Five Wide: 2025 Week One
By Thomas Willoughby
IWelcome back, one and all. I hope you all had a lovely summer off, I know I did. I spent it playing Mario Kart World, going to the dentist three times for the same issue, and watching Chappell Roan at the Reading Festival. A wonderful use of 6ish months, I’m sure you’ll agree.
I would like to start this seasons series with a legitimate, impassioned, plea: if any of you fine readers work for, or know anyone who works for, EA Sports, please could you send me a code for Madden 26 on Switch 2? I would very much like to play it on coaches and trains and the like, but the thought of parting with £70 makes me physically sick. I did email a PR, and they did not reply to me. I know they read my email, though. I’m WIllo290592 on Twitter and Bluesky if this reaches the right crowd!
Right, onto the main course, where, this week, we’re starting with a brand new sport…
Football 2
Saw a tweet on Monday morning, as I was catching up with the following night’s Bills/Ravens fixture. Hang on, let me find it. Ah, there it is.
I’m not sure I’ve seen a truer tweet this year. Every single time these cats come up against each other, it’s a window into a level of play that simply doesn’t exist for, like, 28 other teams. Jackson and Allen have played each other 7 times in both the regular and post seasons, with Allen leading the head to head series 4-3. Of those games, 4 have been decided by a touchdown or less, with Allen again leading 3-1. But the most impressive thing, for me, is that both lads are just superb.
I’ve always rated Lamar, but it took me some convincing on Josh Allen. Fair play, I 100% got it wrong with him. But when they combine, it’s literally like a different sport. I’m seeing players making catches that aren’t physically possible. I’m seeing both QBs moving and shaking in ways I don’t think humans can or should be able to. Magnificent to witness, I hope we get to see it again in January.
Five Will Make You Get Down Now
The NFL has a long history on terrestrial television here in the UK. Sunday night fixtures bounced around Channels 4 and 5 for a bit, Monday nights enjoyed a stint on the BBC for a short while, and, recently, ITV showed some of the London games, while Channel 5 got Monday nights. Now, for the first time (maybe ever?), non-prime time games now exist outside of Sky Sports, on free to air TV, with Channel 5 swapping Monday nights with 6pm and 9.25pm Sunday evening fixtures. Cause for celebration, right? Well, not exactly. Sunday evening saw an outpouring of disgust from UK NFL fans tuning into the first ever “NFL Big Game Night”. Rather than the standard sports broadcast those in the UK have come to expect, with a focus on tactical breakdown and analysis, what they got was something of a gameshow, with contestants trying to win a trip to the US.
Now, before I talk about it in any real detail, I have to stress that I did not watch the broadcast in full. I dipped in and out, but my focus was very much on the Falcons/Buccaneers game. I’ve a Giants-supporting mate, however, who watched from start to finish. Who seems to have actually enjoyed the offering. With all that said; I think the reaction is vastly overblown.
Look, I’ll be blunt; this isn’t really for us. You and I have been watching for a number of years, and are catered for. If you’re reading this, you either likely watch the Sky Sports broadcasts each week, will watch your team on NFL GamePass, make use of the free streams available on basically every UK betting site (do not endorse), know a bigger boy who might know how to use the internet in ways you would never, or just watch RedZone for seven straight hours. We know the rules, we have our shows, we’re set. Big Game Night exists for people who do not yet exist within that sphere.
This is for channel hoppers, who might stumble across Dermot O’Leary’s smiley face and get caught up in the game itself, or for kids looking to be entertained before bed. This is the same as when they’ll book Aitch or whoever to play the half time show of a London game. They’re not booking them for you. You’re already watching. They’re booking them for their fanbase, and hoping to catch a few more eyes on the game long term. It’s just exponential growth, babe, don’t worry about it. Not everything is for you, and that’s fine.
The good news is you don’t need to worry about it. At all. The Channel 5 fixtures are not subjected to the same black out rules the Sky Sports games are. If you don’t like it, you can simply pretend it doesn’t exist and just enjoy the sport the way you’ve done for years. It’s ok to not be into something. It’s not your only option. Calma.
International Football League
I, personally, appreciate the international growth of the NFL, and all that comes with it. I think having access to top level American Football is magnificent, and I’m delighted that, in 2025, fans outside of the US will have even more football they can get to than ever before.
And it all started on a balmy evening in São Paulo, Brazil, where the Los Angeles Chargers took down the juggernaut that is Kansas City. You’ve got to say, Justin Herbert is a player, isn’t he.
That’s by the by. This season, we welcome two new countries into the fold, bringing the number of non-US countries to have hosted a regular season NFL game up to seven. Dublin and Madrid join the party in weeks 4 and 11 respectively, with the UK enjoying games in weeks 5, 6, and 7, and Germany enduring the Falcons over week 10. That’s seven international fixtures in one season, something you’d scarcely think possible even 10 years ago.
The international games gravy train is on a line that the NFL believes is endless. With Kansas City throwing their hat into the ring for a Dublin visit next season already, and Melbourne already confirmed to be hosting the Los Angeles Rams in 2026, bringing us up to 8 non-US countries hosting games, it feels like only a matter of time before we’re seeing a game a week outside of America.
Despair in Dallas
The big offseason soap opera surrounded the Dallas Cowboys, and the will they/won’t they with superstar defensive end Micah Parsons. Parsons, the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, amassed 52 and a half sacks for Dallas across four years, and, rightly, wanted to see his contract extended to a figure reflecting his status as of of the leagues most dominant pass rushers. Jerry Jones, apparently, disagreed. And so, for months, the two parties were locked in a stand off. Until last week.
For the paltry price of two first round picks and Kenny Clark, the Green Bay Packers secured the right to pay Parsons $188 million over the next four years. Number 11 became number 1, and the Packers, already on the bubble in terms of the NFC conversation, saw themselves thrust well and truly into it.
Parsons played in week one, albeit in a limited capacity. It was discovered he has a back injury which, in conjunction with the fact he’s had no pre-season whatsoever, affects just how much he can play. Didn’t stop him logging a sack on Jared Goff, though, as the Packers steamrolled the Lions 27-13.
Questions will rightly be asked of the Cowboys’ inability to get a long term deal for Parsons done when they had the chance. Dallas’ loss is Green Bay’s gain, however. If Parsons recovers and hit his stride, they might well be the team to beat in the NFC this year. At least it was Green Bay and not Philadelphia, Cowboys fans.
Pre-Season Week Four
Long time readers of the site will have heard me refer to week one as “pre-season week four” on a number of occasions. In the modern NFL, more and more sides are opting to rest their starters to avoid risking the health of their key contributors in tune-up games. What that leads to is circumstances such as this week, where some bizarre results and statistics are thrown up.
For example, I’m not anticipating the Indianapolis Colts being much of anything this season. But Daniel Jones, fresh off winning a summer long QB battle with former first rounder Anthony Richardson, led the Colts points on all four first half drives, something they’ve not achieved since Peyton Manning was at the helm. For comparisons sake, Tua Tagovailoa threw 8 passes total in pre-season, and managed as many points in the Dolphins regular season opener. 33-8 isn’t good, is it.
While I’m on the topic, actually; I’d like to propose a ban on divisional games being played week one. Those fixtures can make or break your divisional aspirations, and having one of those games play out so early in the year feels silly given the amount of rust that needs to be kicked off. These games need to be played out later in the year, from week 3 onwards, for my money. Mr Goodell, Roger, sir; if you’re reading; please heed my advice. For the good of the product.
Features Image Credit: Channel 5
Thomas Willoughby
NFL ANALYST
THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER AND BLUESKY