Week 5 underscored an open field in 2025. The Lombardi race isn’t owned by the usual powerhouses, as the top five favorites bled home losses and a wave of mid-priced teams surged into play. With the Bills, Eagles, Lions, Chiefs and Packers out of the top tier, bettors and fantasy players should reframe value from +1500 to +4000 in a wide-range chase for a Super Bowl run.

Rams, Seahawks, Broncos, Buccaneers, Commanders and others loom as realistic threats if coaching, defense and late-season efficiency align. The piece highlights QB volatility, injury wheels, and schedule depth as the defining factors, mapping potential swoops for fantasy rosters and betting boards as parity becomes the rule, not the exception.

Mac Jones has seized the 49ers’ backup QB role, delivering a clean, efficient stretch behind a banged-up Brock Purdy. Jones is undefeated through three starts with a 6-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio and an NFL-best pace in pass attempts per game and passing yards per game, all while the run game sputters and Kittle hasn’t yet connected. Purdy’s toe and turnover woes fuel the debate about long-term QB value, making Jones’s two-year, $8.4M deal look like a steal if he stays hot. The piece also ties in the Jets saga, underscoring how one offseason signing can tilt a season’s arc for San Francisco.