NFL Stock Up, Stock Down (December 4, 2025)

We are now 13 weeks into the NFL season, and there are so many things that have changed for most teams, if not all of them, for both good and bad. By the week of Thanksgiving, teams are likely who they will be for the rest of the season. The good and bad teams are now defined and have separated much more. Real contenders are emerging, as well as some very ugly truths. Let’s unpack it.

Stock Up: Los Angeles Rams

As it currently stands, the Rams look like the best team in the NFL, even with the loss to Carolina. Matthew Stafford’s MVP-level play paired with Sean McVay’s team specific gameplanning have made for an elite offense. Puka Nacua is one of the best WRs in the NFL and gives the Rams flexibility when it comes to their running formations since he’s such a great run blocker. Davante Adams still destroys man coverage and has been borderline unstoppable in the red zone. The running game can improve, but with Stafford slinging it like this, it might not matter.

DC Chris Shula has his defense playing out of their minds. The offseason additions of Poona Ford and Nate Landman are paying massive dividends and have dramatically improved the Rams’ run defense from last year. The pass rush is still lethal, with Jared Verse making the leap everyone expected. The safety play has also helped out the cornerback room. With this combination of elite offense, elite defense, elite coaching, and elite QB play, there’s no arguing that the Rams are the best team in the NFL right now.

Stock Down: J.J. McCarthy

This experiment in Minnesota has been a disaster. Before we even touch on McCarthy’s play, it’s important to note that he’s hardly ever available. His rookie season was lost to a meniscus injury that required two surgeries, he has missed 5/11 games so far this season, and now he is scheduled to miss Minnesota’s next game with a concussion. This is a bit of a disaster in itself, especially because size was already a concern for him as a prospect, but this doesn’t even touch on his actual play, which may be even worse.

McCarthy’s numbers through his first 6 games are worse than those of a rookie JaMarcus Russell’s first 6 games. Mind you, Russell didn’t watch film nor did he have a weapon even close to the caliber of Justin Jefferson or Jordan Addison. McCarthy struggles seeing the field, is often late, has close to no touch on any of his throws, and has poor mechanics since he overcompensates in order to put enough velocity on the ball at the cost of accuracy. “Nine” is looking like an Anthony Richardson or Trey Lance level bust at the QB position, and you have to wonder aggressively the Vikings will pursue some competition for the young QB, if not a full-blown replacement.

Stock Up: New England Patriots

The Patriots were a prime candidate to drastically improve from last season, but not even the most optimistic Patriots fan would have seriously predicted that the Patriots would be competing for the 1 seed in the AFC. Drake Maye going from promising rookie to one of the absolute best QBs in the NFL in a year’s time has been remarkable. Maye is doing it all this year: Playing on time in structure, extending plays, hitting the deep ball, making quick reads, etc. The only negative for Maye this season is the amount of sacks he has taken, but he has more than made up for it. Between Maye’s breakout, the culture being instilled by Mike Vrabel, and Vrabel’s ability to manage games and squeeze all the juice out of his defense, New England can make real playoff noise this season and in years to come.

Stock Down: Las Vegas Raiders

We touched on the Raiders on the last “Stock Up, Stock Down,” specifically Geno Smith, but things have somehow gotten worse in Vegas. The Raiders are currently the worst team in the NFL. They can’t run, can’t pass, miss a lot of field goals, can’t cover punt and kickoff returns, can barely rush the passer, can’t cover, and now their effort and tackling have dipped. The team has already fired former OC Chip Kelly, the highest paid coordinator in the NFL, after 11 games and fired former special teams coordinator Tom McMahon after 9 games.

Naturally, when a team is struggling like this, they usually like to get a look at the younger players on the roster and get them reps, but HC Pete Carroll refuses to do so with 9 rookies on the 53-man roster. The only rookie that has gotten reps throughout the season is Ashton Jeanty, but a fair evaluation can’t be had on him since the offensive line has been an abomination. Carroll is on record saying that he wants to “get young players involved, but not at the detriment of winning.” What winning? With the Raiders regressing and having one of the worst years since their two decades of failure began, it’s fair to guess that Carroll will be another 1-and-done head coach for the Raiders.

