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USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL worst to first: Ranking last-place teams chances of winning their division in 2025
The basement can be a cold, dark and lonely place that is also forgotten. Luckily for the NFL teams stuck at the bottom, they are given the opportunity to move up. They are awarded a higher draft pick and sometimes have more money to spend thanks to a roster that isn't loaded with as much talent. They are given an easier schedule, on paper, since they match up against other last-place teams. The NFL wants those teams to compete. After all, it's good for business. For the first time since 2019, an NFL team didn't go from worst to first in 2024. Here is our ranking of the last-place finishers from 2024 and how likely they are to accomplish that feat in 2025. Ranking NFL teams with best chance to go worst to first The bottom of the list is a crowded place of mediocrity. While the Giants could easily surprise – and they certainly have the talent for it – the path to winning the NFC East is about as tough as it gets this year. Barring something catastrophic to one of the three teams in front of them, it seems almost impossible that the Giants get out of the basement in 2025. Already armed with the toughest schedule, per Sharp Football Analysis, there are far more questions than answers for Big Blue. Will Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen last through the season? Will Russell Wilson be the starting quarterback or will Jaxson Dart take over at some point? There are reasons for Giants fans to be optimistic given their young core. That doesn't mean they're ready to get through the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys. Cleveland was close to stealing the bottom spot from New York here, but wins out in a division that has a little more uncertainty. Outside of Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, the AFC North is littered with questions. What will Aaron Rodgers bring to the Pittsburgh Steelers? Can the Cincinnati Bengals finally figure it out? The Browns have a roster that requires plenty of work before they can truly make some noise. However, a young running back room and Myles Garrett wreaking havoc on defense could be the recipe for controlling the clock and stealing some wins. Still, don't hold your breath. Pete Carroll and Geno Smith are bringing a piece of Seattle with them to the desert, yet they face an uphill climb in a loaded AFC West. Ashton Jeanty can easily transform an offense that also features Brock Bowers, but to expect the four-win Raiders to dethrone the Kansas City Chiefs while leapfrogging the Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos is a bridge too far. The schedule is also unforgiving with matchups against the NFC East on tap, so don't expect a soft launch for the silver-and-black. Vegas is trending up, but not up enough. New Orleans might be one of the worst teams in the NFL next season, which should've put them closer to the bottom of this list. However, they benefit from playing in the NFC South – a division that is far from a juggernaut. Barring a surprising rookie year from Tyler Shough, the Saints will likely finish in the same spot next year. There is talent on this team though. The offense still features Alvin Kamara and a solid trio of receivers with Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Brandin Cooks. With Kellen Moore taking over the head coaching job, perhaps he can get the Saints on the right path. Bottom line, unless the rest of the division falls apart, they won't be NFC South champions this year. What should we make of Cam Ward? He's flown under the radar throughout the draft and the offseason, quietly working in the shadows ahead of his rookie season. All eyes have instead been on Shedeur Sanders with the Browns, allowing Ward that freedom to be shielded from the media spotlight. And just like the NFC South, the AFC's version won't be flush with wins in 2025. C.J. Stroud is already dealing with a shoulder injury in Houston and now Anthony Richardson is battling Daniel Jones for the starting quarterback job in Indianapolis.. That leaves Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville, who is coming off a shoulder injury that ended his 2024 season. Ward will hope to avoid that trend amongst AFC South quarterbacks. His Titans might not possess the talent to compete with those other teams on paper, but the door is open if things break right and the rookie performs as advertised in Tennessee. Jerod Mayo is out and Mike Vrabel is in as the Patriots look to author a new chapter in 2025. The first season in the post-Bill Belichick era was certainly a culture shock in the New England area, but it didn't come without hope for the future. While Jacoby Brissett enjoyed the starting quarterback spot for longer than he should've, Drake Maye proved that there is reason to believe in the young signal caller. Now with Vrabel taking over to stabilize a young squad, the Patriots are ready to turn the corner after a short stay in NFL irrelevance. A lot would have to go right for the Patriots to dethrone the Buffalo Bills, but this crop of last-place finishers doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence heading into 2025. The Patriots feel like they're a year away from being competitive. Perhaps we'll be saying they were right on time if things break right. If you want to be technical, the Panthers finished third in the NFC South. However, they did tie with the Saints for last place at 5-12 and that qualifies them for this list. Another year of improvement from Bryce Young and a second season under Dave Canales is more than enough to give the Panthers a chance in what profiles as a weak division. That weak division can lead to some shocking results, especially if Carolina's young core takes a big step forward. The defense may hold them back, but we aren't ready to rule out some funny business in the southern states. The Bears have rid themselves of a disastrous coaching staff and loaded up on talent, hoping that better days lie ahead. Ben Johnson has seemingly pushed all the right buttons in the Windy City since being hired as the head coach and he's the reason why the Bears could take a drastic leap forward in 2025. His hiring weakened the division rival Detroit Lions as the revolving door keeps turning out of the Motor City. The Lions are poised for a step back next season and the Minnesota Vikings are featuring J.J. