NFL Big Five: Storylines to watch during final stretch of the regular season

The calendar turned to December this week, meaning we've already reached the final full month of the 2025 NFL regular season.

Before Week 14 action begins, here are five storylines we're monitoring over the next five weeks.

1. Will Kansas City Chiefs miss the playoffs?

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn't missed the AFC Championship Game, let alone the playoffs, since being named the full-time starter in 2018. But both remarkable streaks are in danger of being snapped this season.

Kansas City is two games behind the Los Angeles Chargers, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills in the AFC's wild-card race, and three of its five remaining games are against teams with a winning record. The Chiefs (6-6) are 1-3 in their past four games, allowing 25.3 points per game during the span. We're used to seeing Kansas City peak at this time of year, not struggle. If the Chiefs are to make the playoffs for the 11th season in a row, they'll have to quickly rediscover their championship form.

2. Who wins MVP?

The race for league MVP intensified on Monday with New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's cool, calm and collected performance in a 33-15 win over the New York Giants, one day after Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, another top MVP candidate, had his worst game of the season in a road loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Overall, though, both are worthy choices. Each has statistics to back their candidacy. Maye has the higher completion percentage, more passing yards and is a mobile threat, while Stafford has more touchdowns and fewer interceptions. It's a toss-up between the second-year pro and 17-year veteran, and the stretch run could determine if either claims their first MVP.

3. Can Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals push for division titles?

Despite fielding the two worst scoring defenses, the Cowboys (6-5-1) and Bengals (4-8) have pulses. The margin for error is nonexistent for both, but Thanksgiving wins gave each hope.

Dallas ran its win streak to three games with a 31-28 win over the Chiefs, while the Bengals went to Baltimore and handily beat the Ravens, 32-14, while forcing a season-high five turnovers in quarterback Joe Burrow's return from turf toe.

The Cowboys are 1.5 games behind the Philadelphia Eagles (8-4) for first in the NFC East, while the Bengals are just two games back of the Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) in the AFC North. The two teams played beneath their talent level for most of the season but appear to have found their strides in time to make things interesting.

4. Can the Chicago Bears stick the landing?

The Bears have surged to the top seed in the NFC, but a continued difficult schedule makes it far from a certainly they'll remain in that post entering the playoffs. Two of Chicago's next three games are against the Green Bay Packers (8-3-1), while it also travels to the San Francisco 49ers (9-4) in primetime in Week 17. The Bears close the regular season against the Detroit Lions (7-5), who they lost to, 52-21, earlier this season.

Chicago will have earned the No. 1 seed if it navigates that gauntlet and comes through the other side with a first-round playoff bye. With six of their nine wins coming by five points or less, however, the Bears are more vulnerable than most 1-seeds at this point of the season.

5. "With the No. 1 pick, _____________ select..."

A Week 17 game between the Tennessee Titans and (1-11) and New Orleans Saints (2-10) could swing the race for the No. 1 pick. The Giants (2-11) and Las Vegas Raiders (2-10) are also in the running. 

Tennessee earned the No. 1 pick in 2025 and could be the first team with back-to-back first overall picks since the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected Trevor Lawrence and Travon Walker in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The Saints last had the draft's first pick in 1981, while the Giants have never picked No. 1 overall. Infamous draft bust JaMarcus Russell was the Raiders' most recent No. 1 pick (2007).

All four teams have multi-year playoff droughts and could use the top pick to launch a revival. The next five weeks will be a race to the bottom.