Why 2025 is the year of the first-round quarterback in the NFL

The 2025 NFL season was dominated by first-round quarterbacks with old veterans like Matthew Stafford and a new generation featuring Drake Maye and Caleb Williams taking center stage.

The playoffs should be no different with a record-tying 12 of the 14 teams that qualified for the postseason set to use a first-round pick as their starting quarterback. The only year in the Super Bowl era with two or fewer non-first-round QBs starting a playoff game came in 2024 when Jalen Hurts and Russell Wilson did it.

The NFL set a record this season with 219 of the 272 games won by a quarterback who was drafted in round one, besting the mark of 204 set the previous year.

And the record isn't about a longer season or more teams as the 80.5% of games won by a first-round quarterback was easily the highest since the start of the common draft in 1967. The only other season with more than 70% of games won by a first-round QB came in 2024 when the rate was 75%.

The rate was less than half of games as recently as 2008 and down at 23% in 2001, when Tom Brady first became a starter in New England a year after being a sixth-round pick.

The only outlier will be the wild-card game on Sunday in Philadelphia when San Francisco’s former seventh-round pick Brock Purdy takes on former second-rounder Hurts and the Eagles.

Those teams have shown there is an alternate path to success as Hurts and Purdy have represented the NFC in the last three Super Bowls. But unless the winner of that game also wins the divisional round, this season will join the 2010 season as the only ones in the Super Bowl era with all four starting QBs in the conference title game being first-rounders.

This postseason will feature four quarterbacks picked first overall with Stafford and Carolina's Bryce Young facing off in the 13th playoff matchup of No. 1 pick quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era. Williams and Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence are the other two top picks.

There were five others picked in the top 10, including 2024 No. 3 pick Maye and 2018 No. 7 pick Josh Allen of Buffalo. Houston's C.J. Stroud went second in 2023, while Sam Darnold was picked third by the Jets in 2018 and Justin Herbert went sixth to the Chargers in 2020.

Three others went later in the first with Denver's Bo Nix going 12th in 2024 and two QBs picked by Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers at No. 24 in 2005 and Jordan Love at No. 26 in 2020.

Then there's Hurts at No. 53 in 2020 and Purdy, who was Mr. Irrelevant as the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft.

Myles Garrett set the single-season sack record with 23, while several other league leaders also had some noteworthy performances.

Stafford led the NFL with 46 touchdown passes and 4,707 yards passing, while throwing only eight interceptions for the Los Angeles Rams. Stafford joined Brady in his record-setting 2007 season as the only players to lead the league in TD passes and yards while throwing eight or fewer interceptions.

Maye, who is second in AP NFL MVP odds at BetMGM to Stafford, became the seventh player to throw for at least 4,000 yards and 30 TDs in a season before turning 24 and the first to do it with fewer than 10 interceptions.

Maye also led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes and with a 113.5 passer rating. The only player to exceed both those marks in the same season was Drew Brees in 2018 and '19.

Buffalo's James Cook edged out Baltimore's Derrick Henry for the rushing title with 1,621 yards to Henry's 1,595. Henry had his record-setting fourth season with at least 1,500 yards rushing and 15 TD runs, including back-to-back campaigns in his 30s. No other player has done that even once after turning 30.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba set a Seattle record and led the NFL with 1,793 yards receiving.

Arizona's Trey McBride finished with 126 catches, the most ever for a tight end and three shy of Puka Nacua's league-leading total this season.

Houston's Ka’imi Fairbairn tied the record set by David Akers for San Francisco in 2011 when he made 44 field goals.

The tweaks to the kickoff rule this season had the desired effect when it came to the rate of returns.

Moving the touchback spot from the 30 to the 35 led to significantly more returns as kicking teams opted against touchbacks. In all, 74.5% of kickoffs were returned this season, more than doubling the rate of 32.8% in 2024 in the first year of the so-called “dynamic kickoff.” It was the highest rate of returns since 2010 when it was at 80.1%.

The NFL changed the rules for kickoffs following a record-low 21.8% return rate in 2023, hoping to increase returns while limiting injuries.

While there were only six return touchdowns this season, there were 87 returns of at least 40 yards for the most in any season since 2010 with 114.

The average starting field position after kicks was 30.8 yards from the end zone, a slight increase from 2024 and more than 5 yards better than 2023. That helped contribute to the highest-scoring season in the NFL since 2020, when teams averaged 23 points per game, up from 21.8 in the last year before the rule change.

The Detroit Lions went from NFC North champions last season to the basement this season.

They still finished with a better record than any team in the NFC South.

Those two divisions provided quite a dichotomy this season with all four teams in the North finishing with winning records and all four teams in the South having losing marks. Carolina won the division with an 8-9 record, becoming the fifth team to make the postseason with a losing record in a non-strike shortened season in NFL history.

