This NFL season has been one of the best in recent memory. This article breaks down some of the best narratives and moments from the 2025-26 NFL season. (Spoiler Alert: The NFC West this year is one of the most entertaining divisions I’ve ever witnessed.)
About the NFC West…. Three teams could realistically win a Super Bowl (and at the time of writing this, are all in contention for it in the Divisional Round). Not to mention the two starting All-Pro receivers (the Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the Rams’ Puka Nacua) in the NFL lie in this division. Oh, and just in case you forgot, the probable MVP, the Rams’ Matthew Stafford, is also here.
Trey McBride of the Arizona Cardinals (photo courtesy of the Cardinals)
The San Francisco 49ers have been injured, but are arguably the best running back of this generation, and any of these teams I would be excited to watch. I would easily sacrifice three hours of my time for an interdivisional game of any of the four, even when you factor in the Arizona Cardinals. Their defense is mediocre, but their offense with Jacoby Brissett is starting to become exciting when you factor in all-pro tight end Trey McBride, who had the seventh most receiving yards in the NFL, as yes, a TIGHT END. This stat speaks to the superiority of this division over the rest of the NFL: it had 11 players on the All-Pro first- and second-team rosters. That’s insane.
Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” And that about sums up the Denver Broncos. They beat the Jets 13-11 in Week Six, then two weeks later beat the Cowboys 44-24. The week in between? They beat the Giants by one in a game they should’ve lost. It’s funny how inconsistent this team is for such a consistently top-three defense. The inconsistency really lies in Bo Nix. One week, the guy will play like prime Michael Vick, throwing for 302 yards and 4 touchdowns (Week 11 against the Packers); another random week, he’ll fumble and throw 2 picks while only posting 150 yards (Week 13 against the Raiders). And that’s precisely what makes him so fun to watch. You can only wonder what will happen to this young Broncos squad; it’s a mystery how they’ll keep playing throughout the playoffs.
Liam Coen (photo courtesy of the Jaguars)
The Jacksonville Jaguars were 4-13 last year. They selected Travis Hunter in the 2025 Draft, yet he was injured in Week 7. So, how exactly did this turnaround happen? It all starts with their new head coach, Liam Coen. Although they were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, it rarely happens that a team becomes this good this quickly. It shows how much a coach can impact a team: the Jags had the pieces; they couldn’t find the right fit. Well, Coen indeed found them. They entered the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak, with Trevor Lawrence averaging 4.3 touchdowns in the last three games of the season. Wideout Parker Washington was perfectly implemented into the offense late, and their running game exploded with speed back Travis Etienne and power back Bhayshul Tuten.
I have to give a ton of credit to their front office with the midseason trade of Jakobi Meyers, as that was the move that really turned their season around. It added an extra component to their offense for the defense to guard, which especially left Brian Thomas open, while also creating deep pass plays for Trevor Lawrence to show off his arm. Although they were eliminated in a tight game against the Bills, this team underwent a massive turnaround, which led to a great season; something Jags fans can start to expect in the future.
There’s no mentioning the 2025-26 NFL season without mentioning how good some of these defenses are this season, namely the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks. These guys are just fun to watch, as the Texans’ defense is incredible. All-pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. is emerging as the best DB in the league at the ripe age of 24, not to mention he’s paired with 22-year-old corner Kamari Lassiter, who has been dominating as of late. Their safeties are Calen Bullock, who has four interceptions and has been consistent in coverage all year, and Jalen Pitre, one of the hardest-hitting safeties with four interceptions also. Their D-Line consists of all-pro Will Anderson Jr, who had 12 sacks at 24 years old, and all-pro Danielle Hunter, who had 15 sacks. And those are their edge rushers.
The Texans have the number one pass defense and number two rush defense, and even the best offenses in the league struggle to drive for a touchdown against them. Plus, their average age is just over 26, so they’ll be great for a long time. Then there’s the Seahawks, who have a less name-heavy defense but are an excellent unit. Their corners are some of the best in the NFL, and their pass rush is solid, too. They call themselves the “Dark Side,” not quite as cool as the old 2010’s “Legion of Boom,” but still accurately depicts their dominance. It’s safe to say offenses had their work cut out for them this season.
