Biggest challenge facing each NFC team in 2025, plus overreactions from Week 1 of the NFL preseason

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

The first week of the preseason was so exciting that we’re going to spend one more day breaking down everything that happened. We’re also going to take a look at the biggest challenge facing every NFC team heading into the 2025 season. 

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let’s get to the rundown. 

1. Overreactions from Week 1 of the NFL preseason

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Everyone on the internet loves to overreact to things, and that’s especially true when we’re talking about the the NFL. With that in mind, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at several things that happened during the first week of the preseason to decide if we’re all overreacting. 

Statement: Jaxson Dart will be the Giants’ passing leader this season. 
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. Dart had a strong performance in his preseason debut, completing 12 of 19 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. …. Russell Wilson is the starting quarterback for Week 1, but how soon will the Giants hand the keys over to Dart? The Giants’ early portion of the schedule is brutal, and it would be wise not to destroy Dart’s confidence — no matter how good he is. Dart may not get his opportunity until December (when the Giants bye week is), but could enter the starting role in November if the season really goes off the rails.

Statement: Chiefs have their left tackle problem fixed. 
Overreaction or reality: Reality. The Chiefs appear to have their left tackle problem fixed, thanks to a potential franchise cornerstone in Josh Simmons. Simmons fell in the draft because he suffered a torn patellar tendon in college back in October and wasn’t expected to progress this quickly. Not only has Simmons progressed, he’s thrived in training camp. In Week 1 of the preseason, Simmons didn’t allow a pressure in seven pass-blocking snaps  — easily taking care of experienced pass rushers. 

Statement: Shedeur Sanders just opened up the QB competition in Cleveland with his play. 
Overreaction or reality: Reality. The belief is Joe Flacco will start for the Browns in Week 1 of the regular season, but Sanders’ performance in the preseason opener gives Cleveland something to think about. Sanders went 14 of 23 for 138 yards and two touchdowns in his Browns debut. … Sanders’ performance puts pressure on Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel to perform when they return, as the joint practices with the Eagles this week will be a tell tale sign. How Sanders plays in those sessions will be his biggest test.

There are plenty more overreactions, and if you want to check those out, be sure to click here.  

2. NFL preseason Week 1 breakdown: Good, bad and ugly for each teamAll 32 NFL teams were in action during Week 1 of the preseason, and Garrett Podell decided to break down each team’s performance by taking a look at the good, bad and ugly of how they played. 

Let’s check out what he had to say about two different teams: 

BRONCOS (beat the 49ers, 30-9)

Good: Edge rusher Nik Bonitto, whose 13.5 sacks were the third-most in the NFL last season, picked up right where he left off this preseason. He racked up a sack and three quarterback hits on three consecutive plays on the 49ers’ second offensive drive of the night.Bad and ugly: Broncos quarterback Bo Nix’s up-and-down outing. He completed just 6 of his 11 passes, and he came up a bit short on a deep toss to wide receiver Troy Franklin, which allowed 49ers cornerback Chase Lucas to knock the football away. Nix also committed an intentional grounding penalty that wound up as a safety.PACKERS (lost, 30-10, to the Jets)

Good: Rookie first-round pick Matthew Golden can catch. He reeled in his sole target of the night from starting quarterback Jordan Love to move the chains. He could become Love’s go-to guy in a hurry. Bad and ugly: Pro Football Focus only officially charted the Green Bay Packers as having three drops on Saturday night, but there were a few more pass plays in which Romeo Doubs and others could have been assessed drops. Green Bay registered 28 drops as a team in 2024, the fifth-most in the NFL. … Love hit many of his targets in the chest and/or hands, but the football was dropped — both on Saturday and last season. His receiving core needs to lock in quickly. Podell broke down all 32 teams, and if you want to see his full story, you can do that here. 

3. Every NFC’s team biggest challenge heading into the 2025 season

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With less than one month to go until the start of the season, every NFL team still seems to have at least one weakness, so Jared Dubin decided to identify that weakness and give it to us. Dubin did this for all 32 teams, but for today, we’ll only be covering the NFC. 

Here’s the Achilles heel for three different teams in the NFC: 

Cowboys: Run defense. Dallas has struggled to stop opposing run games for years now, and didn’t do all that much to upgrade on the defensive interior this offseason. Unless former first-round pick Mazi Smith takes a step forward (and it’ll be tough for him to do so playing in a scheme that doesn’t fit his skill set), it’ll be up to guys like Solomon Thomas and Perrion Winfrey to handle significant roles. Vikings: Cornerback. The Vikings lost several players from last year’s secondary, and will be counting on Isaiah Rodgers to man one of the outside cornerback spots. He fared fairly well the last few years when counted on to step into the lineup for the Eagles, but he’s likely to be a full-time starter now — and in one of the most complex, difficult situations in the league. Brian Flores walks a tight rope with his defensive scheme, and if Rodgers isn’t up to the task, things might change dramatically on that side of the ball.Commanders: Pass rush. Even after signing Von Miller, the Commies still don’t have much in the way of juice coming off the edge. Miller himself slumped to only six combined sacks and 11 quarterback hits over the last two seasons, and he’s likely to fill a similar rotational role to the one he did in Buffalo.If you have a favorite team in the NFC and you’re wondering what their biggest weakness is, you can find out here. 

4. NFL award predictions for 2025: Best bets for some of the top honorsThe guru of gambling, R.J. White, is back this week to hand out a few more betting tips for the 2025 season. White just put together his top betting predictions for all the NFL awards, and we’re going to take a look at two of them below. 