Two of those four previous teams won their postseason opener with Carolina (7-8-1) beating Arizona (11-5) in 2014 and Seattle (7-9) topping New Orleans (11-5) in 2010.

The Lions went 9-8 but missed the playoffs as the NFC North joined the 2023 AFC North as the only divisions in the Super Bowl era with every team finishing with a winning mark.

Detroit was the second last-place team to finish with a better record than a first-place team with Washington (8-8-1) doing it in 2022 when Tampa Bay (8-9) won the NFC South.

The Bears won the NFC North with an 11-6 mark despite losing four of six division games. The only other teams since the merger to have a losing record in division games and still finish first were the 2010 Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco in 1971.

Inside the Numbers dives into NFL statistics, streaks and trends each week. For more Inside the Numbers, head here.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates with defensive end Adin Huntington (98) after sacking Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to set an NFL record for sacks in the regular season during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws a pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye celebrates after a touchdown scored by running back TreVeyon Henderson during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

MACCLESFIELD, England (AP) — Minnow Macclesfield beat title holder Crystal Palace 2-1 in one of the biggest upsets in FA Cup history on Saturday to reach the fourth round.

Macclesfield is a team playing in the sixth tier of English soccer, five levels below its Premier League opponent, and took the lead when captain Paul Dawson headed in a cross from Luke Duffy in the 43rd minute.

Isaac Buckley-Ricketts made it 2-0 in the 60th, prompting wild celebrations.

Following a scramble in the penalty area the ball pinged to Buckley-Ricketts, who came through the Manchester City academy, and he deftly clipped the ball with the outside of his right foot past goalkeeper Walter Benítez.

“I can’t believe it, we never thought we would be in this position,” Macclesfield coach John Rooney told broadcaster BBC. “We were incredible from the first minute. I thought we were deserved winners. I couldn’t be any prouder of the lads.”

Rooney started and ended his playing career as a midfielder with the club — and is in only his first season coaching. He is the younger brother of former England and Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.

Yeremy Pino curled in a last-minute free kick over the wall to leave Macclesfield facing a nervous six minutes of stoppage time as home fans broke out into chants of “Silkmen! Silkmen!” — the club’s nickname.

Macclesfield held on against a Palace side whose dismal afternoon was summed up when U.S. central defender Chris Richards did a foul throw in the final minute of stoppage time, giving possession back to Macclesfield.

The fans sprinted onto the field at Moss Rose — a modest 5,900-capacity stadium in northwest England — in celebration at the final whistle while Dawson and Duffy were carried aloft.

The FA Cup has a long history of dramatic knockouts and huge upsets on the day, such as when non-league Hereford beat Newcastle 2-1 in a third round replay in 1972 or when underdog Palace beat overwhelming favorite Liverpool 4-3 in the 1990 semifinals.

Now the magic of FA Cup has graced Macclesfield.

“I didn’t think it was possible but there is that little bit of hope that anything can happen on the day,” coach Rooney said.

Dawson said Macclesfield "means the world to me” and called the result “an immense achievement.”

Palace manager Oliver Glasner said he had “no explanation" for what he’d just seen.

“You don't need tactics. In these kinds of games, you don't need a manager,” he told the BBC. "If you just show what you're capable of and having a little bit of pride, then you perform in a different way, but today we missed everything.

"We deserved to lose.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Macclesfield Town's Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, right, celebrates scoring his side's second goal, during the FA Cup third round soccer match between Macclesfield Town and Crystal Palace, at the Leasing.com Stadium, Macclesfield, England, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Macclesfield Town's Paul Dawson scores the opening goal, during the FA Cup third round soccer match between Macclesfield Town and Crystal Palace, at the Leasing.com Stadium, Macclesfield, England, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Macclesfield Town's Isaac Buckley-Ricketts celebrates scoring his side's second goal, during the FA Cup third round soccer match between Macclesfield Town and Crystal Palace, at the Leasing.com Stadium, Macclesfield, England, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Macclesfield Town's Josh Kay celebrates with fans following the FA Cup third round soccer match between Macclesfield Town and Crystal Palace, at the Leasing.com Stadium, Macclesfield, England, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Macclesfield Town's Isaac Buckley-Ricketts scores his side's second goal during the FA Cup third round soccer match between Macclesfield Town and Crystal Palace, at the Leasing.com Stadium, Macclesfield, England, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Crystal Palace's Yeremi Pino and Macclesfield Town's Rollin Menayese vie for the ball, during the FA Cup third round soccer match between Macclesfield Town and Crystal Palace, at the Leasing.com Stadium, Macclesfield, England, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)

Crystal Palace's Kaden Rodney, center right, and Macclesfield Town's Paul Dawson vie for the ball, during the FA Cup third round soccer match between Macclesfield Town and Crystal Palace, at the Leasing.com Stadium, Macclesfield, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Martin Rickett/PA via AP)