NFL predictions for 2025 stat leaders, Super Bowl teams, and more
Football is basically here and these are the things we are guaranteeing it to give us.
The very first preseason game of the 2025 NFL season is upon us this week as the Chargers and Lions face off in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
So say it with me: Football is officially back!
With actual football being played this week, we here at The Skinny Post, Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa, believe it’s a good time to start calling our shot about the upcoming season. Which team will be the best by the end of the regular season? Who do we think makes the Super Bowl this year? Which players will lead the league in their individual categories?
We dig into all of that in this week’s edition of The Skinny Post.
Let’s get into it!
Which NFL team will have the best regular-season record?
RJ:
There is a lot of Cam Newton discourse on the internet right now, and it is in no way my intention to poke that bear. That being said, this year’s Buffalo Bills sort of remind me of the Carolina Panthers squads that Cam carried (the idea that Cam was the one being carried remains absurd... that’s all I have to say about this).
All of that being said this year sort of feels like one where Buffalo is going to be walking with some serious swagger. I could totally see a world where they are just blowing teams out and winning with regularity. They’ll lock up the No. 1 seed and everyone will finally feel like this is their actual year.
We have zero doubts about who Buffalo can be in the regular season and that narrative will grow larger as we inch closer to January. I won’t seal their fate at this point, but I’ll pump my expectations for them to the point that I leave the playoffs as their own thing.
Michael:
The Kansas City Chiefs are always a good bet here because they just seem to continuously adapt and reload under Andy Reid no matter what the roster looks like. However, I think their offensive line has taken a hit with the loss of Joe Thuney and the left tackle spot looking sketchy after signing Jaylen Moore in free agency. The Chiefs made a Super Bowl with a porous front five but that was also when Tyreek Hill was still an option to mitigate that shortcoming. As the Chiefs are built now, I don’t think they have the makeup to overcome it again.
So instead I’m going with the Eagles who, in my opinion, have the best roster in all of football. Howie Roseman is the modern-day Albus Dumbledore of building football teams and I just can’t fathom Philly losing more than a couple games this year.
Who will lead the NFL in passing yards, receiving yards, and rushing yards?
Michael:
After Cincinnati spent and spent to keep the trio of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins together for the foreseeable future, it’s hard not to see Burrow repeating as the passing yards leader in 2025. Their lack of investment in the running game only further increases my confidence in this pick. If the defense also remains lackluster for another year, it’s a wrap.
If I have Burrow repeating as the passing yards leader, it only makes sense that Chase would probably repeat as the receiving yards leader. However, I’m going elsewhere, and believe it or not, I’m sticking with a former LSU wideout. I think second-year receiver Malik Nabers is going to have another uber-productive season now that he’s not catching passes from a bunch of backups. Whether it’s Russell Wilson or eventually rookie Jaxson Dart, Nabers showed last season that his quarterback never mattered. He was going to go out and make play after play. There’s no reason not to believe his receiving total won’t see a notable bump in Year 2.
Now as for the league’s leading rusher, this could easily be Saquon Barkley; an elite talent at running back rushing behind the league’s best offensive line for the second consecutive year. It sounds too perfect, and too easy. So again, I’m going somewhere else.
Give me Jahmyr Gibbs from the Lions. I know he’s in a backfield duo with David Montgomery, but the 2024 season showed just how elite he can be when given more opportunities. He finished fifth in the NFL with 1,412 while being the only back to cross over 1,400 yards with 250 or less carries. All four rushers ahead of him had at least 50 (!) more carries on the season. That’s incredible efficiency and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gibbs get even better in 2025 despite a new offensive coordinator for the Lions.
RJ:
It is important to note that these things don’t necessarily equate to the best players at their positions. Circumstances matter within a game and they lead to players racking up more yardage in certain respects.
I’m going to say that I think Trevor Lawrence leads the league in passing. The Jaguars are a team I am still iffy on, but ultimately I think they want to lean into Lawrence and his skills and I could see them living and dying on that hill.
From a receiving perspective I am going to go very chalk and stick with Justin Jefferson. It makes sense for J.J. McCarthy to lean on him and try to ride that train. No reason to over-complicate this.
I’ll go a bit off track for my rusher and say that Ashton Jeanty does it as a rookie. The Raiders drafted him with the expectation of using him and with all due respect... it’s not like they are going to lean on Geno Smith a ton.
Who will lead the NFL in tackles, sacks, interceptions?
RJ:
I’ll be honest and say that predicting tackles is way too difficult. No way I am getting involved in this. So much of it is born out of random consequence. Plus... who legitimately prides themselves on that?
For the sack leader I am going to be a homer and say that this is The Year of Micah Parsons. I am not going to bet against him, even if the Dallas Cowboys appear at least willing to, and think that it is finally his time. He has yet to win a Defensive Player of the Year Award and I think that he is going to put together a masterpiece of a season for himself.
In terms of interceptions I am going to go off the beaten path and say that I think A.J. Terrell does not get enough national love. Sometimes the interception leader comes from a bit of a random place and on a defense that isn’t necessarily super stout. Let’s get weird!
Michael:
Alright let’s break this thing down.
After finishing third in the NFL a year ago, I’m picking Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood to take another step and lead the league in tackles. With new head coach Aaron Glenn at the helm, something tells me this defense as a whole will turn it up in 2025. If that’s the case, Sherwood should be a big part of it.
Sacks always seems to come down to the same few people. It’s Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, or Trey Hendrickson as of late if all stay healthy through 17 games. Someone like Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto could surprise after he posted 14 in 2024, but I’m going with Garrett now that he’s playing on that fat, fat contract.
Interceptions is a tough one because I feel like it’s the most volatile from year to year. This is the most “right place, right time” stat of them all and that makes it tough to really pinpoint any one player. If I was a betting man, I think I’d put a chunk of change on Texans corner Derek Stingley. That dude just got PAID as well and he’s had some immense production lately (five INTs in each of the past two seasons). That’s the type of consistency you can really feel confident in.
Predicting this season’s Super Bowl matchup
Michael:
I gushed about the Eagles earlier and that’s exactly who I think will make up the first half of this year’s Super Bowl matchup. I don’t see any other NFC squad aside from maybe a healthy Lions team that could be realistic contenders next to Philly, so I’m sticking with the Birds.
On the other side, something in my gut is telling me this is the year Josh Allen and the Bills break through the AFC’s elite and get to the Super Bowl. Don’t ask me why because I don’t have real tangible data behind it, it’s just an inkling I can’t help but feel. Allen is coming off his first MVP season and maybe I’m rooting for longtime Charger Joey Bosa to taste what it’s like to go on a deep playoff run.
Either way, Eagles vs. Bills. Book it.
RJ:
There is so much variance in the NFL that I think we are due for something a little bit different, as unstoppable as the Eagles have looked in recent years.
From the NFC side it is difficult to look past the Detroit Lions if we are talking about non-Eagles options, but I am afraid to say that I don’t think we are remembering who the San Francisco 49ers are. A lot of their usual offseason drama is behind them and if/when Brandon Aiyuk gets fully healthy (not to mention Christian McCaffrey being healthy) I think they are going to remind us who they truly are.
On the AFC side I want to go with the Bills based on my first point here, but I think this is the year of a different juggernaut breaking through. I’ve got the Baltimore Ravens surviving everyone and giving us a rematch of Super Bowl XLVII. Maybe the 49ers can find a way to win this one and do so in their home building.