2025 NFL Season Storylines

(Photo: Yahoo Sports)

– Welcome Back: The regular season often kicks off in the city of the team that won the previous Super Bowl. The last time the Philadelphia Eagles played, they were getting their revenge against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX en route to their second championship in franchise history. On Thursday, September 4th, the Eagles will begin their title defense against the Dallas Cowboys. This is the best rivalry in the league going in my opinion and what a way to open up the year with two legendary teams in the unpredictable NFC East. Dak Prescott will return after missing the remainder of last season with a hamstring injury and the Eagles will celebrate the success of 2024 and look to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Lincoln Financial Field will be quite the scene a few months from now.

– Worldwide: The NFL played a game last season in Brazil last year and it was an exciting game between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles. This year, the league has decided to do this again and this time, we’ll have the Kansas City Chiefs facing the Los Angeles Chargers on a Friday night. These two teams are no strangers to one another as they face each other twice a season. It’s another battle between Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert along with two good football coaches in Andy Reid and Jim Harbaugh. These matchups are often close and I expect the same thing once again between these division rivals.

– Right Out The Gate: The Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills played twice last season with the first during the regular season in Baltimore and Derrick Henry ran circles around the Bills defense. The second matchup took place in the postseason in January and what a game that was. The NFL truly saved the best for last making that match up the final game of the postseason weekend. Buffalo escaped with a two point victory and moved on to the AFC title game. For the first time since that epic playoff game, the Ravens and Bills will meet and what a game this should be. Two good teams in the AFC and the last two league MVP’s will battle each other. Talk about a strong battle right out the gate!

– Jalen/Patrick IV: Two of the last three Super Bowls featured the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. The Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII and the Eagles dominated the Chiefs and bullied them en route to their second Super Bowl title. There’s nothing like a good Super Bowl rematch and these two will battle it out for the first time since that February evening in New Orleans. Both of these teams have become familiar with one another these last few years and I know for a fact this is a game the Chiefs will have circled on their schedule without question as that loss left a bitter taste in their mouths.

– Take Five: One of the best games I had the chance to preview and watch a year ago happened in week one with the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs. It came down to one final play and the Chiefs escaped with a seven-point victory, 27-20. The Ravens will be making another trip to Arrowhead to face the defending AFC champs once again. Two of the last three MVP’s will battle against each for the fifth time and I see the Ravens coming into this game with a chip on their shoulder as they felt that was a game they let slip through their hands last year. I can’t wait to tune in for this one.

– Hail Maryland: One of the more exciting matchups from a year ago was the Chicago Bears and the Washington Commanders. Pick number one in Caleb Williams and pick number two in Jayden Daniels. The Bears took the lead late in that game, then, the play known as “Hail Maryland” happened and the Commanders stunned the Bears in walk off fashion. We’ll get part two of Jayden and Caleb this year on a Monday night in the Nation’s Capital. How will both of these team be in 2025? The Bears will have a new Head Coach in Ben Johnson and what will the Commanders do as an encore? They were a game away from the Super Bowl. This should be another entertaining battle.

– Mirror, Mirror: The NFL loves its fans and viewers. For years, we always got the elite Quarterback matchup with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Now, we’ve been given Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes every season since 2020 and this matchup between these two Quarterbacks truly does remind me of Peyton and Brady as they see each other during the regular season and eventually, they will meet up again in the playoffs. The Chiefs will make their way to Orchard Park for the second consecutive season and I don’t think this will be the only time we’ll see these two meet up again. This is becoming one of my favorite matchup to watch and preview and we get it once again!

– Brotherly Shove: The Packers battled the Eagles twice a year ago with the first taking place in Brazil and the second taking place in the Wild Card round. Advantage, Eagles both times. The one thing the NFL will do is give us a playoff rematch and we have another here, this time on a Monday night at Lambeau. Two solid coaches in Matt LaFleur and Nick Sirianni along with an intriguing Quarterback battle in Jalen Hurts and Jordan Love. There’s nothing like a prime-time game at Lambeau.

– Homecoming: Patrick Mahomes was born in Texas and played his college ball with the Texas Tech Raiders. He’s the face of the league and will be for the next few years. Is it Thanksgiving without the Dallas Cowboys? This year or Turkey Day, Patrick Mahomes will make his Thanksgiving Day debut and lead his Chiefs into Jerry World to play Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. This is the one game everyone will be tuned into watch and this could be one of the more entertaining game of the Thanksgiving slate.

– (B)eautiful (B)liss: The Bengals and Bills will forever be linked to each other after what took place on January 2nd, 2023 with Damar Hamlin when he collapsed on the field. Weeks later, they met in the postseason and the Bengals stunned the Bills in Orchard Park. They also met during the 2023 season and they will meet up once again this year as this will mark the third career meeting between Joe Burrow and Josh Allen, two of the very best Quarterbacks in the league today. Playoff positioning in the AFC could also be on the line as well in this game.

– BE (Freestyle): The first meeting between Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts was one to remember. It was a rainy day in South Philly and the Eagles escaped with a thrilling three point victory. For the second time in over two years, the Eagles will face the Bills in a battle of contenders in their respective conferences. There could be a few things on the line for both teams in this game such as playoff seeding in each conference and division titles potentially. I expect the ball to fly all over the field as it did in their first meeting a few years back.