A competitive start to 2025 NFL season brings close games

Four weeks into the NFL season, and we can already tell that this season is very competitive and unpredictable. With it still being the first few weeks, there have been so many upsets that nobody expected. The most recent surprising upset was the Green Bay Packers vs. the Dallas Cowboys, which ended in a 40-40 tie. Most people expected the Packers to win, as the Cowboys had traded linebacker Micah Parsons, a move that nobody expected Dallas to make. Many players expressed dissatisfaction with the score. What was extra shocking was that on paper, the Packers had the better odds while the Cowboys had a lesser odd.

Another impressive matchup where the team with the lesser odds that came out victorious was the Los Angeles Chargers vs the New York Giants. The Giants had rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart start over Russell Wilson, who the Giants benched after three poor performance games. What’s shocking is that the team statistics show that the Chargers had more total yards, passing yards, and yards per play, but the Giants still ended up on top. The Chargers were 3-0 before this, beating out all their AFC West opponents. As shocking as it was, Dart gave an impressive performance for his first NFL game, completing 13 of 20 passes for 111 yards and adding 54 rushing yards. The Giants’ defense also came out to play Sunday afternoon with two sacks and two interceptions against Los Angeles’s offensive line.

 Along with multiple games that ended in upsets, there have been numerous injuries that have been affecting good teams, which ended last season on a positive note. One notable team that is starting to take a dip is the Baltimore Ravens. After week four against the Kansas City Chiefs, quarterback Lamar Jackson left the game with a hamstring injury, along with many other important players. Without Jackson, it seems very likely that the Ravens won’t make it as far as last season.

Some of the critical injured players that are going to be out for an extended period of time include Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Noy, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa and tight end George Kittle and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans.

After the week four games, there are now only two teams that remain undefeated, the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Eagles. Before week four, there were six unbeaten teams: the Eagles, Bills, Chargers, Buccaneers, 49ers, and the Indianapolis Colts.

Obviously, the NFL is all about competitiveness in all aspects of the game. That competitiveness was shown early this year with very close games against evenly matched teams.

In fact, statistics have shown that team scoring averages have been decreasing over the last five years. Last season, teams averaged only 21.4 points per game, the lowest total points per game since 2006. The average passing yards per game had also decreased by 50 yards from 240.2.

The teams with the top three highest averages are the Detroit Lions, with an average of 34.3 points, the Bills, with an average of 33.3 points, and the Ravens, with an average of 32.8 points.

The teams with the lowest averages are the Houston Texans, with an average of 16.0 points, the Cleveland Browns, with 14.0 points, and the Tennessee Titans, with 12.8 points.

In the 2024 season, the team with the highest average was the Lions with 33.1 points, and the lowest average was the Browns with 15.2 points.

Perhaps the average this year will increase slightly, but not by much. Matchups have still ended with very close scores, and many teams have only won by a field goal or by one point. Some of those games include the Bengals vs Browns 17-16, Bills vs Ravens 41-40, Colts vs Denver Broncos 29-28, Buccaneers vs Texans 20-19, Browns vs Packers 13-10, Buccaneers vs New York Jets 29-27, Chargers vs Broncos 23-20, 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals 16-15, Seattle Seahawks vs Cardinals 23-20, and the Chicago Bears vs Las Vegas Raiders 25-24.

That is a lot of games, especially when we are just getting into week five. For fans, we get exciting games with well-matched teams to play against each other. For fans who like to bet on games, it’s challenging because the games have been so close; in some cases, it’s difficult to predict who will win. This season, you don’t know what is going to happen next.

Will the trend continue, leading to more games ending with scores that are just as close? 

Week 5 Predictions:

Thursday Game: San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams: Los Angeles Rams

Sunday Games: Minnesota Vikings at Cleveland Browns: Minnesota Vikings

Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets: Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants at New Orleans Saints: New York Giants

Las Vegas Raiders at Indianapolis Colts: Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers: Miami Dolphins

Denver Broncos at Philadelphia Eagles: Philadelphia Eagles

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore Ravens

Tennessee Titans at Arizona Cardinals: Arizona Cardinals

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seattle Seahawks: Seattle Seahawks

Detroit Lions at Cincinnati Bengals: Detroit Lions

Washington Commanders at Los Angeles Chargers: Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills: Buffalo Bills

Monday Game: Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Jaguars: Kansas City Chiefs