9/12/2025
Many preach patience when it comes to the start of any NFL season. And you know what? That is probably the correct call.
We are ignoring it anyway.
To be sure, there is a method to madness. NFL teams play only 17 games each regular season. Every single outcome represents roughly 6 percent of a squad’s schedule. This starts to add up after the first couple of weeks. You see it in the way team’s approach immediate lineup changes. You also see it in how starkly odds and trends shift when it comes to Super Bowl bets placed in the first few weeks of the season.
As such, it is important to start spotlighting bigger-picture trends, problems, surprises, etc. right out of the gate. These may go down as hot takes, incorrect assertions or needless concerns when all is said and done. But they are still worth talking about—both for entertainment and educational purposes, as a way of bringing potentially real issues and surprise observations to the forefront.
Here is how we will approach this exercise: We will tackle one of the biggest storylines coming out of the NFL season’s start. After digging into it, we will deliver a verdict, choosing between an “overreaction,” “worth monitoring” and “not an overreaction at all.” These designations will be given out based on how real or concerning each topic or trend figures to be as teams put more games in their rear view.
The Miami Dolphins are Cooked
The concern level for the Miami Dolphins entering the 2025 NFL regular season was approaching Defcon 1. Though quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wideout Tyreek Hill attempted to downplay both their dynamic and the team’s struggles, the ‘Phins laid an absolute egg to kick things off.
Miami got absolutely blasted by the Indianapolis Colts, losing 33-8 on the road. Considering this offense is supposed to be among the highest-octane attacks in the league, alarms are being sounded.
Tagovailoa finished with more interceptions (two) and sacks (three) than he did passing touchdowns. Hill, meanwhile, caught just four passes for 40 years.
Something is amiss in South Florida. And it has been for some time.
Verdict: Not an overreaction at all
The New York Giants Need to Bench Russell Wilson NOW
Russell Wilson’s debut under center for the New York Giants did not go according to plan. The G-Men fell to a rising Washington Commanders squad 21-6, with their QB1 looking like a fish out of wager.
Wilson finished the game completing under 46 percent of his passes and failing to throw a single touchdown. Fans and media are already calling for New York to start rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart as a result.
Yes, it is still early. And no, the Giants were not supposed to beat the Commanders. But that’s the thing: New York is rebuilding. It isn’t supposed to be competing with heavyweights. It would make sense to start Wilson if the Giants were fringe playoff contenders. They aren’t. Every game he starts under center is just an opportunity missed for someone, in Dart, who already ranks as the single most important player in the organization.
Verdict: Not an overreaction at all
The Los Angeles Chargers are Coming for the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC West Crown
The Chiefs have tallied nine straight AFC West division titles. Entering the season, they seemed like locks to bag a 10th.
Defaulting to faith in the Chiefs is fine. Frankly, we are about to do that here. Believing in a team with Patrick Mahomes makes all the sense in the world.
At the same time, the Chargers put Kansas City on red alert with their 27-21 victory. Justin Herbert looks like an early MVP candidate, while the Chiefs offensive line still isn’t providing Mahomes with enough protection or time to do what he does best.
This storyline is hovering somewhere between “worth monitoring” and “overreaction” territory. We tilt toward the latter, not just out of blind belief, but because Kansas City will get healthier and jell better on the offensive side of the ball as time wears on.
Verdict: Overreaction
The Detroit Lions are No Longer Super Bowl Contenders
Everyone was up in arms after the Detroit Lions lost both of their primary coordinators over the offseason. They apparently had a right to be.
Detroit opened up the season by betting absolutely trucked against the Green Bay Packers. They lost 27-13, with quarterback Jared Goff turning in a largely unspectacular performance, and with the defense surrendering a 128.6 QB rating to Jordan Love.
The Lions started to show cracks on both sides of the ball by the end of last season. They are clearly on the brink.
Still, head coach Dan Campbell has steered this team out of tough stretches before. He continues to have the talent at his disposal to do so again. With all of that said, this is a situation worth monitoring as their schedule schlepps on.
Verdict: Worth monitoring
The NFC East has Two Super Bowl Contenders…and the Dallas Cowboys aren’t One of Them
We all know the reigning-champion Philadelphia Eagles will be in the Super Bowl mix again. They proved as much, in a big way, to start the season.
Meanwhile, the Commanders are picking up right where they left off during their darling postseason run. The offense looks caps-lock SCARY under QB1 Jayden Daniels’ stewardship, and while the defense has yet to be truly tested, it appears to have tightened up.
We already talked about the Giants. They are nothing. But what about the Cowboys? Opening the season with a loss to the defending champs is hardly unforgivable. But this is not a team that looks particularly menacing on either offense or defense. Mind you, this was true before they inexplicably shipped Micah Parson to the Green Bay Packers.
Verdict: Not an overreaction at all
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