12 early NFL winners and losers: Who’s soaring, who’s sinking after six weeks? NFL Report 2025
Winner
1) Baker Mayfield
1) Baker Mayfield: It’s been difficult to decide who should be the initial frontrunner for the MVP award, but that’s no longer an issue. Mayfield has made his case early and often, and this Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback may be the one holding the trophy when the season ends. There are many quarterbacks with more accomplishments. There are many quarterbacks with better statistics. However, no one is playing the position more efficiently—or doing more for their team—than Mayfield. The Buccaneers have suffered multiple injuries along the offensive line. They’re playing without running back Bucky Irving and wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin (and rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka also suffered a hamstring injury during Sunday’s win over San Francisco). And yet, the Bucs are 5-1 after another dramatic victory. That’s because Mayfield has been so good, so clutch, and such an inspiring leader. It doesn’t matter who’s playing next to him these days. He’ll make just enough plays to get his team to victory. Thanks to Mayfield, the Buccaneers became the first team in history to win four of their first five games by three points or less. Now, he’s thrown 12 touchdown passes this season and turned the ball over once. And the biggest thing he’s given Tampa Bay is his attitude. You can see it when he recovers from a fumble on first down or hits a deep shot after taking a big hit from a free blitzer. Mayfield is playing with the confidence and bravado that made him a cult hero in college. It’s also made him the best player in the league through the first six weeks of this season.
2) Mike Vrabel
2) Mike Vrabel: The New England Patriots are a rising presence in the AFC, and that’s because Vrabel is once again proving he knows how to coach. The man who transformed the Tennessee Titans in his first head coaching stint is employing the same formula with the franchise where he made his name as a player. Vrabel loves a strong defense that plays smart and possesses the football. That’s exactly what he’s doing in New England. His special teams made a difference in Tennessee, and you’re seeing the same thing happen with the Patriots. Punt returner Marcus Jones and kick returner Antonio Gibson both won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors this fall. But what has people most excited about the Patriots is the potential of second-year quarterback Drake Maye. He has consistently demonstrated the qualities required for an effective franchise quarterback. Vrabel never had such talent under center in Tennessee.
When training camp began, there was some talk that New England could become a playoff contender, perhaps because of the new players emerging each year. Now, the Patriots are looking more like a real team with each passing week. After defeating New Orleans on Sunday, the Pats have won three in a row. The biggest of these wins was the Week 5 victory at Buffalo, when the Patriots forced three turnovers and Maye made some outstanding plays. The schedule is also working in Vrabel’s favor. New England will face six teams in the next six to seven that don’t have a winning record at the time of publication, starting with a return to Tennessee next Sunday. It’s not hard to understand why the Titans fired Vrabel in January 2024, despite two losing seasons in his final two years. It’s even harder to understand, especially after the way he’s led New England to a 4-2 record, why they spent last season without a head coach. He’s really that good.
3) Jackson Dart and Cam Skatebo:
3) Jackson Dart and Cam Skatebo: Anyone who watched the Giants’ Week 3 loss to Kansas City saw a team that was faltering and headed for disaster. The new duo of Dart and Skatebo has changed all those negative feelings over the past three weeks. Things haven’t been great—the Giants lost to the Saints in Week 5—but these two rookies have made their mark in recent wins over the Chargers and Eagles. Both teams should be playing in the postseason, which is why there should be so much excitement about the energy Dart and Skatebo bring to New York. Of course, Dart was the player who garnered the most buzz after being selected by the team in the first round of this year’s draft. Head coach Brian Daboll’s initial plan was to play Russell Wilson for a significant amount of time to give Dart a chance to develop, but Wilson’s ineffectiveness thwarted that plan. Dart has proven to be a fast learner, but his ability to make plays and improvisation have also impressed everyone. This player has an innate sense of the right moment. Skatebo, a fourth-round pick, is exactly the same as he was at Arizona State College. He takes every carry as if his life depended on it, and he looks like a rusher coached by Vince Lombardi. It’s not hard to understand why he’s earned the leadoff rusher role. It would be a sweet story if Dart and Skatebo had a similar team.
