December 15th, 2025
The 2025/26 NFL season is coming to close, with just a couple of game weeks remaining - and there's still many playoff spots to fight for. In fact, none of the eight NFL divisions has a mathematically guaranteed winner even at this late stage in the season. But what have been the biggest surprise packages of this highly competitive year so far?
The main surprises of the season have mostly been quarterback related. A few teams have had surprise turnarounds, and a few teams have fallen off. Things are looking quite different now than they were in the early weeks, with some early MVP contenders dropping off in form and others gathering pace. These, are three of the biggest surprise stories so far.
The Kansas City Chiefs Have Fallen Off Hard - How Did that Happen?
Although in the preseason many thought the dominant era of the Chiefs might be on the decline, few will have predicted just how far they've fallen this year. After winning the AFC West nine years in a row, at 6-7 the Chiefs are now mathematically out of the running for the division title and face a difficult battle to even make the playoffs.
Interestingly this fall off comes just as Missouri legalized sports betting - meaning a fair few Chiefs fans will have likely already lost money betting on their team. Since the market opened on December 1, the Chiefs have played one game - a shock 10-20 home defeat to the Houston Texans. At least sports betting Chiefs fans can console themselves with DraftKings Missouri sign-up promotion details, listed with expert analysis of the very best options.
The Chiefs were especially known for their tight execution, making the most of their chances in key moments during one-score games - but this season those games have gone 0-5 against them. A combination of the decline of the formerly imperious Patrick Mahomes (who threw 10 intercepted or missed passes in a row against the Texans in game week 15) and defensive lapses have cost the Chiefs in vital moments, and this has undoubtedly been their worst season in years.
Sam Darnold Pushed the Seahawks to the Strong Playoff Contenders
While the Chiefs are a team on the spinout with a declining legend at quarterback, one of the big surprises of the season has been The Seattle Seahawks and their new QB Sam Darnold. Having not won a division title since 2014, the Seahawks' 10-3 record in the NFC West sees them well in contention with only a few games to go.
The Seattle team has had an unexpectedly explosive offence this year, including the recent 37-9 blowout win over the Atlanta Falcons to hit the 10 win mark. And a lot of that success has come through Sam Darnold. At his fifth team in six years, Darnold had a breakout season with the Minnesota Vikings last year - but few expected him to light it up as much as he has in the Pacific Northwest. He has compiled 3,162 passing yards and 22 touchdown passes so far, with a passing rating of 103.8 putting him among the league's best.
Although the Seahawks' remaining scheduled games mean contending with late-season Super Bowl favorites the Los Angeles Rams for their division title, they currently have the momentum with three straight wins and shouldn't be counted out just yet.
Drake Maye Has Stepped up as the New England Patriots Rebound
After back-to-back losing seasons in the AFC East, the Patriots have come back in 2025 with a bang. They currently have the best record in the League at 11-2, and a lot of that is down to the heroics of second-year QB Drake Maye.
In fact, his performances this season have already seen him take a franchise record formerly held by the one most legendary quarterbacks in NFL history Tom Brady. He’s thrown for over 3,400 yards with 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions, across the longest streak in Patriots' history of consecutive 200+ yard, 100+ rating games.
The Patriots' resurgence has obviously also influenced by the arrival of new head coach Mike Vrabel, who few expected to have such an immediate impact. Although not winning anything in his four seasons in charge of the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel did lead them to four winning seasons in a row - the kind of stability that the Patriots sorely needed as they look to get back to the dynastic form of a decade ago.
As a former Patriots line-backer himself, Vrabel knows the systems that helped the Patriots to win three Super Bowls between 2014 and 2018 and he has instilled some of that in team. In fact even Brady himself has had big praise for Maye, saying that he sees the new Patriots system as fitting the quarterback perfectly - just as it did for him in his day.