The 2025 NFL season is almost here. In fact, the Eagles and Cowboys face off on Thursday Night Football in just a few days. That makes it the perfect time for analysts to plant their flags and make some bold predictions ahead of the new year.
ESPN's Seth Walder released an article on Monday where he simulated the 2025 NFL season. Walder used ESPN's Football Power Index to simulate the new season 10,000 times. He then grabbed one random simulation — in this case No. 4,091 — and discussed what could happen this fall.
Arguably the most shocking outcome from the simulation was both the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs missing the playoffs.
“Eleven months after the Chiefs and Eagles squared off in Super Bowl LIX, both teams cleaned out their lockers following Week 18. Neither managed to make it back to the playoffs, easily the shocker of the 2025 campaign in this simulation,” Walder wrote.
Philadelphia was the worse of the two teams. They started the season out okay but ended up crumbling by Week 15. Ultimately, they finished 8-9 which was still good for second place in the NFC East.
“The Eagles were actually done before the final week. Thought to be infallible heading into the season, the Eagles were 5-4 after Week 10 — a game behind the Cowboys but still seemingly in control of their postseason destiny. But that turned into a 6-8 record, leaving Philadelphia in pure panic mode. In the end, the Eagles couldn't make up the gap, falling short in the NFC East and wild-card battle.”
Meanwhile, the Chiefs were in better shape for most of the season. But a late-season loss against the Raiders gave the Broncos the edge to win the AFC West.
Both Kansas City and Denver finished 9-8. But the Broncos win the division based on tiebreakers.
“The Chiefs' collapse was much more startling. Kansas City controlled its destiny in the AFC West after beating the Broncos on Christmas Day to improve to 9-7. It needed to only to beat the Raiders to secure its 11th straight playoff spot. But Patrick Mahomes' clutch gene was nowhere to be found as the Chiefs fell 28-19, allowing the Broncos — who won their Week 18 game — to win the division on a tiebreaker. No wild-card bid for the Chiefs either.”
The simulation featured plenty of other surprises. Washington, San Francisco, and Green Bay all missed the postseason as well. Even after the Packers added Micah Parsons.
Ultimately, the Bills and Buccaneers advanced to the Super Bowl. Buffalo finally won their first Lombardi Trophy in a 55-23 statement game.
It will be fascinating to see how many, if any, of the predictions from Walder's article come true in 2025.
