The NFL seems to be a firm believer in an unfortunate version of Karma and arguably the latest talent to fall foul of that in the 2025 campaign was Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes.
It was only back in September in the clash with the Los Angeles Chargers that the 30 year old, 2017 1st round pick, was again on the end of accusations of preferential treatment from the league as he again seemingly took a cheap shot on chargers cornerback Ja Sir Taylor, leaving him on the floor, before then running himself out of bounds knowing he could not be touched.
Is Roughness out of Hand?
Claims of subtle unnecessary roughness are not new when it comes to Mahomes scrambling for the line and fans are far safer using online casinos in pennsylvania rather than betting on him being punished for it, but it certainly overshadowed the fact that he overtook legend Dan Marino in the record books for the most regular season touchdown passes by a player under 30. But the injury he sustained in the most recent clash with the Chargers is pretty much symbolic of the season that they have had.
With the Chargers ultimately taking victory, it means that for the first time in eleven whole campaigns that the Chiefs will not feature in the post season and the NFL Play Offs. By their own set standards they did not deserve to either as their earlier star is very much on the wane and in their topsy turvy season the only real positive is that no other franchise has really announced themselves as a likely successor and ready to take their position.
AFC Stage is Set
With five straight battles with the Buffalo Bills in the Play Off stage, the road could be wide open for them to capitalize after their years of heartbreak, but the New England Patriots are in top spot in the AFC East so even that is not really guaranteed given their 10-4 record and sixth overall spot in the AFC standings.
But the wider story presents a slightly different and fresher Play Off picture. The Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars have surprised everyone by putting themselves into the mix as they both claimed only four wins a piece in the 2024 campaign as they completed a remarkable in form this year. Similar is true in the NFC division as the Chicago Bears look set to end a four year Play Off draught of their own.
A Different Season
Senior NFL writer at the Boston Globe, Ben Volin, probably said it best when he described the 2025 campaign as being akin to feeling ‘like we're in a snow globe and someone shook it upside down'. Now we are seeing it settle in a remarkably different setting when compared with the more recent norms as few had seen this kind of outcome coming at the beginning of the year.
Whoever eventually ends up in the post season, one thing is for sure. It will be the first season since way back in 1998 where neither Mahomes, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning will be on show. For now though, we simply enjoy the remainder of the regular season action and see which two franchises then really rise to the occasion, in this NFL sweepstakes for the Super Bowl that lies ahead.
