel
Remember when the Browns traded three first-round picks for Deshaun Watson and gave him $230 million fully guaranteed? How’s that working out?
Considering the fact that the Browns had to roll out a mish-mash of Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders this year, not great. Flacco started the year and went 1-3 with six interceptions before getting benched. Gabriel took over and went 1-5 before suffering a concussion. Then Sanders—the fifth-round rookie—became the starter.
The Browns finished 5 and 12, and Kevin Stefanski was mercifully fired.
While it probably stung his ego, he had to secretly be happy about escaping that disaster scene.
UGLY: Minnesota’s Massive Mistake
Speaking of quarterback disasters that will haunt franchises for years…
The Vikings let Sam Darnold walk after he went 14-3. They committed to JJ McCarthy, the 2024 first-round pick, because someone the front office thought that they had their franchise guy.
How’d that work out?
Badly… it worked out badly.
McCarthy struggled massively: 10 games, 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 57.6% completion rate.
And that was when he was on the field, which was a challenge in and of itself, as he battled an ankle sprain, a concussion, and a fractured hand throughout the year.
The Vikings went 9-8 and missed the playoffs. Justin Jefferson had career lows with just 1,048 yards and 2 touchdowns—arguably the best receiver in football was completely wasted.
Meanwhile, Darnold won the Super Bowl in Seattle in the 2025 NFL season. No wonder general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired.
This will be studied in NFL front offices for years as one of the worst quarterback decisions ever. You had a 14-win quarterback. You let him walk for nothing and bet on a first-year starter who wasn’t ready.
And now you’re watching him hoist the Lombardi Trophy for someone else. UGLY.
GOOD: Myles Garrett’s Historic Season
Even on a 5 and 12-team going absolutely nowhere, Myles Garrett was DOMINANT.
He finished with 23 sacks—breaking the NFL single-season record of 22.5 shared by Michael Strahan and TJ Watt. He got the record-breaker against Joe Burrow in the season finale.
No shocker that he took home his second Defensive Player of the Year award unanimously—all 50 first-place votes. He had 33 tackles for loss (second-most since 2000), 39 QB hits, and 60 total tackles—all career highs.
It was a special season… the guy was double-teamed on 186 pass rushes—the most by any edge rusher since 2018—, and he STILL broke the record.
Yes, the Browns stink… and have no quarterback. But Myles Garrett is a generational talent who just put up one of the greatest individual seasons in NFL history.
Someone please get this man some help.
BAD: Jayden Daniels’ Sophomore Nightmare
After one of the greatest rookie seasons by a quarterback in recent memory, Jayden Daniels came crashing back to earth in the most painful way possible.
He played just SEVEN games and was shut down for the final three weeks of the season.
The injury list reads like a horror movie for Commanders fans: a knee sprain in Week 2, a hamstring strain in Week 7, a dislocated elbow in Week 9, and then re-aggravated of the elbow in Week 14.
When he did play, it wasn’t great either… Just a 2 and five mark. And he completed only 60.6% of his passes for 1,262 yards with 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. The mobility that made him special was completely gone.
The Commanders went from the NFC Championship Game to 5 and 12 and fired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury after the season.
Daniels says he’s focused on “longevity” now. He needs to learn to slide. He needs to stay healthy. The talent is still there.
Which makes sense… After all, 2025 was a brutal reality check for a franchise that thought it’d found its answer.
UGLY: Pete Carroll and Geno Smith’s Vegas Disaster
We end with the most embarrassing coaching tenure of the year.
Pete Carroll, 74 years old, came out of retirement to coach the Raiders. He brought in Geno Smith, his former Seahawks quarterback, and hired Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator.
They drafted Ashton Jeanty sixth overall, and people were excited… He said they’d win “a bunch of games.”
Spoiler alert—they didn’t… instead, they went 3-14—the worst record in the NFL.
Geno Smith threw a league-high 17 interceptions. He was sacked 55 times, also a league-high. The Raiders averaged just 74.9 rushing yards per game—the FEWEST in the last 25 years.
Carroll fired Chip Kelly and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon midseason.
The Raiders lost by double digits NINE times. They were shut out TWICE. They finished last in total yards, last in rushing, last in seemingly everything.
Carroll was fired after one year—likely the end of his legendary coaching career. Tom Brady is now leading the search for the franchise’s SIXTH head coach since 2021.
The Raiders remain the Raiders.
