The NFL season is off to a great start, with unexpected wins, frustrating starts, and a new class of rookies shaking up the league. As the season unfolds, let’s take a look at some of the top storylines.
Every season there are teams who defy preseason expectations and shock everyone. The Indianapolis Colts, after a let down 2024 season and a controversial decision to make Daniel Jones their starting quarterback, are off to a 3-1 start. Indianapolis came into the season with the wide assumption that they would be a bottom 10 team in the league but because of their high flying offense, which has put up at least 29 points in three of their first four games, they have been anything but. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were written off by many, have found a great balance between an offense that can be good when needed and a very solid defense that has propelled them to a 3-1 record. Before the season there were a lot of questions surrounding the Pittsburgh offense – they had just signed a 41 year old Aaron Rodgers to be their starter and they traded one of their top two wide receivers so it was hard to see them making much noise. So far however, they have been able to do just enough to win and they hold an early lead in the AFC North.
On the other side of it, there are teams who were looked at as Super Bowl contenders who have stumbled out the gates. The Baltimore Ravens, who were a lot of people’s pick to win the Super Bowl, have lost three of their first four games to begin their 2025 campaign. Baltimore was rightfully looked at as one of the best rosters in the league, with an electric offense led by two time MVP Lamar Jackson, and a stingy defense, but because of mounting injuries and questionable coaching they have been a major disappointment. Another disappointing team has been the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs, who have been to five out of the last six Super Bowls, have struggled mightily offensively in 2025. An injury and a suspension to the Chiefs’ two best receivers has played a big part in hindering their offense but these issues seem to go further than that as they did not play up to their standard on that side of the ball in 2024 either. Kansas City did drop an impressive 37 points in their week four win against Baltimore, so it will be interesting to see if they can build on that momentum going forward.
This year’s rookie class offered plenty of excitement leading up to the season – some have lived up to the hype and others have not. First overall pick, Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward, is off to a particularly rough start, throwing for only two touchdowns to two interceptions through four winless weeks with an underwhelming passer rating of 63.9. Travis Hunter who was selected 2nd overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars as both a receiver and cornerback has also started off the season quietly. Hunter, who has played primarily on offense to begin his young career, only has 118 receiving yards and no touchdowns through four weeks. He has been seeing more defensive snaps as the season progresses and is playing a key role despite his lack of production. Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay’s first round wide receiver, on the other hand has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations through four weeks. Egbuka has already racked up 282 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns, including a game winner over Tampa Bay’s division rival, the Atlanta Falcons, in week one. Overall it has been a mix of disappointing and exciting starts for the 2025 draft class with other players like Tyler Warren and Tetairoa McMillan shining, but players like Ashton Jeanty, and Colston Loveland scuffling.
Every season brings surprise stars, and 2025 is no different. Daniel Jones has taken a significant leap for the Colts after being released by the Giants after last season. Daniel Jones was thought of as a bottom of the barrel quarterback before this season and lots of Colts fans were enraged when he was announced as their starting quarterback, but he has proven everyone wrong. Jones has led the Colts to a 3-1 start and has even been put in early MVP talks, throwing for 1,078 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions with a passer rating of 103.3. Quentin Johnston, who was an afterthought on the Chargers offense going into the season, has amazed everyone, amassing 337 yards and four touchdowns on the season. Johnston, who was a first round pick in 2023 had huge issues with drops through his first two seasons and was given up on by many people but he has silenced all doubters and is a huge reason why the Chargers are 3-1.
Unfortunately injuries have played a significant role this season and have already made several teams’ seasons look bleak. The Cincinnati Bengals missed the playoffs in a disappointing 2024 season and if they wanted to turn things back around in 2025 they would need an elite offense to mask a miserable defense. Cincinnati did start 2-0, but in week two they lost superstar quarterback, Joe Burrow, to turf toe and he will miss at least three months. Since Burrow went down the Bengals are 0-2 and have scored a saddening 13 combined points in those two games. Burrow isn’t the only star quarterback to go down early in the season as Brock Purdy missed two games with turf toe, Jayden Daniles has missed two games with a knee injury and is questionable for week five and Lamar Jackson is now expected to miss two to three weeks with a hamstring injury. The wide receiver position has also seen some key injuries with Terry Mclaurin potentially missing up to three weeks, Xavier Worthy missed two weeks, Tyreek Hill went down with a major knee injury and Malik Nabers will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
As the NFL season progresses, every week brings new narratives and surprises. The rest of the year should bring even more excitement and fans will have no shortage of storylines to follow.