2025 NFC Preview

Can the Eagles repeat?  Can the Lions finish the deal after last season's playoff loss?  Can the Rams, who are built to win now, do just that?  Are the Packers for real?  Are the Vikings?  And how do the Commanders follow up last season's shocking run to the NFC Championship Game?  Those are just the questions about last year's playoff teams.

There are plenty of questions surrounding the rest of the NFC, too.  How will Dallas rebound after missing the playoffs last season and inexplicably trading Micah Parsons?  Will the 49ers continue their trend of either missing the playoffs or making the NFC Championship Game?  How much better will the Giants be after a 3-14 record that was the result of bad luck as much as being a bad team?  And who will win the NFC South?

While the AFC has three top teams and everybody else, the NFC is much more wide open.  There are easily half a dozen teams that can realistically think Super Bowl.  I'm not even sure winning the division is imperative either.  It'll be helpful, obviously, but look at what happened last year.  The Lions were the 1-seed and went one and out, while Washington won two road games to get to the NFC Championship Game.  Now the Commanders have the burden of expectations, though.

NFC East: No team has repeated in the NFC East since the Eagles' run of division dominance 20 years ago.  Philadelphia's in a position to break that string, although the other three teams in the division will certainly have something to say about that.  I do think the Eagles are the division favorites, but that's mainly because Washington and Dallas both have something to prove.  The Commanders have to back up what they did last season, while the Cowboys want to show everyone that last season was the anomaly.

Although, the Micah Parsons trade did nothing but add more questions.  It certainly didn't do anything to improve the Cowboys.  In fact, I think it knocked them from being a solid playoff contender to a team staring at a 7-10 or 8-9 season.  And, while still the worst team in the division, the Giants will be much improved.  They not only have an actual quarterback now, they have two!  They don't need the Seattle Russell Wilson.  They just need him not to be the Denver Russell Wilson.  Even that would be an improvement, though.  Are they a playoff team?  No.  Will they be 3-14 again?  Also no.

NFC North: Minnesota had perhaps the worst luck in the league last season.  The Vikings went 14-3 and were a wild card team who lost in the first round of the playoffs!  It was enough for the Lions to propose a rule change that playoff seeding be based strictly on record.  Of course, that was a once-in-a-generation type of situation.  And Minnesota also vastly overachieved last year.  I'm very curious to see how the J.J. McCarthy Experience will go, too.

Meanwhile, the expectations on the Lions aren't quite as high entering this season, which could be a good thing.  They're still really good and legit Super Bowl contenders, but they may not even win the division.  That's because I think the Green Bay Packers are the best team in the NFC North.  Especially now that they've added Parsons, one of the best pass rushers in the league.  And the Bears will be a good last-place team.  They'll be 6-11, mainly because of their division record.

NFC South: Tampa Bay's been on a run of division titles over the last few seasons.  But that has as much to do with how bad the other three teams are rather than anything about them.  Much like the AFC South, the NFC South has two bad teams in Carolina and New Orleans.  Which leaves us with just Atlanta to challenge the Bucs at the top.

I feel like a broken record, regularly expressing confidence in the Falcons only to see them fizzle out late in the season with a playoff berth in their grasp.  Yet, here I am, picking them to win the NFC South yet again.  Call me crazy, but I think no quarterback controversy and being committed to Michael Penix Jr. will make a big difference.  If not and Atlanta falls apart down the stretch again, expect 3rd- or 4th-seeded Tampa Bay to lose at home in the wild card round again.

NFC West: Consistency has been the Rams' trademark really since Sean McVay took over as head coach.  Last season, they weren't great, yet they still won the division and a playoff game.  This year, they make a big change at wide receiver.  Cooper Kupp is out and Davante Adams is in.  Frankly, that's not really a significant difference at all.  They'll keep doing what they're doing and Matthew Stafford will have a lot of passing yards.

Seattle, now with Sam Darnold at quarterback, is a team worth watching.  The Seahawks will either be really good and make the playoffs or finish 6-11.  I'm not sure which.  And how can the 49ers not bounce back after having players miss more games due to injury than anyone else last season?  Especially since the benefit of finishing last is getting to play all the bad teams the following year.  Let's not forget that Arizona went 8-9 last season, either.  The Cardinals could easily emerge as a sleeper playoff team.

In the AFC, it wouldn't be a surprise if all four of last year's division champions repeat.  In the NFC, it wouldn't be a surprise if all four are different.  I do see the Eagles and Rams defending, but the North and South will change hands.  Green Bay's the best team in the North, so the Packers win that division.  In the South, meanwhile, I've got Atlanta. 

As for the wild card teams, the Lions get one.  Unless something completely catastrophic happens, there's no way Detroit doesn't make the playoffs.  I'm also gonna go out on a limb (although, probably not too far of one) and say San Francisco ends up back in the postseason.  The third wild card, meanwhile, goes to the Vikings, who just edge out Washington, Seattle and Dallas for the final spot.

A lot of projections have either the Eagles or Lions winning the NFC title.  I don't think enough people are looking at the Rams as seriously as they should.  Or the Packers, for that matter.  That could easily be your NFC Championship Game matchup, though, with the Rams winning and facing the Bills in the Super Bowl.  And, call me crazy, but this finally may be the year for the Bills.