- The Bengals are set up to bounce back in short order: Cincinnati dropped seven of its 11 one-score games last season and should experience positive regression through the elite trio of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
- Dak is back — and so is Dallas: The Cowboys are poised to return to form in 2025 after a lackluster year spurred by injuries on both sides of the ball.
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Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
Football prognosticators spend the entire offseason searching for legitimate Super Bowl contenders, as well as those who could be dark horses to make noise in the postseason. In the process, some teams get overlooked, whether because of market size or an underestimation of their talent level and ability to win games.
Here are a handful of teams that should feel at least somewhat optimistic about the 2025 NFL season despite being overlooked for one reason or another.
Cincinnati Bengals
One of the biggest stories of the 2025 regular season was the Bengals finding ways to lose games despite continuous heroic efforts from quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow ranked second in the NFL in PFF passing grade, but the team’s lack of balance around him on both sides of the ball prevented them from making the playoffs.
Cincinnati lost seven of its 11 one-score games last season. The franchise was realistically only a handful of plays from having one of the best records in the league, even accounting for its plethora of flaws.
Bengals PFF Grade Ranks, 2024
| PFF Rushing Grade | 27th |
| PFF Pass-Blocking Grade | 29th |
| PFF Run-Blocking Grade | 29th |
| PFF Defense Grade | 22nd |
Aside from Burrow throwing lasers all over the field to Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the Bengals didn’t have many avenues to victory. Yet those three players are so good that the team managed to win nine games and just barely finish outside the AFC playoff picture in 2024.
Higgins’ injuries last season played a large part in the Bengals’ lack of success. Cincinnati won eight of the 12 games he played in while losing four of the five that he missed. The Bengals can’t afford an extended absence from any of their offensive trifecta, but they are extremely dangerous when all three players are on the field.
The offensive line is certainly still a concern, but Burrow does mitigate that by making extremely quick decisions. He doesn’t have control over a defense that struggled last season and is dealing with Trey Hendrickson’s ongoing tense contract negotiations. However, the defense played well during the team’s five-game winning streak to end the season, ranking fifth in the NFL in PFF grade as a unit from Week 14 to Week 18.
The AFC is loaded with contenders who have excellent quarterbacks. Burrow has proven time and again that he can beat any of them, including Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Cincinnati just needs to find him a little more help and execute better in big moments.
Dallas Cowboys
After winning 12 games en route to postseason appearances in each of the previous three seasons, the Cowboys saw everything go wrong in 2024. Dak Prescott recorded the worst PFF passing grade of his career before his season was curtailed due to injury. They were incapable of running the ball or stopping the run. Defensive injuries, including to superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons, mounted as the season progressed.
The challenging campaign brought about changes for 2025, including promoting Brian Schottenheimer to head coach. Despite the struggles of last season, Schottenheimer should still feel good about what he has to work with in 2025.
First and foremost, the return of a healthy Prescott should result in offensive success. Prescott’s 86.9 PFF passing grade in 2023 was the best of his career and the third best in the NFL that season. His PFF passing grade plummeted to 67.2 in 2024, which ranked Prescott 28th among qualified passers. He has demonstrated throughout his career that he is a better player than his 2024 tape shows.
Dak Prescott’s Career PFF Grades
The primary issue for the Cowboys’ passing game is that there wasn’t a legitimate complementary receiving threat to CeeDee Lamb. They may have solved that problem recently by acquiring former Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens was one of five qualified receivers who posted a perfect 99.9 deep PFF receiving grade last season. That makes him a perfect pairing with Lamb’s ability to create explosive plays underneath.
Dallas’ defense, particularly its pass defense, is also still a credible threat to opposing offenses. Despite injuries across their front seven, the Cowboys ranked fourth in the NFL in PFF pass-rush grade last season. After Parsons returned from injury in Week 10, they were one of just three teams, alongside the Eagles and Steelers, to post at least an 80.0 PFF pass-rush grade.
A season of full health for Parsons and the addition of second-round rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku should provide a boost to the pass rush. Cornerbacks DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs could also bounce back from mediocre seasons. If they do, Dallas could rank higher than 19th in PFF coverage grade, where the team placed last season.
There are rightfully concerns about the Cowboys’ ability to run and stop the run, but if their star players are healthy and playing at their typical level, they will contend for a postseason berth.
Indianapolis Colts
All eyes this summer will be on the Colts’ brewing quarterback competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones. Both have underwhelmed as former top-10 picks due to subpar performance and injury issues. Head coach Shane Steichen has proven before, though, that he can create offensive production without elite quarterback play.
Two years ago, after Richardson suffered a season-ending injury, the Colts were extremely close to winning the AFC South with Gardner Minshew and his 60.6 PFF passing grade running the offense. Last season, the combination of Richardson and Joe Flacco led the team to rank 26th in the NFL in PFF passing grade.