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Tetairoa McMillan (+1600). He’s heading into a situation where he should dominate targets. If the progress Bryce Young showed late last year is real, then McMillan could quickly emerge as the favorite for this category, like Ja’Marr Chase or Odell Beckham Jr., who both won the award.Coach of the Year: Sean Payton (+2000). Payton won this award in his first season coaching the Saints, and the likely future Hall of Famer did some of his best work last year developing Nix in his offense as the rookie got better as the season went on. I believe the Broncos are going to win the AFC West over the Chiefs, and if that happens, Payton has to be among the favorites for this award.White is so good at his job that you usually have to pay for his best bets over at SportsLine, but I’m still high off the 70-yard field goal, so I’m giving you two of his plays for free. If you’re into gambling at all, you should definitely think about getting a SportsLine subscription. The best part is that an annual subscription is 50% off right now, so it’s the perfect time to buy (details here). 

You can read more of White’s best bets (for free) by heading here. 

5. Rams have two big offensive injuries to worry about

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The Rams have been in training camp for three weeks now, and during that span, Matthew Stafford hasn’t practiced a single time due to a back injury. And that’s not the only problem. Stafford’s injury has overshadowed the fact that starting left tackle Alaric Jackson also hasn’t practiced a single time. 

That’s right, with less than a month to go until the start of the season, the Rams starting quarterback and starting left tackle still haven’t practiced. Let’s update both situations, starting with Stafford. 

Stafford was supposed to practice Monday, but didn’t. Stafford was in street clothes Monday, which was somewhat surprising because Rams head coach Sean McVay had said Sunday that Stafford might be able to participate in individual drills during Monday’s session. “[Monday] will represent a chance to be able to do some similar stuff and maybe even ramp it up a little bit more and then we’ll see where we’re at after that,” McVay said. Why he didn’t practice. Stafford threw roughly 60 passes on Saturday, and the Rams were hoping he would be ready to return to practice Monday, but instead, Stafford’s back didn’t “feel great” when he showed up to the team facility. “The plan was for him to be able to go [Monday] and that didn’t come to fruition,” McVay said after practice. “I think ultimately what we want to be able to do is take it a day at a time. I think that’s healthy for everybody. Sometimes when you set expectations, they’re not met.” Stafford is dealing with an aggravated disc, and the fact that it flared up after he had a throwing session Saturday is somewhat concerning, because he’s going to have to THROW the ball during the season. An awkward hit can also cause a back injury to flare up. I picked the Rams to win the division in 2024, but right now, I don’t feel comfortable with where this team is headed. 

The left tackle situation is also up in the air. 

Alaric Jackson could miss Week 1. The left tackle, who started 14 games at the position last year for the Rams, hasn’t been able to practice due to blood clots. Although the Rams have left the door open for him to play in Week 1 against the Houston Texans, there’s certainly a chance he won’t be ready. Rams holding a battle for the left tackle spot. With Jackson’s status up in the air, the Rams have been holding an open competition in training camp between Warren McClendon and D.J. Humphries, who was just signed in June. McVay also mentioned David Quessenberry as a possibility. McVay recently made a comment that suggested that Humphries is probably the frontrunner to start in Week 1, if Jackson can’t go. “I’ve been pleased with those three guys. I think D.J. has really played his best ball as of late, which has been cool to see,” the Rams head coach said. As things stand, Stafford’s still not practicing and the Rams still have no idea who their starting left tackle is going to be in Week 1. It’s not quite panic time in Los Angeles, but it will be soon if the Rams don’t get things figured out. You can read more about the Rams’ situation here. 

6. Extra points: Jordan Love undergoes procedure on his handIt was a busy weekend in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

Jordan Love dealing with thumb issue. The Packers quarterback tore a ligament in his left thumb and recently had a procedure done to fix the injury, general manager Brian Gutekunst revealed on Tuesday. The only good news for the Packers here is that the injury occurred on his non-throwing hand and Love isn’t expected to miss any regular season games. James Cook returns to practice. After sitting out the past few practices due to his contract situation, the Bills running back returned to practice on Tuesday. Cook still doesn’t have a new deal, but it’s a good sign for the Bills that he’s once again decided to practice. Jon Gruden picks up key court win over the NFL. Four years after originally filing a lawsuit against the NFL, Jon Gruden just picked up a key victory. The NFL said Gruden couldn’t sue the league and that any disagreement would have to go into arbitration, but the Nevada Supreme Court has ruled the NFL’s arbitration clause “does not apply to Gruden” because he wasn’t an employee of the league when his emails were sent. Gruden sued the NFL back in 2021 because he alleged that the league leaked the emails that eventually led to his firing. The NFL can appeal this decision to the Supreme Court, but if that doesn’t happen, this case could he headed to trial. You can read the full details on the case here. Brandon Aiyuk might not return until Week 6. The 49ers receiver, who tore his ACL and MCL in Week 7 last year, might not be back on the field until October. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Aiyuk could return “around Week 6” while also noting that Aiyuk will NOT be ready for the opener. “I know it’s not Week 1,” Shanahan said.  Eagles Pro Bowl guard hoping to be ready by Week 1. The Eagles appear to have caught a break with Landon Dickerson’s injury. The Pro Bowl guard was carted off the field Sunday, and he’s expected to undergo a ‘minor procedure’ this week, but there’s still a chance he could play in Week 1. You can read more about this situation here. Taylor Swift set to make guest appearance on Travis Kelce’s podcast. It’s been awhile since Swift has done an interview with anyone, but that’s going to change. Swift will be joining the “New Heights podcast” on Wednesday as this week’s special guest. The podcast is hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce, and you can bet it will be a wild time. The episode will be released at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.