Non-Bears NFL thread 2025

[CubinNY]

All the sudden the Rams don’t look like world beaters 

[BigSlick]

Oh my god Panthers might be doing us a solid here this is so wild 

[BigSlick]

Too bad the Browns have just rolled over and showed their belly. I swear to god if they show any sign of life next week I will be ungodly pissed 

[jersey cubs fan]

2 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

Too bad the Browns have just rolled over and showed their belly. I swear to god if they show any sign of life next week I will be ungodly pissed 

Why would you be pissed if Cleveland looks good against the titans? 

[Banedon]

OMG Carolina is gonna win.  Stafford turns the ball over 3 times.

[Banedon]

Bears are gonna be the #1 seed after the Panthers run out the clock. 🥳

[Wilson A2000]

Just now, Banedon said:

Bears are gonna be the #1 seed after the Panthers run out the clock. 🥳

Nobody saw this coming, but it’s awesome

[Brian707]

1 minute ago, Banedon said:

Bears are gonna be the #1 seed after the Panthers run out the clock. 🥳

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The Colts started 7-1 and there's a non-trivial chance they end up 8-9.  They just lost to the Texans at home and have to go to Houston, have both games against the Jags, plus @ Seattle and home for SF.  None of those teams are world-beaters but there isn't an easy out in that group for a team on a slide.

[bukie]

I now have no idea who the top 10 teams in the NFL are.

The Pats, Broncos and Bears have the best records, but the weakest schedules.

The Rams had the #1 defense and #1 offense efficiency, but lost to the Panthers.

The Panthers have beaten the Rams and Packers, but lost to the Cardinals and Saints.

The Chiefs and Ravens are just 6-6 and may not even make the playoffs.

The Bills have a great offense, but their defense can't stop anyone and are 2 games and a tiebreaker behind the Pats.

The Packers lost to the Browns and tied the Cowboys.

The Lions have a great point differential, but they're 7-5 and out of the top 7 right now in the NFC.

The Seahawks lost to the Rams and squeaked by the Titans.

The AFC South is a mess, the Colts offense may be broken under Daniel Jones, the Houston defense is almost singlehandedly keeping them in it, and the Jaguars are quietly in first place now.

The Cowboys are suddenly hot offensively, but still have one of the worst defenses in the NFL.

So there are like 15 teams that have an argument, and that doesn't include the 7-4 Chargers, who nobody really thinks are good but are 6th in the AFC playoff race right now despite losses to the Giants and Commanders. Or the 7-5 Bucs who had lost 4 of 5 before squeaking by the Cardinals at home.

After that? There's a giant drop off and everyone below that is basically varying degrees of terrible.

[Andy]

This last month has been the most confusing of Panthers football probably ever. Unfortunately Tampa has a pillow soft schedule the rest of the way so Carolina will probably have to sweep the 2 meetings in the final 3 weeks. But meaningful December football is nice. 

[Soul]

20 minutes ago, Andy said:

This last month has been the most confusing of Panthers football probably ever. Unfortunately Tampa has a pillow soft schedule the rest of the way so Carolina will probably have to sweep the 2 meetings in the final 3 weeks. But meaningful December football is nice. 

Wins over GB and LAR means nobody should feel like it’s an easy week when playing them.

[Brian707]

Houston might win the AFC with that defense 

[Soul]

37 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Houston might win the AFC with that defense 

Yeah back from the dead.  I had written them off.

[Banedon]

The Bears have basically gotten everything they could have dreamed of this season so far except that it wasn't us that did this....

[Derwood]

In the meantime, the Titans had the #1 pick last year, took Cam Ward, and have converted that into....the #1 pick this year

[Banedon]

4 minutes ago, Banedon said:

The Bears have basically gotten everything they could have dreamed of this season so far except that it wasn't us that did this....

Apparently he's coming back.

[Wilson A2000]

4 minutes ago, Derwood said:

In the meantime, the Titans had the #1 pick last year, took Cam Ward, and have converted that into....the #1 pick this year

The Panthers know this situation well, but at least the Titans have their pick

Edited November 30, 2025 by Wilson A2000

[bukie]

I'll give Brosmer credit, he's doing his best to make JJ look like a good option.

