You walk in tired and hungry, one bad dinner away from losing it. You don't like to cook. You don't want more takeout. You just want something good. That's why there's Dish by Blue Apron.
Pre-made meals with at least 20 grams of protein and no artificial flavors or colors from fridge to fork in five minutes or less. Keep the flavor. Ditch the subscription. Get 20% off your first two orders with code APREN20. Terms and conditions apply.
Visit blueapron.com/slash terms for more. We are now one day. And thirty eight minutes away, From the start of the 2025 NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys at the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles. We've seen Michael Parsons get moved to Green Bay. We got teams that are trying to get over the hump, like the Ravens and also the Buffalo Bills.
We got teams that are trying to bounce back, like the Kansas City Chiefs. There's so many questions, and of course, there's always going to be some dark horse that surprises us. To talk about everything, NFL. He covers the league for the Wall Street Journal. Here he is with us, Andrew Beaton.
Andrew, how are you? Thanks so much for having me. I think we're all ready for the season to finally start. Hey, about 24 hours away, a little more than 24 hours away. What are your thoughts on on Jerry Jones in the comments?
Obviously, we will not see Michael Parsons tomorrow in this. Season opener, what do you think about the the comments made by Jerry about how the team has gotten better without him? Yeah, I mean, I think the thing is, you don't get better instantly when you lose a player like Micah Parsons. Players like Micah Parsons do not grow on trees, they don't grow on early first-round draftics. You hit on a guy like that.
once in a generation maybe. But the Cowboys were in a difficult position when you look at how much they ended up paying Dak Prescott, when you look at how much they end up having to pay CeeDee Lamb. If they ended up having to give Micah Parsons a true top-of-the-line deal, that's an incredible amount of money committed to three players.
So, is there a world where two first-round picks helps them? rebuild and build a sustainable, cheaper contender in the long run. I can see it. Do I think this was handled well? No.
And does it make him better in the short term? There's just no way that's the case. But there is a world where this does help them reset. It just might take years to realize that. And it also might never happen because.
These early drip Draft picks are lottery picks and Parsons is one that they struck gold on. Yet he hit the jackpot with a potential future Hall of Famer. And now he's on out the building.
Well, the team that Dallas is going to take on tomorrow, the Philadelphia Eagles. Outside of a few adjustments on the line, a guy like Makai Bechton now being gone. They're returning almost the same squad, which is a a rarity, and they're refusing to really talk about running it back or trying to repeat. What are your thoughts on the Eagles this season and how they've kind of taken through the offseason? You know, that it feels really rare for a Super Bowl team to return that much of its talent right like you always feel like that roster gets rated Because they won the Super Bowl.
Everyone wants their guys. When they hit pre-agency, people pay big bucks for them. But they did a lot in terms of keeping their roster, not just for this year, but for years to come. They didn't just re-sign a guy like Zach Bond, who was a complete diamond in the rough that helped propel their Super Bowl run. They signed Saquon Barkley to an extension to reward him after an incredible year.
And so this is very much like a, hey, This worked. We had a whole breadth of talent on both sides of the ball. Let's run it back and see if really the same crew, for the most part, can do it again. We'll see if they go ahead and do it. Nixiriani doesn't even.
Well, he's playing coy. I don't know anything about the banners. The players don't want to acknowledge it. Jalen Hurts is like, yeah, you know, my Super Bowl ring is behind me. Do you think they've gone a little too far in ignoring it?
We know you want to repeat. It's not a dirty word to say so. Yeah, I mean, I think it's just sort of that you can chalk some of that up to lip service. These guys know that they're the Super Bowl champions. They know that they're the team that ended the Chiefs' quest for a three peep.
And they did it in pretty emphatic fashion.
So I think it's almost like a bit in a sense of just saying that over and over. But there's no doubt this team is taking the field knowing that they won the Super Bowl. They're among the favorites to do it again. And the thing is, they can all look around that locker room and say, This isn't just a team that sort of fell its way into doing it. It's an extraordinarily talented team.