4) Mike Tomlin: The Steelers’ head coach comes into this season with a team facing some serious questions. What kind of play can Pittsburgh expect from 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers? Will a defense relying on four veterans, all at least 30 years old, stay healthy? Did the offense have enough playmakers? Well, none of that matters today because the AFC North is in complete disarray. Tomlin’s team is far from dominant, but after Sunday’s win over Cleveland, it has a 4-1 record and is in a great position to win the division. The Baltimore Ravens have only one win and are battling a number of injuries. The Cleveland Browns have two new players at the top of the quarterback depth chart, and Joe Flacco, who began the year as the starter, is now taking over in Cincinnati due to Joe Burrow’s turf toe surgery and Jake Browning’s poor play. The Steelers’ offense is mediocre, their defense is below average… and there’s every reason to believe they’ll win 11 to 12. Tomlin may not be able to take this team far in the playoffs, but Pittsburgh will get there again. Believe it.
5) Rico Dowdle: The Carolina Panthers praised Dowdle so much during the first month of the season that he totaled 83 yards on 28 carries in the team’s first four games. These statistics are a must-see when discussing Dowdle today, because after such a modest start, he has suddenly become one of the league’s most productive running backs. After starter Chuba Hubbard was sidelined with a calf injury, he rushed for 206 yards in a Week 5 win over Miami. Dowdle continued that performance by amassing a franchise-record 239 scrimmage yards in Sunday’s win over Dallas, while Hubbard sat out again. Dowdle now has a team-record 473 scrimmage yards over the past two games, making him the seventh player in league history with 200 or more consecutive scrimmage yards. Dowdle made no secret of the fact that Sunday’s meeting with the Cowboys was personal. He spent his first five seasons with Dallas and rushed for 1,079 yards before the team let him leave in free agency last year. The 27-year-old running back wanted to warn the Cowboys about what they’d let slip — he told reporters that Dallas should “get their groove back” before Sunday’s game — and he did. Dowdle is performing so well that the Panthers now have a legitimate question: how will they take full advantage of him moving forward? Head coach Dave Canales made it clear in his postgame comments that Dowdle will have a larger role in the offense going forward, even though Hubbard signed a four-year, $33.2 million extension last November. Quarterback Bryce Young is playing at a high level with an improved run game. Regardless of how Canales handles the workload, it’s clear that Dowdle has used the right timing to transform himself into a budding star.
6) Nick Bonito: If Bonito continues to perform well, the Denver Broncos could win two consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards. He leads the league with eight sacks—seven of which have come in his last four games—and is poised to inflict further damage on a Broncos defense that is finding its rhythm. All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II was the star of this unit last season, earning DPOY honors. Bonito enjoyed a stellar 2024 season, logging a career-high 13.5 sacks and earning a spot on the second-team All-Pro defense. The reason Bonito is garnering even more attention this season is that Denver desperately needs this defense to play at a high level to become a serious championship contender. Second-year quarterback Bo Nix has faced some anticipated struggles as opposing teams have more confidence in him. The Broncos will also have to contend with quarterbacks like Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert to claim the AFC West crown. These are opponents who will give Bonito a chance to shine, just like last month. The Broncos got off to a slow start, losing two of their first three games. Now, they have won three in a row and have a 4-2 record, thanks to a defensive performance in Sunday’s 13-11 victory over the Jets in London. When a team allows nine sacks in a game, people pay attention. And with the amount of talent Denver has on defense—which regularly ruins games on that side of the ball—it’s easy to see how Bonito is impacting opponents.
7) AFC South: Over the past few seasons, the question surrounding this division has been persistent: Was it the worst division in football, or did the NFC South hold that honor? After all, every team in the AFC South has had a top-five pick in the draft through 2023, and Tennessee had the first overall selection in April. Well, today, that’s a much different story. The Indianapolis Colts have turned to Daniel Jones as the latest quarterback to reinvent themselves, and they currently have a 5-1 record. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who had four wins in 2024, already have four wins.