NFL season marked by surprise stories
The 2025-26 National Football League (NFL) season has officially ended with the crowning of the Seattle Seahawks as Super Bowl champions. The Seahawks, who are only two years out from firing legendary head coach Pete Carroll, managed a 14-3 record and clinched the number one seed in the National Football Conference (NFC) on their way to a 29-13 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.
The Seahawks dominant season came off the back of an incredible defense, rivaling that of the “Legion of Boom”, the Seahawks defense between 2012-2015 which terrorized the NFL as the highest scoring defensive unit four years in a row.
Many teams had high expectations and hopes entering this season yet they fell short for many reasons. The Washington Commanders, who were coming off a 12-5 season and a conference finals appearance, were poised for a promising run. Their goals didn’t come to fruition as they ended up being riddled with injuries throughout their lineup; including several injuries to their young quarterback, leading to a 5-12 finish this year.
Other teams also fell victim to the injury bug this season, ending promising runs like the Green Bay Packers push for dominance in the NFC North. The Packers finished 9-7-1, losing their last 4 games after injuries to star players such as Tucker Kraft and Micah Parsons.
The end of the season means a time for reflection on players’ and coaches’ performances for many franchises. The coaching market has followed recent trends over the past several years with ten coaches being fired following disappointing results this season.
The reappearance of pocket-passer quarterbacks like Rivers and Joe Flacco (Cincinnati Bengals) has raised eyebrows.
During the 2010s and into the 2020s, a massive shift came in scouting quarterbacks. With many scouts putting higher value on athleticism over factors such as football IQ. But many of these scrambler style quarterbacks have struggled with injuries and reading more complex defenses, relying on easy reads and a quarterback-friendly offensive scheme. A new emphasis has been placed back on field generals who can diagnose and run an offense purely off of their passing and football IQ. However, it has yet to be seen how this will affect future drafting and evaluation of players.
Both Los Angeles teams finished strongly this year, leaving them out of the conversation for most of this year’s top prospects. The Chargers and Rams both made the playoffs, with the Rams losing to the eventual Super Bowl winners in the conference finals. Both teams have high expectations going into next season and look to build off the foundation laid. Issues with the offensive line plagued the Chargers, with Joe Alt returning next season they look to add during the offseason to protect their star quarterback Justin Herbert. The Rams hope to see rookies like Terrance Ferguson continue to grow and help out the team in a larger role next year.