[gflore34]

Watching the Vikings-Seahawks, sure appears Jefferson has completely checked out.  I know the QB situation, to say the least, is bad, and it's getting to him.  Very much enjoying this Vikings display of futility, even Tyson Bagent, with crappy coaching, was better than what Brosmer, with a supposedly superior coach, has thus far, shown.  Thing that irritates me about the Vikings is they're media darlings, get way too much credit when they win and not enough criticism when they suck.  If the Bears we're sinking it up like this, the media would be destroying them.

[gflore34]

14 minutes ago, bukie said:

I'll give Brosmer credit, he's doing his best to make JJ look like a good option.

I had the same exact thought.

[bukie]

Here's how I see the NFL after 13 weeks (with DEN-WAS and NE-NYG left to play):

Tier 1: Super Bowl favorites

1. LA Rams (9-3) - Loss this week where they gave the ball away 3 times, but felt like they had lapped the field coming in, so still #1
2. Seattle Seahawks (9-3) - Dominated the Vikings, lost to the Rams in a close game where they gave the ball away 3 times, think LA's offense is slightly better.

Tier 2: Super Bowl contenders

3. Buffalo Bills (8-4) - I know, they aren't leading their division and lost to NE. However, they're still the scarier team and would be my AFC favorite as of right now. Need the D to show a little more to make them a SB favorite.
4. Green Bay Packers (8-3-1) - If they played every week like they played Detroit, they'd be top tier. Still prone to a stinker week, and can establish themselves as a favorite over a tough closing stretch.
5. Detroit Lions (7-5) - Still feels like this team should be better than it's been. Done playing the Packers, at least, could make a run to close the season to get into the playoffs on a scary note.
6. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6) - Dominant team that just can't win close games this year. It's been wild, and if they can somehow sneak into the playoffs, tell me that they can't win the AFC.

Tier 3: Good teams with a huge question to answer yet

7. Denver Broncos (9-2) - They're going to win the AFC West and beat the Chiefs. Still don't trust the offense.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (9-3) - Speaking of offenses I don't trust. Defense has dominated in games not involving the Bears.
9. Houston Texans (7-5) - Ok, we've got a theme now. Dominant defense, shaky offense. Better of late, probably the best team in a surprisingly good AFC South.
10. San Francisco 49ers (9-4) - They do have wins over the Rams and Seahawks, the only team that can say that. Brock Purdy might be bad, though. CMC might be enough to carry them, though, but they don't have a dominant defense to lean on if Purdy digs them a hole.
11. New England Patriots (10-2) - Yes, it seems low considering how good Maye has looked. However, their schedule has been and will continue to be paper soft. They beat Buffalo, Tampa and the Panthers before Carolina woke up. Other than that they have losses to the Raiders and Steelers, and wins over Cleveland, Cincy, Miami, Atlanta, New York Jets, Titans and Saints.
12. Baltimore Ravens (6-6) - Inexplicable blowout loss to the Bengals, and Lamar Jackson looks lost. If he can find it, they'll win the incredibly weak AFC North and have looked really good since their bye week.
13. Chicago Bears (9-3) - They're getting better, and their defense is getting healthier and their offense is getting smoother. They're the first team to make Philly's defense look ordinary, which is something. Gotta beat the Packers to really move up a tier.
14. Indianapolis Colts (8-4) - Their defense is just OK, and their offense has dropped off a cliff from the first half of the season. Lost control of the division and may not make the playoffs at this rate.