Stock Up: Jaxson Dart

The New York Giants may be looking for a new head coach this offseason, but their rookie QB makes the job a desirable one. Dart has showcased a lot of skills in his few games as the team’s starting QB. The first-round rookie has done a lot of damage with his legs, both from a pure running and play extending standpoint, shown off his arm strength in different conditions, and has made it known that he’s not opposed to taking risks in order to try creating explosive plays. Dart’s injuries are a concern, mainly because they’re a product of his play style, but you’d rather your QB have to dial back his aggressiveness rather than have to build it up. Dart’s not a bonafide franchise QB yet, but the late-first round pick’s flashes have been encouraging.

Stock Down: Kevin Patullo

Kevin Patullo’s offense is one of the most frustrating in the league. Has the offensive line been beat up? Yes, but there’s more than enough here to withstand those injuries and still produce consistently good offense. Jalen Hurts has his limitations as a passer, but he’s shown that he can play much more steady football. Saquon Barkley’s involvement in the overall offense has been laughable, and he’s suffering from the conservative gameplans and play calling. AJ Brown and Devonta Smith make the most out of their opportunities, but there aren’t as many quality opportunities for them. The conservative and unimaginative nature of this offense has led them to having the worst 3-and-out rate in the NFL, and that’s simply unacceptable given the talent available.

Stock Up: Houston Texans

Don’t look now, but the Texans are rolling. This is the best defense in the NFL, and the pass defense is horrifying. Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter have been haunting QBs all season while their DBs take advantage of that and create turnovers. With the way this defense is playing, they can win games by themselves. The havoc they create gives them the ability to change the game in an instant, and also gives their offense more leeway.

The offense has also improved from the beginning of the season. While they’re not good, they are now mediocre rather than putrid, and that’s honestly enough to win games with this defense. The emergence of RB Woody Marks has done a lot of good for this offense. His rushing ability has clearly helped out the ground game, but it’s his pass protection that has made the biggest impact on Houston’s offense. Marks being able to pick up difficult assignments has given the Texans more optionality with their protections and made the passing attack much better than it was to start the season. Houston is a team that others want to avoid down the stretch and possibly in the playoffs, as they are a team capable of upsetting anyone.

Stock Down: Buffalo Bills

To be clear, the Buffalo Bills are not a bad team by any means. With every passing game, however, they look less and less like a real Super Bowl contender. The offense is way too dependent on Josh Allen. The receiving weapons rarely get open quickly and need Allen to extend plays at an unhealthy rate. It’s clear that Allen, while still great, understands the load that is on his shoulders and is pressing.

More importantly, this defense simply isn’t good. Allen can put on the cape and become Superman for a few games, but this defense can’t be trusted to consistently get stops. The run defense is abysmal and continues to get gashed every week. Buffalo is dealing with an abundance of injuries to important players on defense and Sean McDermott hasn’t been able to elevate the defense like he did in the past. Along with all of this is the concerning game management from HC Sean McDermott that is still haunting Bills fans. Buffalo still has a puncher’s chance because of Josh Allen, but a Super Bowl run would be astonishing at this point.

Stock Up: Seattle Seahawks

Since it’s the holiday season, let’s end this off with a stock up. Seattle suffered a brutal loss against the Rams, got tested by the Titans, and had an ugly passing performance vs the Vikings, but there’s still good reason to be optimistic about this group. Against the Rams, the Seahawks had 4 giveaways, only scored a TD on 1/5 red zone possessions, and still only lost by 2 against a division rival on the road. Jaxon Smith-Njigba could make history this season, as he is currently on pace for over 2,000 receiving yards, and he might be able to do it in 16 games if he goes absolutely nuclear. The run game is a concern, but this passing attack has been great, and it can still get better with more reps between Sam Darnold and Rashid Shaheed.

The Seahawks are also one of the NFL’s elite defenses. This defensive line is feasting on opposing offensive lines, and it has drove the success for this defense. The Seahawks are currently 6th in pass rush win rate, 4th in sacks, and 3rd in run stop win rate. With Mike MacDonald’s disguises and the secondary playing aggressive, there’s a lot of chaos that Seattle forces QBs to process and most likely make a mistake at some point, whether it be turning the ball over or taking a bad sack. Seattle can still contend in the NFC, but Sam Darnold will need to exercise his demons.