By Mauricio Segura August 10, 2025
Photo: GBT Graphics
The Bay Area Panthers spent 2025 building a case that they belonged back in the league’s inner circle, then ran into the one opponent you never want to meet in August: a hole of their own making. They were a league-best 13–3 in the regular season before a first-round loss to Vegas ended a strong campaign at 13–4 overall, the kind of season that tastes like progress and regret at the same time. The arc was unmistakable. After a Week 1 stumble against San Antonio, they stacked wins at SAP Center and on the road, climbed to the top of the coaches poll in June, and finished with the league’s stingiest scoring defense. That is not spin. It is on the page.
The signature moments were theater. A mid-June road win at Vegas, 44–31, announced they were more than a good story; a one-point classic over the Knight Hawks in San Jose on July 11 felt like a playoff preview. They flew east and handled Massachusetts late in July, a businesslike 45–30 that showed their travel legs were fine. There were only three regular-season losses, with the 38–46 slip at San Diego the lone blip in July. The through-line in the wins was balance and poise, especially in fourth quarters that required both.
Quarterback Josh Jones was the engine. In 17 games he completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,200 yards and 39 touchdowns against 11 picks, and he also led all IFL quarterbacks in rushing yards with 789 and added 22 rushing touchdowns. That is not dual threat; that is a constant headache for defensive coordinators. Rookie wideout Tyrese Chambers gave him a vertical valve and red-zone teeth, posting 53 catches, 664 yards and 16 touchdowns in just 13 games. And Josh Tomas turned the field into a racetrack, piling up 1,871 all-purpose yards, including 647 as a returner, and then took home the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. That trio did not just pop on tape; they collected hardware.
The defense earned its stripes the old-fashioned way: takeaways, tackles in space, and bullying fronts. Bay Area allowed a league-low 35.1 points per game and placed four players on the All-IFL First Team: OL Christian Coulter, DL Jonathan Ross, and ball-hawking DBs Joe Foucha and Trae Meadows. Foucha and Meadows each picked off seven passes and combined for 130.5 tackles, while Ross posted 20 tackles for loss with 5.5 sacks. Even the protection metrics nodded along; Jones was sacked just 17 times in the regular season, a testament to Coulter’s immediate impact and the line’s cohesion. It was a defense you could trust and a front you could lean on.
And yet, the lows were surgical. Week 1 at home was a 21–28 loss to San Antonio that aged like milk because it probably cost them the outright margin for error. Worse, the season ended in a 36–31 playoff loss to Vegas in San Jose after spotting the Knight Hawks a 20–0 start. They rallied and made it a game, but the clock did not flinch. To underline the pain, Vegas went on to win the whole thing three weeks later in a 64–61 thriller. If you are looking for the difference between very good and holding a trophy, it is right there: start faster, and do not make the eventual champion comfortable.
So what now. First, keep the core and the continuity. Rob Keefe’s staff pushed the right buttons all year, and the roster construction worked because it blended immediate upgrades, Jones arriving from Northern Arizona, Chambers added in January, with internal development. Year-over-year carryover matters in this league more than splashy midseason deals. Lock in Jones, reward Chambers’ leap, and make sure Tomas’ touch count reflects his impact every week, not just the highlights.
Second, fix the first quarter. The playoff loss was decided before halftime; that is a script problem as much as a talent one. Build a small menu of early-down shot plays for Chambers, keep the QB run game in the opening series, and lean on tempo to prevent defenses from substituting into exotic pressures. Third, add a true possession receiver and a flex-TE body to help on money downs. Jones can create, but converting third-and-five without needing his legs every time will save hits in May and pay off in July. Fourth, double down on the secondary’s ball skills by adding one more long corner who can press without safety help. Foucha and Meadows were elite, but the league keeps getting faster on the boundary. Finally, keep building the kick return and coverage units around Tomas. Hidden yards were a Panthers edge all year; treat them like it.
Bottom line, the 2025 Panthers were built right and played like it for four months. They were tough, opportunistic, and occasionally spectacular, and the advanced part of their identity, defense that travels, a quarterback who tilts the math, is already in place. If they spend the fall and winter teaching themselves to start games the way they finish them, 2026 will not be about validation. It will be about hardware.