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. The Green Bay Packers are consistent, but the Bears were 5-12 as a dumpster fire last season. It won't take a 10-win improvement to catch this year's Lions and talent hasn't been the question in Chicago. A second-year leap from Caleb Williams could be all it takes to put the Bears back in the conversation as NFC North contenders. Injuries and more derailed the 49ers in 2024, but they are back and loaded for another potential postseason run. Brock Purdy got his contract extension, George Kittle was also taken care of and Robert Saleh has returned as defensive coordinator. In many ways, San Francisco is getting the band back together and this team will go as far as Christian McCaffrey takes them. Concerns surrounding his injuries can easily hold them back, but it's easy to forget that they were a Super Bowl runner-up two years ago. Outside of the Los Angeles Rams, the competition in the division remains uninspiring. After finishing in last place at 6-10 in the NFC West, San Francisco not only has the easiest schedule in the league, but they also stand the best chance of flipping the script in 2025. All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.
USA Today
29-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ravens hire NFL referee Tony Michalek to work with the team on rules interpretations
The Ravens have hired longtime NFL referee/umpire Tony Michalek to work with the team and help out with rules interpretations/penalty explanations, and prevention, Jeff Zrebiec reports. Baltimore was one of the most penalized teams in the NFL last season, and with John Harbaugh looking to be more efficient, the Ravens have hired longtime NFL referee/umpire Tony Michalek to work with the team and help out with rules interpretations/penalty explanations, and prevention, Jeff Zrebiec reports. Michalek has been with the team throughout training camp. According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Ravens finished the 2024 season ranking fourth in penalties per game average. Baltimore's per-game average declined in the second half of the season, and hiring Michalek could be a part of the carryover from the improvement. The move is similar to what the Buffalo Bills did in hiring John Parry last year. According to Football Zebras, Michalek retired from the NFL back in April after 23 seasons as an umpire. He wore number 115 his entire career, serving on crews led by Gerry Austin, Bill Carollo, Bill Vinovich, John Parry, Gene Steratore, Ron Winter, Jerome Boger, John Hussey, Brad Rogers, and Tra Blake. During his career, he worked 12 playoff games – three wild card games, six divisional playoffs, two conference championship games, and Super Bowl XLII.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's how and why Brock Purdy might win an NFL MVP award this season
NFL MVP doesn't necessarily go to the best player. It didn't last year. There are certain factors that make predicting NFL MVP easier. It's very likely going to a quarterback, as it has each of the last 12 years. It will go to a player whose team makes the postseason; only twice has MVP gone to a player from a non-playoff team and it hasn't happened since 1973. So if you're really good at predicting who will make the playoffs, you can reasonably cut the field down to 14 players before Week 1 ever kicks off. Advertisement Because the award doesn't necessarily go to the best player, other factors are involved. Voters in all sports like to spread the award around to new winners. Narratives come into play. A good story, especially late in the season, can make the difference. And long before the season starts, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy checks a lot of those boxes. Brock Purdy's odds for MVP Purdy is not one of the favorites to win MVP at this point in the offseason. His odds to win are 28-to-1 at BetMGM, which ranks him 10th on the list. Lamar Jackson is the favorite at +600 and Josh Allen is right behind him at +650, which is understandable. Those two regularly put up monster numbers for very good teams. Advertisement But both have won an MVP. Jackson has won two, and that probably was a factor in him not beating Allen for MVP last season. Maybe someone new will win this season. Don't forget that Purdy almost won MVP a couple seasons ago. He seemed to have a slight lead over the field late in the 2023 season when the 49ers were rolling and he was putting up good numbers. But the Ravens came to California for a high profile Week 16 Monday night game late in the season, Jackson outplayed Purdy in a major way, Baltimore blew out San Francisco and that was the end of the MVP race. But Purdy was in position to win once already and it wasn't long ago. There's a path for Purdy to get back in that position late this season. Brock