Tier 4: OK teams that might make the playoffs anyway

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) - They squeaked by the Cardinals to keep the division lead. Mayfield hasn't kept up the momentum from early in the year, and I'm not sure they scare anyone going into the playoffs.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) - They could still win the AFC North. They have a terrible pass defense and a bottom-third offense. Aaron Rodgers is both bad and hurt.
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4) - Your new leader in the AFC South. Defense is very good, offense is very meh. Can they hold off the Colts and Texans?
18. Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) - How is this team 8-4? They did beat the Chiefs and Broncos early in the year, and were blown out by the Commanders and Jaguars. They're just kind of okay everywhere, which might be enough to squeak into the playoffs?
19. Carolina Panthers (7-6) - Hey, they beat the Rams and are just a half game out of first. They were SO BAD in the first half of the season, though, I wonder if they have enough in them to rally to make the playoffs.
20. Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1) - They were a half of football away from being effectively eliminated last week, but have played their best 6 quarters of football in the last week to beat Philly and Kansas City. Still very bad defensively, but are good enough offensively to steal some wins (and already have!). Don't see them doing enough to pass enough NFC North/West teams to get a wildcard, but if Philly falls apart, who knows?

Tier 5: Bad teams that are still trying

21. Miami Dolphins (5-7) - Beat the Bills after being left for dead, so they're just frisky enough to maybe steal one or two coming down the stretch here against the Pats or Bills. Not close to a playoff contender, though.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (4-8) - Joe Burrow is back. Their defense is about the worst in history. In a very weak AFC North, that's just enough for them to be exciting to finish the season.
23. Atlanta Falcons (4-8) - If Drake London can get healthy enough to play, they could potentially still steal some wins. Don't think there's enough there to sneak into the playoffs at, like, 7-10 though.
24. New York Giants (2-10) - Just decimated by injuries, and they continue to blow 4th quarter leads. Still giving every team a game, though.
25. Cleveland Browns (3-9) - The defense is good, but if the offense is non-existent, they just get tired and run out of gas late in games.

Tier 6: Bad teams that aren't trying, but probably won't get the #1 pick

26. Minnesota Vikings (4-8) - The bottom has fallen out. JJ is bad, and everyone else is worse. Jefferson is checked out and just trying to stay healthy .
27. Washington Commanders (3-8) - Jayden Daniels is broken. The defense is bad. Not sure where they'll go from here.
28. Arizona Cardinals (3-9) - Bad offense, disappointing defense, just no plan for success here.

Tier 7: Race for the #1 pick

29. New York Jets (3-9) - Won today to likely take them out of the running, but traded away half their defense to make sure they stay in the hunt for #1.
30. New Orleans Saints (2-10) - Lost a close one to Miami today, have only cleared 20 points twice this season.
31. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10) - Geno Smith and Pete Carroll haven't made the difference. Scored 10 or fewer points in 5 games this year.
32. Tennessee Titans (1-11) - Cam Ward hasn't been bad, but...everyone else has been. At least before today the games had been closer lately.

[Soul]

3 hours ago, gflore34 said:

Watching the Vikings-Seahawks, sure appears Jefferson has completely checked out.  I know the QB situation, to say the least, is bad, and it's getting to him.  Very much enjoying this Vikings display of futility, even Tyson Bagent, with crappy coaching, was better than what Brosmer, with a supposedly superior coach, has thus far, shown.  Thing that irritates me about the Vikings is they're media darlings, get way too much credit when they win and not enough criticism when they suck.  If the Bears we're sinking it up like this, the media would be destroying them.

Here’s a team that was 14-3 with a good QB in place and simply chose to blow it up over a draftee who wasn’t even that highly thought of as a passer in college.

Coach & GM are paid to know whether JJ is going to be a better option than Darnold.  That’s a failure that should get them fired.  I know GB wouldn’t stand for it.

[Derwood]

[Banedon]

12 hours ago, bukie said:

Tier 2: Super Bowl contenders

3. Buffalo Bills (8-4) - I know, they aren't leading their division and lost to NE. However, they're still the scarier team and would be my AFC favorite as of right now. Need the D to show a little more to make them a SB favorite.
4. Green Bay Packers (8-3-1) - If they played every week like they played Detroit, they'd be top tier. Still prone to a stinker week, and can establish themselves as a favorite over a tough closing stretch.
5. Detroit Lions (7-5) - Still feels like this team should be better than it's been. Done playing the Packers, at least, could make a run to close the season to get into the playoffs on a scary note.
6. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6) - Dominant team that just can't win close games this year. It's been wild, and if they can somehow sneak into the playoffs, tell me that they can't win the AFC.

These teams have way more flaws than some of the teams you have in tier 3.