There isn’t really a set formula for deciding if a sports game or tournament should be considered the best ever. It will often depend on various factors, and even controversial incidents can make something memorable. Nostalgia, too, can make our memories of certain events feel more exciting than they were in reality. And, while it sounds contradictory, recency bias can also play the same trick.
Yet, there has been a growing consensus that the 2025 NFL season has been one of the most thrilling in years, perhaps decades. We will have to wait for the conclusion of Super Bowl LX for the dust to really settle, but this has been up there with the most memorable campaigns for a variety of reasons.
Super Bowl Contenders Changed Often
For a start, there have been the shocks and the shocks on top of the shocks. The favourite in the NFL Super Bowl odds changed so many times this season that we lost count. Imagine a Premier League soccer season where at different points the betting favourite for the title was Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Manchester United again, and then Tottenham, and then Villa again, before settling back on Manchester United. It was like that, except compressed into just a few months.
What we did see, however, was an unprecedented number of big teams crumbling under pressure. The Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs were the big disappointments, but others, like the Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles also failed to meet expectations. With the emergence of teams like the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, there was a sense of changing of the guard. That, in itself, does not merit a great season, but it helped with a sense that anyone could beat anyone, keeping fans engaged in every game.
And then there were the stirring comebacks. So many games turned in the 4th quarter as teams threw everything at it. We would cite the Chicago Bears as the best exponent of that, with no fewer than seven 4thquarter comebacks across the season. The Bears came incredibly close to making it eight in the Playoffs, forcing overtime against the LA Rams after a miracle-level Hail Mary pass from quarterback Caleb Williams. As if to add to the crazy topsy-turvy season, Williams was the villain mere minutes later as an error led to the Rams’ victory.
Debate Will Rage Online
Right now, fan forums are ablaze with commentators arguing over the candidacy of the 2025 season as one of the best of the modern era. Not everyone agrees, of course, and the season was pretty miserable from the perspective of a Kansas City Chiefs or New York Jets fan, for example, but broadly for the neutrals, one can make a good case for the argument.
Moreover, fans vote with their feet. Or more aptly, they vote with remote controls. The NFL has already announced that viewing figures have risen by about 10% per game before the Playoffs got underway. And we can see by the demand for Super Bowl LX tickets, which by some estimates are going for $10K+, that the excitement has led to a kind of fever pitch.
It will, however, take time for the dust settle before we can really look back and make any pronouncements about the season, but it is clear that the NFL is very happy with its product, with the excitement spilling over and helping the league market itself in other countries, especially in the UK, where it vies with soccer and sports like cricket. Super Bowl LX will also have to deliver to meet the expectations of the rest of the season, but all the signs are pointing to a classic.