We are the actual vertex of the 2025 NFL season and while there are obviously no mathematically eliminated teams there are a significant number that can be emotionally and logically written off. The Jets and Giants, of course, since for the past 13 years that’s practically be pre-ordained. And teams with two wins or less that have already made significant personnel moves–New Orleans, Tennessee, Cleveland and Miami–are clearly in that class, otherwise known as steerage. Feel free to add Las Vegas to that group, and with the trade deadline looming tomorrow you’d get the best odds on the strip that they’re about to cast off a few of their underachieving senior citizens.
Then there’s last season’s Cinderella resurgents, the Washington Re–oops, Commandeers–a squad that despite a rash of injuries has steadfastly remained a favorite of the league’s numerous media partners. Last night they were still worthy of an NBC Sunday night window, an arguably contending 3-4 but still featuring a marquee injury-prone quarterback seeking to make a statement before a national audience that would signal “I’m back, baby” to his legion of Gen Zs who own his retro merch. And then THIS happened, per the anonymous FOX 5 DC Digital Team:
Jayden Daniels left Washington’s game against Seattle with 7:29 remaining Sunday night after his left, nonthrowing arm bent awkwardly during a tackle near the goal line in the team’s 38-14 loss to the Seahawks. Daniels walked to the tunnel under his own power, but it marked yet another setback in a spiraling season for the second-year quarterback and Washington. Daniels had just returned from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for last week’s game in Kansas City. Earlier this season, he missed two games with a knee injury.
What Daniels was still doing playing in a blowout loss to a clearly superior team defies logic. Washington is now three full games behind Philadelphia in an overloaded NFC where already five teams have five or more wins battling for the three wild card spots–none of them in the NFC East.
There were a few other quarterbacks who had unusually crappy days that could at least justify their presence because their teams were involved in far closer games. Perhaps the least destructive of these implosions took place took place at whatever they’re now calling what used to be The Big Ketchup Bottle, as THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR’ Nathan Brown took note:
The Colts learned a pair of valuable lessons Sunday. What goes up must come down. And anything that can go wrong, will.
The hottest offense in the NFL and the owners of the best record in the league looked like a shell of themselves Sunday in a 27-20 road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, where an offense that had turned it over just four times in eight games matched that total – and more – all of them either fluky or generally uncharacteristic of a team that had been one of the best in the league and the quarterback.
(Daniel) Jones finished just 31-for-50 for 342 yards and just one touchdown through the air in garbage time. Before the team’s final scoring drive, Jones had just over 200 passing yards. He had three interceptions – matching the three he had had through eight games with his new team – and a pair of fumbles. The Colts offense struggled to get Jonathan Taylor involved on substantive plays early in Sunday’s game, and the run game never really came into form once the team fell behind two scores as the first half ended. Taylor finished with just 45 yards on 14 carries and a longest rush of nine yards, giving him an average per rush of just 3.2 yards – far lower than his season-average of 5.9 yards per carry he entered Sunday’s game with.
Naysayers are already calling this the return of the 2024 version of Jones that earned his release (some might say parole) from the Giants at about this time last year. But he did have a far better day than another more prominent name, and his team is far better shape for a post-season berth. ATHLON SPORTS’ Parker Johnson sounded this cautionary note:
The Kansas City Chiefs dropped to 5-4 on the season after their 28-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills on at Highmark Stadium on Sunday…On a wider scale, the outcome of recent matchups between the two AFC giants have either ended or tilted the trajectory of the losing team’s season. (Pat) Mahomes felt the weight of that pressure after Allen’s historic performance put Buffalo in front and Kansas City’s second half comeback effort fell short. Mahomes finished the game a career-worst 15-of-34 passing for 250 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
“We’ve got to learn from it,” Mahomes said of the loss in his postgame press conference. After that cliched remark, he paused momentarily before turning to a reporter and changing his tone. “But it’s kind of like, we’ve got to do it now,” Mahomes demanded urgently. “There’s no easy game coming up and there’s no more chances that we can really take losses. You’ve got to learn from it fast.”
At least Mahomes can still count on his teammates to help him right those wrongs. That’s not necessarily the case in Green Bay, where the Packers, clad in a hideous blue and brown throwback that looked more like throwup, put on an offensive performance that likely made their green-and-gold clad faithful want to add more of it to the pile–or so sayeth SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Bill Huber:
Call it what you want, but the Packers – fresh off a big win at the Steelers and awaiting a visit from the Super Bowl champion Eagles – laid a colossal egg in a 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Lambeau Field. Adding considerable injury to insult, the Packers lost premier tight end Tucker Kraft to a knee injury in the third quarter. Kraft collided with guard Sean Rhyan, eventually was helped into the blue medical tent and ultimately carted to the locker room.
Make no bones (or MCL) about it, Kraft’s done for 2025. And as someone whose fantasy team was saved from almost sure defeat last week by his outsized performance, I’m particularly distraught over this one. Especially since four of the teams I have some shred of emotional investment in are among the ones on that aforementioned list of the emotionally eliminated.
And now, on to the second half of the season. If nothing else, I’m gonna soldier on.
Courage…