The biggest storylines to watch this NFL season Andrew GreifSeptember 3, 2025 at 10:23 PM 0 The 2025 NFL season is finally here, and as always there is no shortage of storylines to watch.
- - The biggest storylines to watch this NFL season
Andrew GreifSeptember 3, 2025 at 10:23 PM
0
The 2025 NFL season is finally here, and as always there is no shortage of storylines to watch.
Can the Philadelphia Eagles repeat as Super Bowl champions or is this finally the year Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen take their teams all the way? What impact will Micah Parsons have on the Green Bay Packers' chances? Could Aaron Rodgers actually be a difference-maker for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
All of that will soon be answered. Here's how NBC News' sports staff sees the season playing out.
Which under-the-radar team from last season could contend this year?
Greif: Remember the San Francisco 49ers? They went from a trendy pick to make their second consecutive Super Bowl last season to a 6-11 record while being devastated by injuries to starters such as running back Christian McCaffrey, key offensive lineman Trent Williams and nearly everyone capable of catching passes. The reason to believe San Francisco has a chance as a contender, even in a conference boasting the defending champion Eagles, rests on the fact that the team is healthier now and that key players aren't the only familiar faces returning. Robert Salah, who was the defensive coordinator during San Francisco's run to the Super Bowl in 2020, is back to man his previous post. San Francisco will also play what is projected to be one of the league's easiest schedules.
That doesn't mean the 49ers' roster is back to where it was during their trips to multiple Super Bowls. To pay quarterback Brock Purdy $181 million guaranteed as part of an extension that could reach $265 million, they had to prune the rest of their depth chart. Deebo Samuel, once a top playmaker, is gone, as are key defenders Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga.
Nadkarni: The Las Vegas Raiders underwent a significant makeover this offseason, and it was a much-needed one for a team that's made the playoffs only once in the last eight seasons. Former Super Bowl champ Pete Carroll is now the head coach, and Geno Smith should provide both a major upgrade and stability at quarterback. That could very well be enough for the Raiders to go from 4-13 to a postseason appearance.
Carroll made the playoffs in his first season with both the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, and at 73 he is one of the most experienced football minds in the world. Combining his exuberance with Smith's competence, Las Vegas is in line for a serious turnaround. While the Raiders may not be Super Bowl material — and will have to contend with playing in a stacked division — the new faces should bring a much more professional approach to Sun City.
Playoff team from last year that could take a step back
Nadkarni: Though they have an incredible coaching staff and elite talent at important positions, it's hard for me to see the Minnesota Vikings having another season close to 14 wins. The Vikings will be turning over quarterback duties to J.J. McCarthy, their first-round pick in 2024 who missed his rookie campaign because of injury. Head coach Kevin O'Connell has proved he can make the most with seemingly any signal caller. But McCarthy is both unproven and inexperienced, which is a tough combination for a player who is stepping into a situation in which the expectations will be very high.
McCarthy could be very good and Minnesota would still have a tough time winning 14 games again. Combining the uncertainty at quarterback with the gauntlet that is the NFC North, the Vikings seem due to fall back on some level.
Greif: Kansas City. Picking the Chiefs is an invitation to end up with proverbial egg on one's face. I don't feel great about doing this. But after they went 9-0 in one-score games in 2023 and 10-0 last season, I'm betting against their one-score mastery being so sustainable again in 2025. This isn't a prediction they will miss the playoffs; even in a division filled with accomplished coaches in Jim Harbaugh, Pete Carroll and Sean Payton, Kansas City can still win the AFC West if it can manage without receiver Rashee Rice as he serves his six-game suspension to begin the season. My concern is more about how the Chiefs will stack up against the top of the AFC. With Baltimore and Buffalo finally trying to prove this can be their year to make the Super Bowl, we shouldn't pencil in Kansas City just yet.
Player on a new team I'm most interested in watching
Greif: I'm not picking Micah Parsons in Green Bay or Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh because they're obvious, just as I'm not going with the one-man, two-way threat in Jacksonville's Travis Hunter because he's a rookie. For this exercise, I'm watching Mekhi Becton with the Los Angeles Chargers. If the Chargers are ever going to contend, they will need to protect quarterback Justin Herbert and develop a running game that's better than the one a season ago, which ranked in the NFL's bottom 10 in yards per carry. The massive Becton, who is back after missing several weeks of training camp, is vital to both, and even more so since key offensive lineman Rashawn Slater suffered a season-ending injury during the preseason.
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons in Charlotte, N.C., in 2024. (Brian Westerholt / AP file)
Nadkarni: If we're talking strictly football and not podcasts, I have to admit I'm interested to see what we get from Aaron Rodgers this season. Has Rodgers really lost what made him great? Or did he just need to get away from the stink of the New York Jets? Rodgers will have both an elite wide receiver (D.K. Metcalf) and one of the league's most respected coaches (Mike Tomlin) with the Steelers this year, which should take a little weight off his shoulders. Also, with Rodgers basically admitting this upcoming season will be his last ride, I imagine he will do everything in his power to avoid going out with a whimper. And frankly, even if time has caught up to Rodgers and this turns out to be a disaster, at the very least, whatever happens in Pittsburgh will be fascinating to watch.
Super Bowl prediction
Greif: Ravens over Packers
Lamar Jackson gets over the hump with Baltimore, which gets to the Super Bowl by beating Buffalo for the AFC title. With Jordan Love healthy all season and a pass rush energized by Micah Parsons, Green Bay takes over the NFC North and beats Philadelphia in the NFC championship game.
Nadkarni: Lions over Bills
Perhaps it's the romantic in me, but I think we get a matchup of two long-suffering fan bases in the Super Bowl. The Lions and the Bills have both been two of the better teams in the NFL of late, yet neither has made it to the championship round. Their multiple years of success are impressive in their own way, even if the finishes have ultimately come up short. Detroit is still one of the better teams in a relatively open NFC, and Buffalo was literally inches from finally knocking off the Chiefs last season. This is the year both franchises finally exorcise their demons and break through. Only one can win, though, and I believe Dan Campbell's gambling ways would pay off richly on the game's biggest stage.
Source: "AOL Sports"
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