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Nine weeks down and nine to play in the NFL, so time to take stock and reflect on the first half of the 2025 season.

No team has been really dominant this year, all of the 32 sides have had at least two defeats and most of the eight divisions are still pretty much wide open.

So just who will be contending for the Super Bowl in Santa Clara in February is still very much up for grabs – although a few sides have already played their way out of contention.

The bookmakers still have the Kansas City Chiefs as at least joint-favourites with Buffalo, but after the Bills beat them on Sunday the favoured Super Bowl match-up right now would be the Bills against the Philadelphia Eagles.

But they’re by no means the only two standout teams in the NFL right now – quarterback Josh Allen is playing great but the Bills are still second in their division, while the Eagles have had a few dud performances early on.

The Denver Broncos and New England Patriots look the most solid challengers in the AFC after the Indianapolis Colts had a nightmare on Sunday – with consistency throughout the league tough to come by.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are quietly going about their business but have a tough run coming up, while the Green Bay Packers lead the NFC North but have also thrown in some dodgy defeats against the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers.

The New England Patriots are well ahead of schedule at 7-2 after two successive 4-12 seasons, with new head coach Mike Vrabel’s side on the joint-longest winning streak in the league with six in a row – including a statement primetime win over the Bills in Buffalo.

The Pats have the sixth best defence in points allowed and the seventh best scoring offence so are really well balanced, and second-year quarterback Drake Maye has been the most accurate passer in the league so far.

Nobody expected too much from Daniel Jones in Indianapolis but the much-maligned former Giants quarterback was superb in leading the league’s top scorers for eight weeks.

It all came crashing down against Pittsburgh in week eight, with Jones doubling the team’s season totals for interceptions and fumbles, so they need to show who the real Colts are as their schedule starts to hot up.

And could the tide finally be turning in Carolina? The Panthers are 5-4 and chasing a first winning season since 2017. Only one of those victories came against a side with a winning record, but it was the Packers on Sunday in what could be a statement success.

The Baltimore Ravens have had huge injury problems, not least with Lamar Jackson, but they would still have hoped for better than a 3-5 start.

The one bright spot is that the AFC North is dodgy this year and they aren’t far behind the Steelers, who they still have to play twice as two of five divisional games that could yet see them somehow rescue their season.

Quarterback injuries to Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels have also hampered the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Commanders in their poor returns – although even Burrow would struggle with Cincy’s woeful defence.

They’ve made the Super Bowl in six of the past seven seasons, winning three, but could the Kansas City Chiefs actually miss out on the play-offs?

Their run of nine consecutive AFC West titles is certainly under threat with in-form Denver leading the way and the tough Chargers in second.

Patrick Mahomes has improved in recent weeks but losing to the Bills was a big blow, and they now have a bye week off before facing the Broncos in what is verging on a must-win.

They have to play Denver twice, the Chargers again and the 7-2 Colts as well, so currently in third in the division and outside of the play-offs as it stands, it’s by no means certain they can play their way out of trouble.

It’s all happening out west, as the AFC West has three top teams in along with the NFC West, with the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers all on six wins ahead of a Sunday where all four sides play each other.

Arizona go to Seattle after beating the Cowboys and the Rams head to the 49ers for what should be two bone-crunching games.

Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart became the first rookie in NFL history with a touchdown pass and rushing touchdown in four consecutive games on Sunday and continues to thrill with some of his play.

He’s a great character, a fighter and a leader and could have a great future as the leader of the franchise. He’s certainly fun to watch.

Bucs wide receiver Emeka Egbuka has been incredibly productive in Tampa Bay, while running backs Ashton Jeanty and Quinshon Judkins have also had fine first half-seasons in the league.

Reigning MVP Allen will always be mentioned given his consistency, but the likes of Maye, Baker Mayfield and even Bo Nix have been mentioned as possibles.

Sam Darnold has been magnificent for the Seahawks so has to be up there in the conversation, while his top receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is on pace for the first ever 2,000-yard receiving season in NFL history.

Christian McCaffrey has been carrying the 49ers along and looks back to his dual-purpose best – sitting seventh in receiving, ninth in rushing and first in combined yardage. He can also score from anywhere at any time.

So as it stands the Chiefs are on the outside looking in, but only a brave man would back against them finding their way in.

The Eagles look to have the most comfortable division lead, while the Bills and Patriots will fight it out for the title with the Jets and Dolphins already waving the white flag.

Baltimore looking to catch Pittsburgh could be one worth watching while that NFC West battle will be a fascinating watch down the stretch.

The Colts may already have a big enough lead in the AFC South but the Packers are not sitting comfortably at all in the tough NFC North.

Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says he is “missing” the Premier League and would like to return in the future.

Pochettino, currently preparing for the 2026 World Cup as head coach of the United States, has enjoyed three different spells in the English top flight.

He joined Southampton after leaving Espanyol, then took charge of Spurs, who he led to the Champions League final in 2019, and went on to manage Chelsea.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world,” he told BBC Sport.

“Of course I am missing it. I am so happy in America but also thinking one day to come back to the Premier League. It’s the most competitive league.”

Aside from an 18-month stint at Paris St-Germain, where the club won Ligue 1 and the French Cup, his critics would point to the lack of silverware on his CV.

It is clear from speaking to Pochettino that it particularly rankles from his time at Tottenham.

The 53-year-old spent five years at Spurs between 2014 and 2019, guiding the north London club to a second-place finish in the 2016-17 Premier League season, the EFL Cup final in 2015 and the final of Europe’s elite club competition.

Levy, 63, surprisingly left his role as executive chairman at Tottenham in September after 24 years.

During that period the club won the 2008 EFL Cup and the 2025 Europa League, and also moved into a new stadium.

“I was very surprised [at Levy’s departure]. His legacy is there. It’s amazing what he did for the club,” added Pochettino.

“My relationship always was good with him. During my period in Tottenham and after I left.

In September 2024, Pochettino was handed the challenge of leading the United States into a World Cup they will co-host with Canada and Mexico.

Yet it has not all been plain sailing.

Pochettino has won 11 of his 20 matches at the helm and defeats to the likes of Mexico (twice), Panama, Canada, Turkey, Switzerland and South Korea have drawn criticism.

He has also reportedly faced issues around changing the culture and mindset of his players and been unhappy about arriving at home matches only to find that the visiting supporters significantly outnumber American fans.

And all this has come while he acclimatises to the different demands placed on an international boss.

“The intensity is completely different because you need to arrive for a few days to prepare the game and play, prepare another game, play, and go back,” Pochettino continued.

“After November, we are going to have three months until March to prepare another game. In a national team you are desperate to coach the players.

“You feel empty because after the second game you cannot have communication and you cannot keep working on improving things.”

The United States have only ever reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup on one occasion, in 2002.

The MLS was formed in 1995, one year after the US hosted the 1994 World Cup, and has improved and grown significantly since then, with Lionel Messi’s arrival in 2023 evidence of a changed landscape.

“I think players like Messi are helping the kids, not only when the kids want to play basketball or American football or baseball, they now want to play also soccer,” added Pochettino, who stressed his employers have told him to use the term soccer rather than football to avoid public confusion.

He added: “The motivation is massive. Sometimes you feel that people don’t understand too much.

“You find some coaches that say, ‘oh you know, you need to know the culture of the American player’. I say, ‘No, I know the most important thing – the culture of football and soccer. We need to translate the culture of football to the American player’.