When you look at the guys who they have on the offensive line, when you look at that receiving core, when you look at Jalen Hurts, who they didn't even have to lean on that much as a passer last year. Because they had Saquon Barkley running over teams. And so There might even be kind of untapped potential with this team. And that's sort of what I find fascinating about them going to this year, which is. We saw in some games like the Super Bowl just how good Jalen Hurts can be.
Often he was just more of a game manager at times last year because they didn't need him. But can this team be even better? I think there is a chance for that. Oh, well, damn it, if they're any better than that, They may go undefeated. We'll see about that.
Andrew Beaton is here with us from the Wall Street Journal.
Well, the team that they beat. Kansas City Chiefs. I don't want to say they feel stale. But we know that Travis Kelsey is entering into the final year of his contract. He's not getting any younger.
Patrick Mahomes doesn't want to get into a revenge tour thing. They got Rashid Rice being suspended. What do you expect from the Chiefs? I know they open up on Friday in Brazil against the Chargers. You know, the thing that I'm most excited to see about the Chiefs is: can they find that downfield passing attack again?
Because that's really what's been absent. And what's kind of interesting is a lot of people chalk that up to the absence of Tyreek Hill. But even the first year after his departure, they were able to. Pull off those explosive plays. Granted, Travis Kelsey was a different tight end back then than he is now, in what could be the last stages of his career.
But can a guy like Xavier Worthy develop into that guy? I felt like we started to see flashes of it, especially late in the year. Can the addition of a new tackle in Joshua Simmons? Help give Patrick Mahomes the time to do that. And that's, I think, the least talked about.
Change with this team, which is whenever there's problems with the passing attack, when you have a Patrick Mahomes, when you have a couple weapons, people are talking about the receivers and about Kelsey. But one change, like that type of offensive lineman who can all of a sudden protect Mahomes in a way that he hasn't necessarily received. That could really be the key in unlocking something that, listen, this is a Patrick Mahomes offense. It's an Andy Reid offense. You feel like those big plays should be there.
And they just weren't last year. And so that's the change that I'm most interested in seeing.
Well, Andrew, you talk about change and also players that are closer to the end than the beginning. We got a matchup on Sunday. We have Aaron Rodgers, another new team here with the Pittsburgh Steelers, taking on his former team in the New York Jets. The Steelers seem like they're trying to go for it, but then also rebuild and have some options for the future at the same time. What are your thoughts on what their season might look like with Rodgers at the helm?
Well, it's so funny because I feel like over the last God knows how many years, the Steelers have been. The Classic example of methodical team building where they don't do anything flashy, they're not making controversial acquisitions. And they're just steady and good. And for the most part, that's worked really well. That sort of consistency has been why the Steelers always make the playoffs.
And Why they're just sort of the Pittsburgh Steelers. You know, they're a team you always expect to be in the mix. The problem over the last several years is. They were consistently okay, right? They were never bad enough to be below 500.
They've still never been below 500 in the Mike Tomlin era. But even when they made the playoffs, they were never really contending. No one ever really expected big things out of them. And so this offseason, it felt like completely out of character for them. They go now, it wasn't even just Aaron Rodgers.
They go get DK Metcalf, they go get Jalen Ramsey and John Hu Smith. And so all of a sudden, the team that was sort of the face of stoicism and keeping your head down. Has not just all these big names, but they have these big personalities. And so, Asking me to answer what the Steelers will look like, I think. They are the biggest wild card in the entire league because Are you that shocked if this team with those talent, if Aaron Rodgers has a revenge season, are you shocked if they manage to win 11 games?
No, but isn't that shocking if this doesn't really work out and they win six or seven games? No, we saw that last year with the Jets.
So I think. Yeah.
So there's some teams where it feel like they have a narrow band of outcomes. The Steelers team, it feels as wide as it gets in the league. But we know two teams that their high expectations for them And they will close things out in week one.
