The 2025 NFL Playoffs kick off today (Saturday) with some intriguing matchups in the Wildcard round.
Two big NFC matchups loom today, with the first kickoff coming at 3:30 in Carolina, as the Panthers (8-9) host the Los Angeles Rams (12-5).
Carolina won the NFC South with a sub-.500 record, and that always seems to trigger the fanbase of the visiting team in the Wildcard round.
Stafford and the Rams, despite winning 12 games, must visit the eight-win Panthers for the right to advance to the Divisional round.
This evening’s entertainment features chapter three of the 2025 Bears versus Packers rivalry.
Caleb Williams and the second-seed Bears look to knock off Jordan Love and the visiting Packers at Soldier Field for the second time this season.
With the end of the year, comes end of season awards, and the NFL has announced it’s All-Pro selections for the 2025 season.
The 7-9-1 Cowboys aren’t represented on the first team this season, but three players made it to the second team list.
Making the Cut
It should come as no shock to fans that the Cowboys did not have a single defensive player voted to an All-Pro team, or even the Pro Bowl.
The defense put on one of the worst season-long performances in recent memory.
Dallas set a franchise record for most points allowed in a season, letting opposing offenses rack up 511 points in 17 games, a 30.1 points per game average.
The offensive side of the ball was a different story.
Despite putting up one of the most efficient offensive displays over the course of the season, the Cowboys still only have one player from offense make the cut.
WR George Pickens
An argument can be made that George Pickens was snubbed for first-team All-Pro, but the race for the best wide receivers in the league is such a tight one, arguments can also be made for the players selected ahead of him.
Pickens finished the season with career highs in receptions (93), yards (1,429), and touchdowns (9) as Dak Prescott’s top option this year.
Those numbers were enough to rank sixth, third, and tied for fourth among all wide receivers, respectively.
It’s difficult to argue that he should be held ahead of the Rams’ Puka Nacua and the Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but between Pickens and the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, it’s a toss up.
Chase receives a lions’ share of the targets in Cincinnati, so he has 32 more receptions on 48 more targets.
That was enough to push him over the hump, but Pickens should still be proud of his first All-Pro selection.
Feeling Special
The Cowboys have only Pickens representing them on either side of the ball, but special teams have two selections.
K Brandon Aubrey
Brandon Aubrey earned his second All-Pro selection after earning first-team honors last year.
Aubrey was edged out for first-team by breakout candidate Cam Little from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Little reset the NFL record with a 68-yarder earlier this season, and his 88.7 field goal percentage edges out Aubrey’s 85.7.
Aubrey missed six kicks this season, and they were all beyond 50 yards, including a handful over 60 yards.
My kicker might not have made it to the first-team, but if you tell me he would make all 25 of his kicks from under 50 yards, I’ll take that season any year.
KR KaVontae Turpin
I must admit that seeing KaVontae Turpin’s name as an All-Pro came as a bit of a shock.
Not because he isn’t talented, but because I just did not see the same explosiveness on returns that we are accustomed to seeing.
The only return I can recall from this season is the most recent 84-yard scamper against the Giants in the season finale.
Despite the eye test, Turpin actually led the entire NFL with 1,814 receiving yards, but his average (26.3 yards per return) sits at just 19th among returners with at least 15 returns for the season.
That can probably be attributed to also leading the NFL in return opportunities (69) because the defense was so terrible.
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