The NFL’s Christmas Day lineup is lacking serious holiday magic this year
Christmas Day 2025 is already looking like a bust for the NFL due to injuries and teams already eliminated from playoff contention.
NFL power rankings entering Week 17 of the 2025 season (previous rank in parentheses):
1. Los Angeles Rams (1): We know they just lost, their second defeat in four games. We know they’ve fallen from the NFC’s projected No. 1 playoff seed to its sixth in a matter of days. We know they just fired their special teams coordinator − perhaps an overdue move given how that phase of the game has legitimately cost LA three more wins this season. Put all that aside. The Rams still have the presumptive MVP in Matthew Stafford, a head coach as good or better than any in the league and a roster that can win anywhere in any variety of ways.
2. Seattle Seahawks (2): We know they just won, running their heater to five games. We know they’ve risen from the NFC’s projected No. 5 playoff seed to its first. We know they rarely lose playoff games in Seattle. But admirable as his career turnaround has been, we need to see QB Sam Darnold prove he can win on the big stage the way Stafford finally did after he joined the Rams.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (8): They’ve won six in a row, but QB Trevor Lawrence has truly been in the zone over his last four games − with a 120.8 passer rating during that stretch while accounting for 14 TDs. The defense has also added another 10 takeaways in those four recent victories. Any number of teams could emerge from a muddled AFC field − but, after a decisive win in Denver, the Jags are certainly playing as well as anyone in the conference right now.
4. San Francisco 49ers (9): Considering they haven’t needed P Thomas Morstead this month, who needs to worry about whatever their defensive issues are? The Niners are two wins from securing the No. 1 seed, which launched them into the Super Bowl in 2019 and 2023.
5. New England Patriots (6): QB Drake Maye had his first 300-yard passing game (380 actually) Sunday night, which included a career-high 31 completions. Definitely feels like the right time to put more on his plate.
6. Denver Broncos (3): Basically the AFC’s version of Seattle right now − a lot to like about a team that generally seems to be ahead of schedule. But how much do you trust QB Bo Nix and this offense in high-leverage situations?
7. Houston Texans (4): They escaped with a win … but better learn a lesson from what was a near-total letdown against the lowly Raiders.
8. Buffalo Bills (5): They escaped with a win … but struggling against the Browns while trying to manage QB Josh Allen’s foot injury is something to monitor even as the stars seem to be aligning elsewhere for this crew.
9. Chicago Bears (10): The season has been an unqualified success for the presumptive NFC North champions. But getting blown out at Soldier Field in the playoffs seems as likely − perhaps more likely − as a Super Bowl run for a team that constantly seems to be on a high wire.
10. Los Angeles Chargers (11): QB Justin Herbert’s toughness and greatness has perhaps obscured the fact that, since the Bolts’ Week 12 bye, they haven’t allowed 20 points to any of the opponents they’ve vanquished on their four-game winning streak. Extend it to six, and LA takes the AFC West.
11. Philadelphia Eagles (12): At a time when it can’t seem to execute the “Tush Push,” the offense oddly seems to be finding a groove otherwise − averaging 30 points and 386 yards, albeit against Vegas and Washington, over the past two weeks on the way to the NFC East crown.
12. Green Bay Packers (7): Helluva time to have their three most important players − DE Micah Parsons, QB Jordan Love and RB Josh Jacobs − hurt.
13. Pittsburgh Steelers (14): Has QB Aaron Rodgers found the fountain of early middle age? He’s averaged 258 yards with a 106.4 passer rating on Pittsburgh’s three-game hot streak − which has also seen the team’s running game kick into high gear. Maybe the Steelers’ latest just-above .500 season won’t actually end with a one-and-done postseason.
14. Detroit Lions (13): Their first losing streak since 2022 could also lead to their first playoff absence since 2022.
15. Baltimore Ravens (15): Maybe they’d be more successful if they went into fourth quarters trailing rather than trying to protect leads?
16. Carolina Panthers (17): Crazy stat − QB Bryce Young has 14 NFL wins on his résumé … and all but two have required a game-winning drive after the third quarter.
17. Atlanta Falcons (23): As they settle into a late-season groove with QB Kirk Cousins, it’s worth wondering if he’s actually a gift they will or should stick with going into 2026.
18 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (16): They keep their NFC South throne by winning their next two games. If only they’d won more than one game since October.
19. Indianapolis Colts (18): Might be time to beg Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis to come out of retirement, too.
20. Minnesota Vikings (19): Justin Jefferson’s professionalism in the midst of a season in which many other elite wideouts would have gone to pieces has been beyond admirable.
21. Dallas Cowboys (20): No Cowboy has ever led the league in passing yards. Dak Prescott could be the first … so, something to play for over the next two weeks.
22. Cincinnati Bengals (27): Why pay WR Tee Higgins − and skew the salary cap so heavily toward the offense − only to target him half as frequently as Ja’Marr Chase?
23. New Orleans Saints (24): “Shough it” … which is pretty much reason enough to give rookie QB Tyler Shough a full season to prove he could be the long-term starter here. He’s certainly offered a lot of encouraging signs over the past six weeks.
24. Tennessee Titans (30): With his first three-game string of 100-yard rushing games, RB Tony Pollard is on his way to a fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season … though he’s never cracked 1,100.
25. Arizona Cardinals (25): Speaking of 1,100-yard rushers, they haven’t had one since David Johnson in 2016. The Cards will be fortunate to have a 400-yard rusher in 2025.
26. Kansas City Chiefs (21): TE Travis Kelce had one 6-yard catch in Sunday’s debacle in Nashville. But it was enough to give him his 12th consecutive season with at least 800 receiving yards, matching a record set by legendary Jerry Rice.
27. Miami Dolphins (22): They looked good Sunday without Tua Tagovailoa in the starting lineup … but only because of their throwback uniforms.
28. Washington Commanders (26): QB Jeff Driskel could be under the Christmas tree for Thursday’s game against Dallas. Been that kind of season in Old D.C.
29. Cleveland Browns (31): Bagging a Steelers quarterback, even if − maybe especially if − it’s old friend Mason Rudolph could be an especially satisfying way for DE Myles Garrett to set the single-season sack record.
30. New York Giants (28): Avoiding a catastrophic win for a second straight week could be especially challenging for a team eyeing the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft Sunday in Sin City.
31. Las Vegas Raiders (32): Avoiding a catastrophic win for a second straight week could be especially challenging for a team eyeing the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft Sunday in Sin City.
32. New York Jets (29): Trust that process … even if it means losing three in a row by an average of 25 points.
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