Despite their inconsistent quarterback play, the Colts were in position last season for a playoff spot until a defensive collapse against the New York Giants in Week 17. Even with that poor effort, the team’s defense tied for ninth in the NFL in PFF grade. That unit and a stacked supporting cast on offense should make life easy for whoever the starting quarterback will be.
2024 PFF Receiving Grades
| Josh Downs | 85.1 |
| Alex Pierce | 75.3 |
| Michael Pittman Jr. | 72.6 |
| Tyler Warren | 93.4 |
The Colts have multiple dynamic pass catchers at their disposal, especially if Josh Downs gets through this season fully healthy. First-round tight end Tyler Warren was arguably the best player at his position in college football last year. His presence could make a huge difference for a tight end unit that ranked in the bottom four among NFL teams in PFF receiving grade, yards after the catch and missed tackles forced.
Jonathan Taylor and the run game should also play a big part in Indianapolis’ success. Though he didn’t grade particularly well due to a lack of consistency, Taylor still managed more than 1,400 rushing yards last season. He should find success in 2025 behind a good offensive line led by Bernhard Raimann and Quenton Nelson.
All the Colts need is someone who can complete passes and play a complementary role for Steichen and a talented roster. If they can find that, they’ll stay relevant in the AFC postseason race.
San Francisco 49ers
Despite dealing with a slew of injuries to key players, the 49ers were the NFL’s second-highest-graded team with a losing record in 2024. When healthy, this team is loaded with stars — including quarterback Brock Purdy, running back Christian McCaffrey, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, tackle Trent Williams, edge defender Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner.
If all, or even most, of those players play 17 games, the 49ers have a real chance to return to the postseason. Purdy has played well enough throughout his career to sign a massive contract extension this offseason. However, as his supporting cast crumbled last season, so did his production. From Week 7 to Week 18, he posted a 65.5 PFF passing grade, tying him for 32nd out of 42 qualified passers during that stretch.
On the bright side, Purdy was the highest-graded quarterback in the NFL through Week 6 last season. That came at a time when the 49ers had a healthy supporting cast, aside from McCaffrey, and their run defense hadn’t completely collapsed yet. The team had started 5-4 before losing seven of its final eight games last season.
The 49ers focused their draft efforts on one of their biggest weaknesses last season. The front office selected defensive linemen Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins and CJ West, and if any or all of those players make an immediate impact, San Francisco could shore up a defensive unit that ranked 28th in PFF run-defense grade last year.
The 49ers are a very talented team that suffered through extremely poor injury luck last season. As long as most, if not all, of their star players remain healthy this season, they should still be a tough out in the NFC.
Seattle Seahawks
This offseason brought a lot of turnover to the Seahawks, particularly on offense. They’ll enter 2025 with a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterback, and two new wide receivers on the outside. Despite all the moving pieces, headlined by quarterback Sam Darnold, Seattle appears to have a clear vision for its offense under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Darnold is familiar with Kubiak from their time in San Francisco in 2023, where Kubiak was his quarterbacks coach. Darnold is also coming from a similar outside-zone run-heavy system in Minnesota, in which he thrived last season. Two key elements of Darnold’s game should stick out to Kubiak. First, Darnold’s 88.0 play-action PFF passing grade in 2024 ranked him fifth among qualified passers. Second, Darnold earned a solid 91.5 deep PFF passing grade and completed 48% of his deep passes last season, the latter of which ranked him second in the league, behind Russell Wilson.
Darnold will be supported by a talented group of weapons. Kenneth Walker III produced the fourth-best PFF rushing grade in the NFL last season, and Zach Charbonnet wasn’t too far behind (18th). Star slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba posted an 83.5 PFF receiving grade that ranked 17th among qualified wide receivers. He’ll be flanked outside by Cooper Kupp and Marquez Valdez-Scantling, who played well under Kubiak in New Orleans last season.
The Seahawks will also likely use more multiple-tight-end sets under Kubiak, and they are well-equipped to do so with Noah Fant, AJ Barner and second-round rookie Elijah Arroyo. Fant earned a 70.2 PFF receiving grade last season. Barner is a solid blocker who should help in the run game. Meanwhile, Arroyo paced all FBS tight ends in yards per reception in 2024.
Seattle’s young defense started to improve down the stretch last season, helping the team win six of its final eight games. From Week 11 to Week 18, Seattle’s 71.7 PFF grade on defense tied for sixth in the NFL. They were one of just three teams in that stretch, along with the Eagles and Texans, to earn at least a 68.0 PFF grade in run defense, pass rush and coverage.
The big question for Seattle will be an offensive line that collapsed in pass protection down the stretch last year. A healthy Abraham Lucas and a productive rookie season from Grey Zabel could improve things up front in short order. If that happens, the Seahawks still have the requisite tools to be in the postseason mix.
This news was originally published on this post .
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