Heading into the 2025 NFL season, there are the obvious favorite teams, a la the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles—and on the other side of that coin, the clear losers… Like the Cleveland Browns and the Tennessee Titans.
But every year, without fail, a few dark horses rise to supremacy, and would-be contenders that come up short. We’ve seen it all before!
Let’s look around the NFL landscape heading into the 2025 season and call out five NFL teams that will lose MORE GAMES than you think… and five that will win more!
Which teams will lose a ton and win plenty of games in the 2025 NFL season?
Lose More: Washington Commanders
Yes, there is every reason to be excited about Jayden Daniels and this young NFL team, but let’s be honest: They overachieved last year, and with their schedule looking the way it does heading into the year, there is a very good chance that we will see some regression.
The beginning of the season will be unforgiving, to say the least, featuring early matchups against the Packers, Falcons, Chargers, and Chiefs.
It’s fun to believe in the Commanders. Really, it is. Daniels showed just enough magic last season to let fans dream big—elusiveness, arm strength, the kind of moxie that convinces a fanbase they’ve finally found the guy. And after years of quarterback roulette, you can understand why Washington faithful are clinging to that hope for all it is worth.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
But we are talking about a team that won a lot of close games against opponents that, in retrospect, were either unraveling or never put together properly in the first place.
But beyond the schedule, the roster just isn’t ready. There are still obvious gaps, particularly in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
If you ask us, the most likely scenario for the upcoming season is a hard crash back to reality. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing—regression can be productive when it forces honest assessments. But don’t let last year’s excitement blind you to the gaps that still exist. This is a team that’s ascending—but not yet arrived—so don’t be shocked if they win fewer games than you expect.
Win More: Atlanta Falcons
For the better part of the last three seasons, the Atlanta Falcons have been that frustratingly incomplete puzzle—enticing pieces in place, but for some reason it just hasn’t come together… But heading into 2025, it’s starting to feel like the picture is finally coming into focus.
Bijan Robinson isn’t just hype. He’s the kind of back who makes defenders flinch at film study. Drake London, when given a competent quarterback, looks the part of a true, big-bodied wide receiver 1. And then there’s second-year quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., who showed last season that he has the chops to be a solid, if not great, NFL starting quarterback—and throws one of the prettiest deep balls in the league.
Plus, they still play in the NFC South, which is… what’s the word… forgiving? Tampa Bay’s solid, but Carolina is somewhere between early and perpetual rebuild. And the Saints? They just pushed the reset button in a major way… Honestly, there is reason to believe at this point that the NFC South is Atlanta’s Division to lose!
The Falcons have flirted with relevance for a while. 2025 might be the year they actually make a move. Especially once they find a suitor and rid themselves of Kirk Cousins and give Penix a clean slate to run with!
Lose More: San Francisco 49ers
The NFC West is evolving, and this iteration of the 49ers looks more like a team catching its breath than one catching a second wind. If you’re expecting them to bounce back in a big way, you might be waiting a while.
While there are a lot of folks predicting that the 49ers have a big bounce-back year after a challenging 2024 season, the reality is that San Francisco has been bleeding talent all offseason, particularly on defense.
Dre Greenlaw, Leonard Floyd, Talanoa Hufanga, Charvarius Ward—all gone. On offense, Deebo Samuel is out the door, along with Jaylon Moore, and Aaron Banks—just to name a few.
To make matters worse, they haven’t made the right kind of moves in free agency and on the trade market to offset those losses.
Adding guys like wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and a backup tight end in Luke Farrell isn’t exactly moving the needle… Neither were the acquisitions of safety Richie Grant or linebacker Luke Gifford.
Sure, it is nice to have Brock Purdy under contract, but there are a lot of question marks around the rest of the roster. The defense, once the league’s most suffocating unit, now looks more like a unit in transition. There’s still talent, sure. But for an NFL team used to overwhelming opponents, they could be in for another rude awakening this upcoming year.
Win More: Houston Texans
C.J. Stroud didn’t just arrive in 2023—he kicked the damn door in—leading the Texans to one of the most surprising runs in recent memory… But unfortunately, 2024 was a different story, and he was hit with the cold, hard reality of the NFL… Defenses adjusted, the tape piled up, and Stroud’s sophomore campaign got choppy.
Of course, while the regression was undeniable, there were plenty of signs that the talent hasn’t gone anywhere… he just needs to adjust.
Heading into 2025, Stroud’s the pivot point for everything Houston wants to be. If he takes another step—even a modest one—the ceiling lifts for everyone and this Texans team could be seriously dangeous.
And don’t overlook that defense, which was a force to be reckoned with—and grew sharper, meaner, more effective over the course of last season.
A year ago, it was “promising,” but with what we saw through the second half of the season, it’s clear this group is bordering on “problem” and could be that way for a long time.
The Texans don’t carry the pedigree of AFC royalty, but that might work in their favor. Quiet ascents don’t draw target practice. And when you’ve got a quarterback who can flat-out spin it, plus a defense that is in hunting mode, it is easy to arrive as a sleeper and quickly emerge as a serious threat.
Look for Houston to blow away expectations this year as Stroud rallies back in Year 3.
