In the aftermath of the Philadelphia Eagles' impressive win over the Lions and the Rams taking care of business, something has become clear. Forget the AFC, the NFC will claim the 2025 Super Bowl title.
The Eagles improved to 8-2 on the season with a dog-fight 16-9 win on Sunday Night Football. Meanwhile, the Rams also moved to 8-2 as they held off the Seahawks in a 21-19 decision.
But it’s not just the records that make these teams special. And they will both have to navigate a tough NFC playoffs to get to the big game. But once one of them likely gets there, that team will handle whatever the AFC offers as an opponent.
Eagles look like the NFL’s best
Yes, there are questions about the Eagles' offense. But consider that the offense doesn’t have to do much to win games. And with guys like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and A.J. Brown on that side of the ball, it makes them a tough out.
The reason the offense doesn’t have to shine is that they’ve built a defense that can absolutely control the football game. Need evidence? They shut the Lions down on all five of their fourth-down conversion attempts. That makes head coach Nick Sirianni a happy man, according to ESPN.
“Five-for-five the way we look at it,” Sirianni said. “Outstanding.”
And Hurts said the Eagles’ defense turned in a special effort.
“One of the best performances I've ever seen,” Hurts said.
And if you want further evidence of how good this performance was, it comes in the form of people not needing to say much.
“They’re a good … defense,” said Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who rarely had time to get off even a reasonable pass attempt.
It was that dominant.
Barring major injuries, no team is taking the field against the Eagles in the playoffs and having anything other than a hard time. However, the Rams can give them a battle.
Rams aren’t more than a step or two behind Eagles
Yes, the Rams don’t have the same dominant look as the Eagles. But they have quarterback Matthew Stafford, and he has weapons. Combine that with a tough defense, and it’s no surprise the Rams have won a lot of football games.
Stafford said the tough win over the Seahawks was a good sign, according to ESPN.
“We found a way to win without playing perfect football against a really good team,” Stafford said. “Our defense played outstanding. They deserve to be partying like crazy.”
And, of course, head coach Sean McVay seems to be playoff excited already, according to ramswire.com.
“How about that (expletive) win?!” McVay yelled as he entered the locker room, jumping into a huddle with several players. “How about the (expletive) D, man?! Four interceptions!”
Who else is in the NFC mix?
It’s hard to imagine the Seahawks fading down the stretch. However, they are not a Super Bowl threat because of Sam Darnold. Once again, he showed his true big-game colors with a terrible four-interception game. Also, zero touchdowns.
When will people learn? Darnold is not a premier NFL quarterback, and he never will be. Even worse, he will struggle to help his team win big games, even with the type of defense he has supporting him.
Two other NFC pretenders are the Bears and Buccaneers. But for different reasons. The Bears aren’t quite ready to mix it up in a big-time playoff game. They might be ready as early as 2026. But this is too soon. Their defense isn’t good enough.
As for the Buccaneers, it still has to do with Baker Mayfield. He does a lot of good things, but look at the numbers against the Bills. In a shootout, Mayfield completed 16 of 28 passes for 173 yards with a touchdown and an interception. That’s just not good enough in that type of game.
Now, in fairness, Mayfield and the Bucs are dealing with a lot of injuries. If they get healthy at the right time, they might push the true contenders. Their losses are all against good teams: Eagles, Lions, Patriots, Bills. But there’s still something missing with this team.
As for the Packers and 49ers, there’s not enough evidence to suggest a Super Bowl run. The 49ers have too many injuries, and the Packers’ offense just doesn’t look good enough — even with Micah Parsons.
Lastly, the Lions are still in the mix. They looked awful on offense against the Eagles. But this is still a good-enough overall team to be dangerous in the playoffs.
What is the best the AFC has to offer?
Right now, the Colts and the Broncos have the win-loss records to reach the Super Bowl. But neither of those teams could handle the Eagles. The reason? It’s the quarterback position.
Daniel Jones of the Colts and Bo Nix of the Broncos aren’t the type of guys who are going to handle massive pressure from a fearsome defensive front in a Super Bowl atmosphere.
As for the Patriots, they have a quarterback in Drake Maye who might be able to get things done against the Eagles. But they’re 9-2 because of their schedule. They’ve beaten the Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Saints, Titans, Browns, Falcons, Buccaneers, and Jets. They have the Bengals, Giants, Bills, Ravens, Jets, and Dolphins remaining. They could finish even 14-3 and still not be ready for an AFC Championship-type game.
So, what is the best the AFC has to offer? It’s the Bills. Josh Allen is the only quarterback in football who could put up big numbers even against the crushing pressure of the Eagles. If the Bills meet the Eagles in the big game, that would at least give the AFC a puncher's chance.
