Of the dozen or so major storylines surrounding the NFL this year, one sticks out like a sore thumb: the product hasn't been entertaining.
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It is a ghastly admission that I do not take lightly, but it's a reality many are coming to terms with as the NFL is just two weeks away from its holy Thanksgiving slate. Even more, it is a trend affecting all major American sports leagues.
It became apparent to me at about 3:30 last Sunday and was reaffirmed Monday night. The 1:00 slate failed to deliver any truly exciting games. The two best matchups were the Patriots at the Buccaneers and the Jaguars at the Texans. In the former, the Patriots dominated after the Bucs took a 7-0 lead early. In the latter, the Texans pulled off an improbable comeback without their starting quarterback. The only good game of the day took place in Germany at 9:00 a.m. EST, when New Yorkers were just having coffee and most Californians were still sleeping.
Monday night was supposed to be the game of the year: the Eagles against Green Bay in a chilly prime-time tilt. But that game, without exaggeration, might have been the most boring NFL matchup ever. After the Eagles' first drive fizzled out with a turnover, neither team scored in the first half. The game mercifully ended in a 10-7 win for the defending champs. It didn't help that the Eagles got away with another false-start Tush push, adding pressure on the league to ban its most boring play. It just seems like the NFL sucks.
Sure, the NFL has mostly avoided insider gambling schemes that have rocked the NBA and MLB this year. That's worthy of note, as the MLB and NBA have faced serious scrutiny.
ESPN and YouTube TV's inability to agree on streaming rights has also contributed to the NFL's decline this year. Not only does it alienate a large percentage of viewers from watching Monday Night Football, but it also removes a key media network from promoting the league seven days a week. Even in the age of social media, traditional TV still matters.
But what is really at the core of the NFL's lack of excitement? There are a few reasons why the league is struggling, but the main one becomes clear when comparing it to the NBA.
Consider this: since the Warriors dynasty ended with Kevin Durant's departure in 2019, seven different teams have won the last seven championships, the league's longest unique winning streak in history. Many have dubbed it "the age of parity." Meanwhile, the NBA's viewership has nearly halved.
It's easy to remember years when a Cavs/Warriors championship was all but guaranteed, and you might have felt sick of it. That was understandable; it's arguably boring to watch the same top teams compete for a ring every year.
But the NBA's popularity peaked with that narrative: Curry's Warriors denying LeBron in Cleveland, and then the 2016 finals. It was a distinct chapter that followed others like it. From 2010 to 2014, there was South Beach LeBron chasing a ring, met by exciting teams like the Mavs, Spurs, and young Thunder.
Before that, you had the back half of Kobe's legacy and the Lakers-Celtics renewal. Earlier still was the front half of Kobe's legacy with peak Shaq and a nonstop media circus. Go farther back: Jordan era, Magic/Bird, the list goes on and on. Great sports leagues need great narratives.
Great narratives hardly exist in league-wide mediocrity. Parity does not drive excitement, dominance does. The NFL, at least from a product standpoint, peaked in the 2010s. Was that because different teams were winning every year? No, it was due to two main reasons: the golden age of quarterbacks and Tom Brady's sheer dominance. Both drew viewers in. "Brady can't win another?" "How can you say Drew Brees is not top ten all-time?" "Is Eli Manning a Hall of Famer?" "The Patriots have to be cheating!" Those are the questions that make you watch the games.
Brady's dominance continued to drive the league even after Patrick Mahomes became the unquestioned top QB. The Kansas City/Mahomes narrative essentially became, "Are they better than the Patriots, and can they be better than the Patriots?" Even that narrative saw a physical outcome when Brady beat Mahomes head to head in Super Bowl 55.
Now the league doesn't have any of that. We are in the worst era of QB play since the early 2000s, when Tom Brady was only known in parts of California and Michigan.
Broad stats back this up. In 2015, there were 69 instances through ten weeks of quarterbacks throwing at least 300 yards. In 2025, that number is 33, not even half. In 2015, there were four QBs with at least 20 passing TDs through Week 10; in 2025, there are only two.
But it's more than stats. Ask yourself: do we really have a solid top 6 to 7 QBs now like we did in 2015? Are Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow more exciting than Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Cam Newton? Even the 5-10 guys now can't hold a candle to the "border elites" of the 2010's.
It's not just QB stats that make the argument the NFL is worse off. The Broncos are tied for the best record at 8-2; they also lead the NFL in punts this year. Only one running back, Jonathan Taylor, has at least 1,000 rushing yards. Only one other RB has at least 800 yards. The same can be said about receiving: Jaxon Smith-Njigba leads the NFL with 1,041 receiving yards, and Ja'Marr Chase is the only other player with at least 800 yards receiving.
Despite my draconian tone, I am still optimistic about the NFL and its future for two reasons. I believe the current top QBs (Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, and Jackson) are still just that, and they will play better than they have so far this year.
But more than that, I get excited when I see the younger QBs in the NFL develop, even if they have struggled. Caleb Williams looks explosive under Johnson. Jayden Daniels is still special, just injured. Jaxson Dart has that elusive "white boy swag."
And maybe, just maybe, the next Tom Brady of the NFL is already starting in, of all places, New England.
