We’re past the halfway point of the 2025 NFL season, and if there’s one word to describe it, it’s unpredictable. Parity is all over the league, and things seem to change every week.
This is when you have to stop listening to the noise, go to the All-22, and see what the film is actually showing. Our latest video on YouTube dives into a few of the biggest takeaways from the first half, from a breakout star to the intriguing MVP race to a repick of Super Bowl LX.
Rico Dowdle Has Been One of the NFL’s Best Players
Let’s start with a legit breakout star in 2025. Panthers running back Rico Dowdle has—no exaggeration—been one of the best players in the league through the first half of the season.
He’s only started four games for Carolina, but he’s already third in the NFL in rushing behind only Jonathan Taylor and James Cook. When he first took over for an injured Chuba Hubbard, some thought Dowdle was simply taking advantage of favorable matchups. He had huge games against the Dolphins and his former Cowboys team, and the easy narrative was to dismiss his play as fluky.
However, that felt like total stat watching by the doubters. Those people were not actually watching just how well he was running the ball. It’s been exceptional.
He put any concerns over taking advantage of bad defenses to bed when he went into Lambeau Field in Week 9 and shredded the Packers for 25 carries, 130 yards, and two touchdowns in an upset win for the Panthers.
Dowdle was underrated for the Cowboys last season, where he quietly ran for 1,000 yards, but the former undrafted player looks like an elite force in Dave Canales’ offense right now. His game has gone to another level. He looks to be in excellent shape and is both slashing and powering through defenses.
The 8-2 Patriots Can Be the AFC’s No. 1 Seed
The other major takeaway is that the New England Patriots have a realistic shot to both win the AFC East and take a high seed in the AFC.
At 8-2, they are tied for the best record in football. Now, the common (and arguably fair) critique has been their schedule. Through the midway point, the Patriots had the easiest strength of schedule played for the first nine weeks. So that has to even out in the second half, right?
Well, it doesn’t.
The Patriots also have the easiest remaining schedule in the second half of the season.
They are in prime position to not only push the Bills in the division but to push every team in the conference for the No. 1 seed and have the postseason run through Foxboro. We’ll see them in some awesome, high-stakes December matchups against the Bills and Ravens, as head coach Mike Vrabel has done an outstanding job in Year 1 and is showing how foolish it was for the Titans to fire him.
The 2025 MVP Race is WIDE OPEN
Making a midseason MVP pick might be out of bounds considering how wide open this race is.
Early in the season, it was Baker Mayfield and Dak Prescott getting the hype. Then it was Jordan Love after the win over the Steelers, which completely crashed after the loss to the Panthers.
Now, Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford are the two betting favorites. We’ll see if they can stay in the mix. Patrick Mahomes, with four losses, probably has a tough path if that win-loss criteria is used against him. Jonathan Taylor is putting up early 2000s running back numbers, so hopefully the voters take him seriously.
But Jalen Hurts and Bo Nix—who each had their worst games on Thursday Night Football, leading to massive overreaction—are two guys who aren’t getting much love and should absolutely be in the mix.
The media basically said Hurts and Nix can’t throw, so it’ll take a lot for either of them to win it. But we saw the media finally come around on Josh Allen last season, so maybe there’s hope.
Midseason Super Bowl LX Prediction
The preseason Super Bowl pick was Lions over Ravens.
Baltimore started 1-5, but that slow start could take pressure off them and let them get hot (likely a lot on the road as the No. 4 seed or a wild card team) if they get into the playoffs.
The Chiefs at 5-4 are struggling some with their run defense. The Broncos’ offense might have needed an elite weapon to win it all, but that defense paired with the clutch play of Bo Nix shouldn’t be counted out.
As for the Bills, despite the Week 10 loss at Miami, it’s easy to like how their defense played the Chiefs. First-round rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston looks like a perfect fit for those games. If the Buffalo defense finally steps up in January, we could see Josh Allen in the Big Game.
In the NFC, even with the Eagles, Bucs, Rams, 49ers, and Seahawks among those looking tough, it might be Detroit’s time. Watch the full video to see the full Super Bowl LX pick.
Watch the full video on YouTube, and subscribe to Wolf Sports on YouTube for more content like this.