Ring the bell. It’s time to feed the trolls.
My bold predictions for the upcoming football season:
NFL 2025 will go down as the Year of the Kicker. The record for the longest field goal (Justin Tucker, 66 yards) will be broken multiple times, and we will see the first successful 70-yard kick in history.
Meanwhile, with touchbacks now placed on the 35-yard line, the kicking team is almost forced to put the ball in play. Booming legs and crafty kickers will make a huge impact on the game.
It won’t be easy for the Lions, a team that lost its top two coordinators in one offseason (Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn). That’s only happened five times in the past 30 years. Most recently, the Eagles lost Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen following a Super Bowl loss in Glendale. After roaring to a 10-1 start the following season, the Eagles fell apart internally and began drowning in dysfunction, finishing with six losses in their final seven games.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell is a force of nature and great at building culture, but he lost two elite assistants, one of them to a division rival.
If you thought the hyperbole was bad after Week 1 of the college football season, wait until Overreaction Monday in the NFL, when losing fan bases feel betrayed for all the propaganda they’ve been fed in the offseason. It’s when football fans learn that hope is not a strategy.
More of Dan Bickley’s bold predictions for 2025 NFL season
Daniel Jones will win Comeback Player of the Year in Indianapolis.
The Broncos will not make the playoffs. The Commanders will struggle with expectations and vengeful defensive coordinators who’ve spent the past few months plotting against Jayden Daniels.
The Cardinals will win the NFC West and Jonathan Gannon will receive strong support for NFL Coach of the Year. He’ll lose the award to the Packers’ Matt LaFleur.
The Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel will be the first head coach fired. The Giants’ Brian Daboll will be second.
Like many conspiracy theorists predicted, the Saints will race to the bottom and obtain the No. 1 overall pick, where they can draft the grandson of New Orleans’ favorite son (Archie Manning). But to their horror, Arch Manning isn’t ready for the NFL Draft and returns to Texas.
When Tom Brady won a championship with the Buccaneers, he ended a great barroom debate. The Patriots’ dynasty was clearly more about him than it was Bill Belichick. This year, Aaron Rodgers will lead the Steelers to the playoffs and prove it was really more about the Jets.
Russell Wilson can double his $10.5 million salary if the Giants go 17-0. I believe he is delusional enough to deem it possible.
The Jets will trade for Kirk Cousins before the Nov. 5 deadline. The Raiders will trade for Tyreek Hill.
Taylor Swift will perform at halftime of the Super Bowl, but her fiancé will not be a competitor. Their wedding bands will be the last ring Travis Kelce ever wins.
In other words, the Chiefs are not going back to the Super Bowl. But by the end of the season, in the court of public opinion, Andy Reid will pass Belichick as the greatest head coach in NFL history.
Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on 98.7 FM and the Arizona Sports app.