Flashback to 8:14 PM on December 26th, 2025. Little did I know I was tuning in to one of the best NFL games in a long time. On a random Sunday Night, I had a feeling this would be a great game; two teams fighting hard for the one seed. I didn’t know how right I was at the time. The very first play of the game, with 14:53 left in the first quarter, the Chicago Bears picked off Brock Purdy for six points. That set the tone for the rest of the game, as that score would set up five back-and-forth consecutive touchdowns, each team going punch for punch in what would be a 28-21 game at halftime. That’s right, no field goals, no safeties, no punts, nothing besides touchdowns. It was pure entertainment.
Caleb Williams vs. the 49ers (photo courtesy Chicago Sun-Times)
Christian McCaffrey was playing the best he had all season, Brock Purdy kept on dancing in the end zone, yet Caleb Williams and the Bears were punching right back, especially with rookie wideout Luther Burden III having a legacy game. With the score 42-38 and the 49ers leading and the Bears with the ball, there was 1:55 seconds left in the game for the most intense drive of the season. On a third and ten, Luther Burden picked up 14 yards to extend the game and get the Bears 30 yards away from the end zone with 60 seconds left. A fourth and five was picked up on the 49ers’ 20-yard line, on an eight-yard pass to tight end Colston Loveland. A few plays later, with four seconds left and no timeouts, the Bears snapped the ball on the 49ers’ three-yard line. Caleb Williams rolled out left, avoiding two defensive tackles and running out of time. He heaved a desperation pass to Luther Burden III, who came up two yards short of the ball. The 49ers held on with the whole world watching. What a game!
The Browns’ Myles Garrett (photo courtesy WSJ)
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns is dominant. There’s no need for any proof of that statement. Yet if anybody could need more proof, this should seal him in as the greatest defensive player of his generation. 23.5 sacks is ridiculous. It’s marvelous, it’s glorious, it’s fabulous. It’s pretty much any positive word that ends in -ous. The craziest part is that he seems to get the most sacks against the best quarterbacks. Four of his sacks came in a single game against MVP candidate Drake Maye in Week 8. Five of them came in a single game against two-time MVP Lamar Jackson in Week 11. His 23.5 sacks came against Joe Burrow.
Yes, his dominance is helped by the Browns’ front office, which drafted rookie Mason Graham to take some of the O-line pressure off him and paired him with great corners and linebackers to keep coverage. So yes, he is helped majorly by their defense, but that fact shouldn’t take anything away from him. Garrett was double-teamed and pretty much triple-teamed by the end of the season. The Steelers practically lost their Week 17 game against the Browns to keep Garrett off of Rodgers. My favorite part about this whole situation? After his record-breaking sack, Defensive Tackle Shelby Harris couldn’t contain his excitement, which resulted in him high-fiving the ref after the play. It’s hilarious.
The Bears-Packers rivalry is arguably the best rivalry in NFL history. And fans this year got the treat of watching them battle it out in the first round of the playoffs. These teams HATE each other. In fact, Caleb Williams came into the game wearing a cheese grater hat, mocking the so-called “cheeseheads.” The Packers pulled away with a 21-3 lead at halftime, playing with anger, which leftthe Bears with a 1.3% chance of winning. At least that’s what ESPN thought. The Bears pulled closer and closer until they took the lead with 1:58 left in the game, and the score was 31-27. Jordan Love had a chance to win the game but, on fourth down, was forced to throw a Hail Mary, which was incomplete.
The Bears held on to advance, and after the game, the new Bears head coach, Ben Johnson, didn’t shake Matt LaFleur’s hand, later defending this by saying he “hates the Packers” and stating he “likes beating the Packers three times a year.” Isn’t this rivalry just great?
Great read. Informative and entertaining.
Great article! Keep ‘em coming
Loved the style of the writing, lots of personality and insights!
Great info! I just learned a lot! This was written really well!
I feel like I could have a coherent conversation about football now. And I don’t watch football.