Purdy signed a five-year, $265 million deal with the 49ers this offseason. (Photo by) (Christian Petersen via Getty Images) 49ers have an easy schedule The first obstacle for Purdy, oddly enough, might be the 49ers making the playoffs. San Francisco has been one of the best teams in the NFL over the past few seasons, but it missed the playoffs last season. The 49ers went 6-11. However, oddsmakers aren't worried about the 49ers. They have a win total of 10.5, one of the largest in the NFL. Advertisement One of the biggest reasons for optimism is the 49ers have an advantageous schedule. The 49ers' schedule isn't just the easiest in the NFL this season, according to Sharp Football Analysis (which uses opponents win totals to project schedule strength, it's the easiest by a wide margin. That not only helps the 49ers in their quest to get back to the playoffs, it will probably help Purdy's numbers. Mostly MVP races are decided late in the season, and Purdy has an incredibly soft final stretch to the season. There's not one game the 49ers can't win over the last eight weeks, and they don't face a single defense that should scare anyone. Even better for Purdy, three of the games are in prime time. Nobody's MVP case has ever been hurt by winning games on Sunday or Monday night late in the season: Week 11: at Cardinals Week 12: vs. Panthers (Monday night) Week 13: at Browns Week 14: bye Week 15: vs. Titans Week 16: at Colts (Monday night) Week 17: vs. Bears (Sunday night) Week 18: vs. Seahawks If Purdy plays well down the stretch and the 49ers make the playoffs, the narrative part will come along too. The 49ers have lost some talent, and the newly-paid Purdy would be credited for carrying a lesser supporting cast into the playoffs. He'll put up good numbers, as he always does in Kyle Shanahan's offense. And he doesn't need to be a better player than Jackson, Allen or anyone else above him in the list. MVP doesn't necessarily go to the best player. We've seen that. Purdy could finish the season with the numbers, team success, narrative and newness on his side. That would have him in the MVP discussion. That's all you could ever ask from a 28-to-1 shot.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Analyst Details How NFL Put Raiders at Major Scheduling Disadvantage in 2025
The NFL schedule has not been kind to the Las Vegas Raiders in recent years. Whether the team is facing tough opponents on short weeks, the Chiefs after their bye every year, or the Harbaugh brothers in back-to-back road games to begin the season, the Raiders also get the short end of the stick from the NFL. However, upon initial review, it seemed like the Silver and Black actually landed a favorable schedule for the 2025 season. Part of that is a lucky draw with the rotating opponents, but another aspect was that the team had no long road stretches or brutal back-to-backs. Las Vegas Raiders HC Pete Rassol-Imagn Images However, upon further analysis, the Raiders got royally screwed in 2025 once again. According to Sharp Football Analysis, Las Vegas actually has one of the worst schedules in the league because of their massive rest disadvantage. Advertisement The Raiders only play one game all season where they have an edge over their opponent in terms of rest, and all told, they will have 19 days fewer of rest than their opponents this year. For six matchups currently on their schedule, their opponent will get more rest than they will. Even when the schedule should line up for a Las Vegas rest advantage, the NFL chose not to give it to them. The team will have an 11-day rest between Weeks 10 and 11 because they play on Thursday and Monday during those weeks. However, the Cowboys have a bye in Week 10 before heading to Las Vegas, so even this mini-bye does not grant them an advantage. Fortunately, the team's strength of schedule is not too brutal and they are massively improved with head coach Pete Carroll, quarterback Geno Smith and running back Ashton Jeanty. However, this does not mean that this disadvantage will not be a steep hill to climb. Related: Chip Kelly Already Pushing Ashton Jeanty to Make Notable Change
USA Today
18-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
The Lions lead league in net rest advantage for the 2025 season
The Lions lead league in net rest advantage for the 2025 season When a team and its players find out their schedule for the season, they look at what order they're playing their opponents, but some go immediately to items such as when their bye week is and maybe dig deeper to find out how much rest advantage they may have over other teams. For the Detroit Lions, fate worked out in their favor this season as they led the league this season in net rest advantage, per Sharp Football Analysis, which factors in how many extra days of rest a team has heading into their next opponent and week. The Lions will have a net advantage of 13 days of rest compared to their opponents this season and will play eight games in which they'll have extra rest versus just one game in which they'll have a rest disadvantage (Week 4 vs. Browns, Lions coming off Monday game Week 3 against the Ravens). The Lions will play five games against teams coming off a Monday game: Week 2 vs. Bears Week 5 at Bengals Week 6 at Chiefs Week 11 at Eagles Week 16 vs. Steelers In addition, the Lions play three games in which they're either coming off their bye (Week 9 vs. Vikings) or coming off a mini-bye after playing a Thursday game the week prior (Week 15 at Rams, Week 18 at Bears). The Lions have a gauntlet of a schedule, but having even just a little extra rest before some of these games could make a world of difference.
