It feels like the NFL is currently in between dynasties. The Kansas City Chiefs, winners of three of the last six Super Bowls and participants in each of the last seven AFC Championship games, were beaten so badly in Super Bowl LIX this past February that a loud segment of fans and media declared their era of dominance over. The team that beat KC, the Philadelphia Eagles, could be just beginning their own stretch of dominance. The Eagles mirror some of the same traits on which the Chiefs built their dynasty: Stout defensive front, dynamic offensive playmakers, a young quarterback entering his prime who appears laser-focused on nothing but winning, and a front office that always seems a step or two ahead of the competition.

There’s a lot more going on in the league outside of KC and Philly, though. New leadership regimes with some franchises, new superstar players with others. We’re going to look at one intriguing story line from each division to paint just a portion of the picture that is the NFL in 2025.

AFC East

Predicted order of finish: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets

This could finally be Buffalo’s year

The Bills went through a Hall of Fame period of heartbreak in the 1990s, losing four straight Super Bowls. More recently, the Bills have won five consecutive AFC East division titles, yet they failed to even make it to the Super Bowl. The Josh Allen and Sean McDermott era has been wildly successful compared to most franchises, a lot of whom would switch places with the Bills in a minute. But the expectations in Buffalo are only getting higher, which makes the postseason exits only more painful.

This season could, however, really be the time when the Bills finally get over the hump that’s become Mount Kilimanjaro for them.

Allen is coming off an MVP season and is arguably the best quarterback in the league, and he has some trusted pass catchers with him in WR Khalil Shakir and TE Dalton Kincaid. Last season’s 1,000-yard rusher, James Cook, is back after holding out during training camp for a new contract. And according to Pro Football Focus, the Bills have the third-best offensive line in the league. Buffalo used its first five 2025 draft picks on defensive players, and during the offseason added at least one notable veteran at all three levels of the defense: defensive end Joey Bosa, linebacker Shaq Thompson, and cornerback Tre’Davious White. The Ringer ranked the Bills’ defense 14th overall going into this season, which is perfectly middle-of-the-road enough to allow the offense to lead this team to its first Super Bowl championship.

NFC East

Predicted order of finish: Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders, Giants

Philadelphia has everything it takes to repeat

Even while putting 40 points on the board in Super Bowl LIX, what stood out most about the Eagles in that championship triumph was the team’s defense — a unit that held the mighty Chiefs to just six points through three quarters and forced three Patrick Mahomes turnovers while sacking the generational QB six times. The Eagles then lost six key contributors from that defense during the offseason, and yet the team still has to be placed on the top tier of legit title contenders going into this season.

For starters, Philly filled some of those personnel holes effectively (at least on paper), from rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell to veteran cornerback Adoree Jackson. And there was still enough returning talent to keep the Eagles in third place in The Ringer‘s preseason defensive ranking.

Meanwhile, the offense returns mostly intact, led by reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts at quarterback and reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley at running back. They have one of the best 1-2 wide receiver punches in the league with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and PFF ranks Philly’s offensive line No. 1 in the league, with right tackle Lane Johnson the early favorite to win the NFL’s inaugural Protector of the Year award.

Plenty of teams have followed up a Super Bowl victory with a letdown of a season or even by missing the playoffs, but there’s no reason to believe these Eagles won’t be right there in the title mix at the end of this season.

AFC North

Predicted order of finish: Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Browns

Is this going to be Aaron Rodgers’ last good year of football?

I assume the plan was for the four-time league MVP to wrap up his career in style after leaving the Green Bay Packers and making the New York Jets relevant again. But the NY experience was a disaster, and now Rodgers is 41 years old and trying to rewrite his final chapter with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a seemingly odd fit. A lot has been written about the potential pitfalls of pairing no-nonsense coach Mike Tomlin with high-nonsense quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and while I’m not in the locker room and don’t know either man, I can see why so many are predicting a destructive clash of personalities.

Thing is, though, Rodgers can still play — and Tomlin needs a solid QB if he’s going to extend his career-long streak of never having a losing season to a 20th year. And at some point, the Steelers want to actually contend for another Super Bowl rather than going 10-7 and losing in the first round of the playoffs.

Rodgers’ arm talent has never been in question, and last season he slung the ball for over 3,800 yards and 28 touchdowns despite the Jets’ 5-12 record. Pittsburgh’s combination of QBs last season combined for 3,200 yards and 21 TDs, and the team made the postseason thanks in large part to its consistently standout defense. Rodgers should provide an upgrade at QB, and the Steelers got him DK Metcalf at receiver and Jonnu Smith at tight end to help. Their young offensive line is ranked 21st in the league by PFF, but the defense is again a top-10 unit according to The Ringer.

Rodgers signed a 1-year deal with Pittsburgh, and he seemed to be heavily considering retirement before deciding to join his third pro team. This very well could be his final year in the league — or at least the last year in which he’s still seen as a quality starter for a team with playoff hopes.

NFC North

Predicted order of finish: Packers, Lions, Vikings, Bears

Micah Parsons shakes everything up

On the eve of a season where they were widely considered a team on the rise with potential to surprise, the Green Bay Packers pulled off a blockbuster trade that now puts them in serious Super Bowl conversations. Micah Parsons comes to Green Bay after his very public contract dispute with the Dallas Cowboys disintegrated into the four-time Pro Bowl pass rusher being moved to another legacy franchise.