Lose More: Philadelphia Eagles
There’s a version of this story where the Eagles power through adversity, Jalen Hurts puts together another MVP-caliber season, and the defense figures it out on the fly. But there’s also a more sobering version—the one that feels just a bit more plausible—where Philadelphia simply isn’t the same team that bulldozed its way to the Super Bowl last year.
Because, let’s face it, this offseason took a toll on them!
They lost defensive tackle Milton Williams, defensive end Josh Sweat, and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson—three guys who contributed more than they’re probably getting credit for. They added Kenyon Green in the Gardner-Johnson trade, but he’s still more of a reclamation project than a plug-and-play starter.
Heading into this year, there is plenty of reason to believe that Philadelphia will probably take a step back on defense, particularly with the losses we mentioned to the front 7.
The core is still intact, yes. But we’re no longer talking about an overwhelming roster, especially on the defensive side. This isn’t the same fearsome front that swallowed NFL opponents whole. Without that edge, the rest of the team has to compensate. And that’s where it gets tricky.
Not to mention the massive target on their back and the challenging schedule… This isn’t to say that they are going to fall out of contention, but don’t expect a 14- 15-win season like many in the media are predicting.
Win More: Denver Broncos
It was easy to laugh at Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos at the start of last year. Payton was looking like a clown, having failed with the Russell Wilson reclamation project, and his hand-picked guy, Bo Nix, looked lost to start the year.
Fortunately for Denver, they were able to salvage a 5-5 start… then Nix finally settled in, and Denver closed the season 5-2.
Suddenly, the jokes stopped. The defense, once the only thing keeping them in games, finally got some help from the offense and proceeded to take another step up.
So, what happens in 2025?
If Nix takes another step—and there’s reason to believe he will—this team has the bones of a legit playoff contender. Not just a fun story, not just “pesky”—contender. The defense still has teeth, and Payton’s track record with developing quarterbacks is, frankly, hard to ignore.
The AFC is brutal, yes. And they play in the same division as the Chiefs and Chargers… But the Broncos finally feel like a team built to take a punch—and throw one back. If they clean up the inconsistencies, this is a group that could sneak into the postseason and absolutely ruin someone’s January.
Lose More: New Orleans Saints
You could argue that the Saints have been putting off the inevitable for years—restructuring contracts, clinging to aging talent, and pretending that the window wasn’t already painted shut.
But in 2025, the denial phase is finally over.
Derek Carr is gone—retired late, leaving a hole atop the QB depth chart and a vacuum in the locker room. The quarterback room is now a cluster of guys fighting for relevance, with Tyler Shough likely getting the first crack at the job, but no clear path toward success.
This is the start of a full teardown. And it’s long overdue.
New Orleans is shifting from trying to compete to evaluating the scraps. And it’s going to get uglier before it gets better. Few people project them to win more than five or six games, but honestly, that might be generous.
As the NFL season wears on, don’t be shocked to hear the Saints routinely mentioned as a favorite to end up with the first overall pick in next year’s draft!
Win More: Cincinnati Bengals
It feels like heading into last season, people forgot just how dangerous Joe Burrow is when he’s healthy.
Maybe it’s the injuries. Maybe it’s the inconsistency. Maybe it’s just fatigue. But the way he balled out last season—regardless of the team’s struggles—cleared things up in a major way.
Burrow, when locked in, is still one of the five best quarterbacks in the league. And the Bengals, with the moves they made this offseason to complement him and the other stars on offense, have all the makings of being a real problem.
This team is being overlooked again. Let everyone else focus on the Bills, Chiefs, and Ravens. Cincinnati is coming. And with a leader like Burrow, there is no doubt that they’ve got the receipts.
Lose More: Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh has painted itself into a corner this NFL offseason with its pursuit of future Hall of Fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers… And even if Rodgers shows up, there’s no guarantee he can rescue them.
He’s 41 and turns 42 during the season—and we all saw how the Rodgers acquisition played out for the Jets the last couple of years…
This isn’t a long-term play. This is a gamble—a big, loud, desperate swing from a franchise that feels stuck in neutral.
In the meantime, they’ve let both 2024 starting quarterbacks walk, meaning that Mason Rudolph is now their backup plan—and traded for DK Metcalf, which, sure, bold…. But they also sent George Pickens packing, which makes that move a bit of a wash.
There’s a version of this story where Aaron Rodgers signs with Pittsburgh, plays at a high level, and the Steelers are suddenly back in the mix, but the smart money says that in one way or another, this one blows up in Pittsburgh’s face in a painful way.
Win More: Seattle Seahawks
It has been a busy offseason for the Seahawks… Seattle cut ties with Geno Smith, dealt DK Metcalf, and moved on from Tyler Lockett. On paper, it looks like a downgrade. In practice—it might be a reset they needed.
Sam Darnold is a question mark stepping out of the friendly confines of Kevin O’Connell’s offense—and the weapons he had in Minnesota last year—but with new O.C. Klint Kubiak in tow, he could find a similar level of success in the Pacific Northwest.
Better yet, this front office has quietly stockpiled young talent in areas that matter like the trenches, and the defense should have even sharper teeth heading into this season.
Mike Macdonald has instilled a very different energy from Pete Carroll, and he has this team believing in itself in a big way.
Seattle isn’t gunning for headlines. They’re gunning for wins. And they might end up with quite a few more than most around the league currently expect.
