NFL 2025 bold predictions: Jaxson Dart’s rise, Kevin Stefanski’s fall and Super Bowl surprises

The NFL is back. 

Week 1 kicks off Thursday night with the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles hosting the Dallas Cowboys (8:20 ET, NBC).

To mark the occasion, here are 10 bold predictions for the 2025 season.

1. New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart will start before the halfway point of the season | Giants head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen might not survive another dismal season, which helps explain why the fourth-year head coach elected to start veteran Russell Wilson in Week 1.

However, that plan will backfire thanks to a daunting early schedule — six of the first eight opponents made the playoffs last season — prompting a quarterback change before the calendar hits November. The Giants have the hardest schedule in the league (.574 winning percentage).

2. Kevin Stefanski will be the first head coach fired | Speaking of rough starts, the Cleveland Browns open the season with six consecutive games against teams that finished 2024 with a winning record, starting with back-to-back divisional games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.

Cleveland also will play the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and division rival Pittsburgh Steelers during the span. It's unlikely the Browns will be favored in any of those games. Barring an upset, they could be staring at an 0-6 record in mid-October, making a change at head coach justifiable. Jim Schwartz, Browns defensive coordinator and a former NFL head coach, would be a logical choice to take over in an interim role.

3. Miami Dolphins will trade wide receiver Tyreek Hill | The mercurial wideout finally will get his wish. After requesting a trade at the end of the last season (which he later retracted), the Dolphins will part with Hill as part of a massive trade deadline sell-off, sending him to a playoff hopeful. (The trade deadline is Nov. 5.)

A team captain the past two seasons, Hill was passed over by the Dolphins for that honor this season. "We were focused on giving the keys to captaincy to guys that had earned it each and every day," head coach Mike McDaniel said, per ESPN.

4. The Houston Texans will lead NFL in pass defense | Last year's No. 6-ranked pass defense will ascend to the top of the league rankings.

The promising secondary, which includes 2024 first-team All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr. and talented second-year defensive backs Kamari Lassiter and Calen Bullock, will benefit from facing the AFC South, which includes Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (or Anthony Richardson), Tennessee Titans rookie No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward and up-and-down Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. That's six games against either QBs trending down or a rookie. 

The unit will feast against its division opponents and anyone else who dares to enter its fly zone.

5. New Orleans Saints will get the No. 1 overall pick | Expectations couldn't be lower for the Saints in head coach Kellen Moore's first season. With arguably the league's worst quarterback situation, New Orleans will struggle all season, leaving it with the top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Starter Spencer Rattler completed only 57 percent of his passes last season.

6. Las Vegas Raiders will make the playoffs | Pete Carroll, hired this offseason, has four losing seasons and 12 playoff appearances in 18 years as an NFL head coach. 

Las Vegas could be one of the league's biggest surprises, emerging from the loaded AFC West with a wild-card berth. Las Vegas improved at quarterback, trading for Geno Smith. TE Brock Bowers is coming off a 1,194-yard rookie season, while running back Ashton Jeanty is the preseason Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite. And based on how awful Boise State looked in its first game since Jeanty's departure, he might be even more valuable than many believe.

7. Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon wins Coach of the Year | A late 2024 collapse overshadowed the impressive strides the Cardinals made in Year 2 under Gannon. Arizona improved its win total by four games, finishing 8-9 and with a plus-21 point differential.

Arizona has a favorable early schedule (at New Orleans, vs. Carolina), which should help it weather injuries to its defensive line, including 2025 first-round pick Walter Nolen (calf) and 2023 second-rounder BJ Ojulari, who still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season. Unlike last season, the Cardinals could get stronger as the season goes along and their health improves, making Gannon's job in the desert harder to ignore.

8. Season awards: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow named MVP, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson OPOY, Green Bay Packers edge Micah Parsons DPOY | The Bengals won't squander another season of Burrow's prime, reaching the playoffs and giving their star quarterback (43 TD passes last season) an ironclad MVP resume. His former LSU teammate, Justin Jefferson (10 TD catches in 2024), will be named Offensive Player of the Year after another huge season, while Parsons (double-digit sacks in all four seasons) will battle through his back injury to quickly reward the Packers for his landmark contract with his first Defensive Player of the Year award.

9. Taylor Swift headlines Super Bowl LX halftime show | Could "The Life of a Showgirl" include a headlining spot at this season's Super Bowl?

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