Parsons can flip a Green Bay defense from decent to dangerous, but the Packers still need improvements on offense. Jordan Love is coming off a season in which he didn’t quite make the leap into stardom in his second year as a starter, then he threw three interceptions in the Packers’ playoff loss to the Eagles. Love still has a star running back in Josh Jacobs behind him, but the receiver corps needs to get better.

With the Lions losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs and the Vikings rolling with essentially a rookie quarterback, the addition of Parsons could be the right move to put the Packers on top of one of the NFL’s most competitive divisions.

AFC South

Predicted order of finish: Texans, Jaguars, Colts, Titans

What is Travis Hunter going to do, and how much of it will he be doing?

Depending on who you ask, Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter, the No. 2 pick in the 2025 draft, is either going to be the Shohei Ohtani of football — or he’s just a novelty act who brings something mildly different to the table.

In college, Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as a full-time two-way star at Colorado, a Biletnikoff-Award-winning wide receiver and a lockdown cornerback. The Jaguars drafted him knowing they had needs at both of those positions, and throughout training camp and the preseason Hunter got significant snaps on both sides of the ball. Going into Week 1, he’s listed as a starting receiver and a backup DB for Jacksonville.

So, is Hunter going to play something close to full-time on offense and defense as an NFL rookie like he did in college? Is he going to spend most of his time at receiver and only see occasional snaps at corner? Is he going to be brought along slowly in Year 1, being groomed for full-time double-duty down the road? How many creative ways will the Jags try to get the ball in the hands of the promising playmaker, whether it’s putting him in the backfield or even letting him return kicks?

According to BetMGM, Hunter has the fourth-best odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the fourth-best odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

NFC South

Predicted order of finish: Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Make-or-break time for Bryce Young

Going into Year 3, the jury in the court of public opinion is still out on Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. More importantly, the Carolina Panthers probably need to decide after this season whether Young will be their quarterback moving forward.

Young almost lost his job last season, getting benched after two blowout losses to open the schedule. Things looked even more bleak for him when veteran backup Andy Dalton led Carolina to a win (in which they scored 36 points) in his first start, but Young eventually regained the starting role in Week 8 and kept it for the remainder of the season. The Panthers finished 5-12, but at least Young improved significantly over his rookie year, posting an 82.2 passer rating and a 50.7 Quarterback Rating via ESPN.

In the offseason, the Panthers used their top-10 draft pick on wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, but didn’t address the offensive line in the draft or with any notable free agency or trade moves. Young was better in his second year than he was as a rookie, but this season is when he needs to solidify himself as Carolina’s franchise QB — especially when the 2026 NFL draft class is being talked about as a pretty strong one for quarterbacks, including local prospects like Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers.

AFC West

Predicted order of finish: Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, Raiders

If Pete Carroll can’t fix the Raiders, who can?

Since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas ahead of the 2020 season, they’ve made one playoff appearance (a one-and-done wild-card cameo) and have had one winning season. They’re currently on their fifth head coach and their eighth starting quarterback since the move. Take it from a former Cleveland Browns fan who’s feeling familiar vibes with my now favorite and local squad: That lack of stability in leadership positions on and off the field will only create a cycle of losing.

The newest regime is headlined by head coach Pete Carroll, general manager John Spytek, quarterback Geno Smith, and minority team owner Tom Brady (who by all accounts has a lot of influence with majority owner Mark Davis). While Smith, 34, has only started one playoff game in his career, Carroll, Spytek, and of course Brady have experience winning Super Bowls. Carroll is renowned for putting together elite defenses, and the Raiders at least have one building block for that in All-Pro defensive end Maxx Crosby. Spytek’s first draft pick for Vegas was used on running back Ashton Jeanty, who finished second in last year’s Heisman Trophy race. The prospect of working in Brady’s orbit is allegedly going to draw top free agents to the Raiders, which could happen — but hasn’t yet.

The Raiders haven’t had this much proven talent at the top in years, but they still have holes in the roster, a losing culture to turn around, and a tough climb to the top of the AFC West with the Broncos, Chargers, and Chiefs ahead of them. And if Carroll and this group can’t bring back the franchise’s glory days, it’s hard to be optimistic for the foreseeable future.

NFC West

Predicted order of finish: Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Cardinals

The NFL’s most wide-open division

All due respect to the NFC East, NFC North, and NFC South, but when I was writing out the predicted order of finish for the NFC West, three of the division’s four teams spent time at the top of the list. I finally landed on the Seattle Seahawks as my pick, but I really could see the Rams or 49ers taking the title. And recently, when a friend asked which NFL team was my dark horse playoff contender for this season, I chose the Cardinals.

Seattle has the league’s best defense, according to The Ringer‘s preseason ranking, led by head coach Mike Macdonald (who was previously the Ravens defensive coordinator) and featuring Byron Murphy II and Demarcus Lawrence in the front seven, and Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon in the secondary. The offense will look a lot different, having replaced Geno Smith at QB with Sam Darnold, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp listed as the top targets after the departures of DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. The biggest problem? Seattle’s offensive line, which is ranked 30th by PFF going into the season.

The 49ers are expected to bounce back after an injury-plagued 2024 season, and the Rams wouldn’t surprise anyone by successfully defending their 2024 division title. Arizona even has the talent at key positions (QB, WR, TE, Edge, CB) to make a run at the teams that are supposed to be ahead of them.

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Muslim NFL players to watch in 2025:

Abdul Carter, DE, Giants

Azeez Al-Shaair, LB, Texans

Ambry Thomas, CB, Eagles