Three Teams that Could Surprise the NFL in 2025

Published: Tuesday, August 5, 2025

by Matthew Nazario

With the 2025-26 NFL season fast approaching, several teams that struggled last year are aiming to take a leap forward and break into the playoff conversation. Below is a detailed look at three teams poised for a more successful campaign.

Carolina Panthers
2024 Record: 5-12

The 5-12 record achieved by the Panthers in the 2024 season is not a fully accurate representation of their performance due to their noticeable midseason turn around.

It began with quarterback Bryce Young. After getting benched and seeming to have his career as a starter nearing an end, he embarked on an inspiring run to close out the season. Young showed tremendous signs of life following the Panthers 1-8 start, going 4-6 in their final ten games and going toe to toe with some of the NFL’s best.

During the offseason, the Panthers gave cornerback Jaycee Horn a lengthy 4-year extension after his excellent Pro-Bowl season, solidifying him as the anchor of a young defense with much to prove.

Carolina will also hope to keep defensive tackle Derrick Brown healthy for as long as possible. The former Pro-Bowler’s absence in 2024 due to injury greatly affected the team’s pass rush. 

The Panthers’ offense has a very impressive core of young, talented wide receivers. Under the veteran leadership of Adam Theilen and David Moore, the likes of Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and Arizona University draftee Teitaroa McMillan will prove to be dangerous downfield. 

Additionally, running back Chuba Hubbard quietly had a fantastic year coming out of the backfield and even had his first 1000+ yard season.

The Carolina offense has potential to be a true threat to opposing teams. While their defense has some question marks, it makes for quite the interesting 2025 outlook. While the Panthers are unlikely to be bonafide contenders, fans shouldn’t be surprised to see the Panthers make some noise in the NFC South and shake off the sour reputation they have garnered in recent years.

New England Patriots
2024 Record: 4-13

The short-lived Jerrod Mayo experiment crashed and burned in 2024, however the foundation was built for what can be a surprising team on the rise for the 2025 NFL season.

The Patriots brought back some familiar faces to help lead this young and promising roster to the next level. Mike Vrabel, former Patriot linebacker and 2021 coach of the year with the Tennessee Titans was brought in as head coach. This season also marks the return of Josh McDaniels who will serve once again as the Patriots’ Offensive Coordinator in hopes of continued development of their young star quarterback Drake Maye.

Despite the dreadful season, the Patriots have seemingly found their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye. Over the off season, New England continued to add support for their young QB, including the addition of former Pro-Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs. They bolstered their offensive line as well, as they selected highly-touted prospect Will Campbell out of LSU via the draft.

Mike Vrabel’s defensive coaching prowess should help a Patriot defense with many young pieces to make a leap into elite status in 2025. All-Pro Christian Gonzalez as well as Carlton Davis at corner will certainly stifle wideouts and be a formidable duo.

New England’s defensive line also has a great amount of untapped potential, especially with the addition of former Philadelphia Eagle Milton Williams in the offseason. It is intriguing to see what the new staff can bring out of Christian Barmore and Keion White as well.

Overall, it will come down to what the coaching staff will be able to bring out of their young pieces, but the potential ceiling for this team is one their opponents should be intimidated by.

Arizona Cardinals 
2024 Record: 8-9

Arizona entered 2024 coming off of back to back 4-13 campaigns with their future growing bleaker by the week. However, the team’s 8-9 record in 2024 did not quite represent the Cardinals’ true quality of performance.

Doubling their win total from the previous two seasons, the keyword for Arizona in 2024 was “inconsistency”. There were times where the Cardinals would be lighting up the scoreboard or locking down opponents on defense. In other cases they looked completely dysfunctional. 

However, with a lot to prove due to his injury history and inconsistent play, quarterback Kyler Murray has the talent and the weapons to help Arizona get to the next level in 2025.

James Conner quietly had his best season as a Cardinal yet, with 1,094 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns, proving to be a crucial piece of their offense.

Trey McBride broke out in what was a much welcome surprise for the third year tight end, and although he did not find the end zone a lot, he placed fourth in receptions with 111 as well as eleventh in receiving yards with 1,146. 

While Marvin Harrison Jr. did not fulfill the sky-high expectations set for him in his rookie season, the 2024 fourth overall pick is poised for even bigger things heading into 2025.

Similarly to the Patriots, the Cardinals defense seems to be on track for a leap in 2025. Acquiring Josh Sweat, Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell will help what was a mediocre pass rush and run defense unit last season, and existing pieces such as Budda Baker and LJ Collier look to only improve under defensive coordinator Nick Rallis and the rest of Arizona’s defensive acquisitions.

Arizona also had a solid draft on the defensive side of things with linemen Walter Nolen and cornerback Will Johnson. Sean Murphy-Bunting will surely be missed as he recovers from injury, but Arizona will have to hope someone steps up in his absence.

The NFC West will prove to be a warzone, as it always is, but fans should not be surprised to see the Cardinals near the top of the standings if they are able to figure out their inconsistencies.

Matthew Nazario can be reached at matthew.nazario@student.shu.edu

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