Well, almost. We still got that Monday night game. But we got Baltimore and Buffalo. They're back at it again. These are the two teams that are just staring at the Chiefs.
They can't get over the hump. Uh do we just gotta wait and roll the dice in January with these two squads? I think so, because at this point, these teams are so good that it would be stunning if either missed the playoffs pending some giant injury. Yeah, and so For those two teams, and you can even add the Bengals in the mix, even though the Bengals have reached a Super Bowl in the Joe Burrow era. But there's teams that say, all right.
We have one of the five best quarterbacks in the league. We should be. completely in the mix for title every year. But every year that it doesn't happen, it feels like those questions grow louder and louder. And the bills have come awfully close, and then it seems like they always run into Kansas City.
Baltimore consistently looks amazing during the regular season. They've managed to disappoint in January.
So, and the thing is, we know how good these guys are. Yeah.
It feels like It's January when they have to answer their questions, not September. Andrew Beaton is joining us here from the Wall Street Journal. Are there a team, or is there a team? that can can make a jump. Nobody had an expectation that the Commanders would do what they did last season with the rookie QB.
But is there a team that you think might make a step where they can threaten one of these stalwarts? You know, it's a team that took a step back last year, but is anybody that surprised if the San Francisco 49ers are back in the mix? After all, this is a team coached by Kyle Shanahan. Brock Purdy is still, you know, he's not the Mr. Irrelevant anymore.
He's a good quarterback. And there's been a lot of personnel changeover. But There's still a lot of pieces in play there between the coach, the quarterback. George Kittle, who's a top three tight end in the league. What if Christian McCaffrey can stay healthy again this year?
That that's a team that you really don't want to play on a Sunday. And there's been kind of a lot of personnel changeover, but that's also maybe the changeover that a team needs for that sort of rejuvenation and reset. And so It's the type of team where the expectations aren't that high right now, but if they're playing in, say, NFC Championship game. at the end of January, are we that surprised given the the types of personnel and coaching that they have.
Well, that would be one hell of a reset by Lynch and Shanahan if they're able to do so. I'm eager to see what they can go out there. and pull off You know, final question for you. It mm There's so much about Cam Ward, which is is nice. You really don't hear anything about him.
I want to see what he can do. Everything is focused on Shador and Travis Hunter. Are these just going to be the two rookies that garner all the attention? And whenever Shador gets thrown out there, what rookie should we pay attention to? Who's going to get the most attention for good reasons?
For good reasons. Ooh. I I mean, I think you might start hearing about so a lot of these running backs because Even though we know that it's not a position that The NFL places an immense value on these days when you look at the free agent contracts and so on and so forth. Maybe it's because of fantasy football, but maybe it's just because it's a position that gets the ball in their hands a lot. I think we're going to hear about these running backs, whether that's Ashton Janti, O'Marion Hampton.
These are guys that should be on interesting teams. I mean, the Raiders have the whole Pete Carroll reset. going on with Geno Smith under center. Hampton gets to go to a team with Justin Herbert as the quarterback and Harbaugh coaching away. And so th those are guys that Will they necessarily be the Highest paid players from their draft class?
Almost certainly not. But between what fans draw their eyeballs to, to answer your question, I think they're the types of guys that could be talked about because they're going to make impact on games. It's a position where you can step in as a rookie and play a really regular role. And plus, everyone's obsessed with fantasy football, right? And these guys can be stars in that.
Yeah, we're we're all expecting Some major things to go down this season. Travis Hunter, Shador, Cam Ward getting all the attention. A good point to point out all the running backs that'll make some solid contributions. Andrew, we appreciate the time. Where can folks follow you, your work, and everything you do with The Wall Street Journal?
You know, you can always follow me on Twitter at Andrew L. Beaten, but just read the work in the Wall Street Journal. That's what makes us happiest. Hey, we appreciate you, Andrew. We'll catch you on down the line, okay?
Perfect. Anytime. Thanks for having me.
