NFL Game Recaps: Week 16, 2025

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Seahawks 38, Rams 37

Though the final score was close, the Rams dominated for much of the evening. They were able to establish an erly lead despite some miscues on fourth-and-short early in the game. It helped that Cooper Kupp lost a fumble deep in Los Angeles territory, but the Rams went into halftime up 13-7.

The second half is when Sam Darnold’s meltdown began. Darnold threw an interception where he stared down his receiver, leading to a Rams touchdown. Matthew Stafford, by contrast, didn’t need to stare down anyone because he threw a no-look pass for a touchdown. Darnold, meanwhile, threw a second interception when he didn’t see Kobie Turner in coverage. The Rams, up 30-14, came into Seattle with an easy victory.

Or so we thought. A bizarre series of events allowed the Seahawks to claw back into the game. Rashid Shaheed scored on a punt return, and then he made a big play to set up another touchdown. The Seahawks, needing a two-point conversion to tie, saw that fail when Darnold misfired. However, replay review showed that the throw was backward, allowing the Rams to score on a fumble recovery. The Rams then missed on a 46-yard field goal, giving Darnold a golden opportunity to pull off the incredible comeback victory.

Darnold, however, went three-and-out when he took a poor sack and then misfired. That sent the game to overtime. The Seahawks put their tired defense on the field initially, and they paid the price. Stafford completed a third-and-6 to Nacua and then connected with Nacua for a 41-yard touchdown to go up seven. Darnold had a chance to redeem himself, and he did just that. He delivered big throws to Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Kupp before hitting the former in the end zone. The Seahawks, needing a two-point conversion because they likely weren’t going to get the ball back with 3:13 remaining, had Darnold drop back to throw, and he found Eric Saubert for the game-winning score.

Eagles 29, Redskins 18

The Eagles won this game in a blowout – they were up 29-10 before garbage time – but for a while, it looked like they would suffer another loss as a big favorite. They fumbled the opening kickoff return and were giving up far too many rushing yards to Chris Rodriguez. Add in some Jake Elliott missed field goals, including a 43-yarder, and this was a recipe for an embarrassing loss to the 4-10 Redskins.

Philadelphia, down 10-7 at halftime, dominated following intermission. A big part of that was Marcus Mariota getting injured. Mariota was tested for a concussion, but was ruled out with a hand injury. Josh Johnson gave the Redskins no hope, failing to do anything until garbage time.

Meanwhile, it appeared as though the Redskins gave up in the wake of Mariota’s injury, as they began to surrender big runs to Saquon Barkley. The Eagles eventually went up two scores, and Washington’s effort dropped even further when Dan Quinn refused to go for it on fourth down in obvious situations.

Bears 22, Packers 16

The Packers entered this game with numerous injuries, and they continued to lose players in this contest. “No Cookie” Jordan Love was the latest Packer to go down, suffering a concussion in the middle of the second quarter. Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs also got banged up, but losing a quarterback is always incredibly impactful.

Fortunately for the Packers, they have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the NFL in Malik Willis, who was able to keep the chains moving with precise throws and key scrambles. The Packers led throughout, as the Bears settled for too many field goals. The third field goal took an eternity, and Cairo Santos’ long setup caused the 2-minute warning to expire. The Bears were down 16-9, but because of the poor clock management, they were forced into performing an onside kick. Doubs reeled in the ball, but fumbled it, giving the Bears possession.

Caleb Williams, who struggled early but caught fire on the preceding drive, stayed hot to move his team into a goal-to-go situation. On fourth down, Williams looked like he would once again choke on the final play of the game versus Green Bay, but instead, he located someone named Jahdae Walker for a touchdown to tie the game.

In overtime, the Packers received the initial possession and moved into Bears territory, but a fumbled exchange on fourth down gave the Bears the ball near midfield. After a few plays, Williams launched a 46-yard bomb to D.J. Moore, who hauled in the pass for the game-winning touchdown.

Bills 23, Browns 20

The Browns entered this contest as double-digit home underdogs, but they didn’t resemble that to start the game. They went right down the field on Buffalo’s defense, as Sheduer Sanders found Harold Fannin on a few occasions, including once in the end zone for a touchdown.

It didn’t take the Bills long to answer, however. James Cook ripped off a 44-yard touchdown run to tie the game, and following a Shedeur Sanders interception that popped off the hands of Quinshon Judkins, the Bills scored another touchdown to go up six.

Another promising drive concluded for the Browns in disappointment after that, with Sanders leaving the game with a pinky injury. Dillon Gabriel took a sack, and then Buffalo’s next drive turned into a touchdown via Cook again. On the ensuing possession, Judkins caught a pass, but fumbled. Judkins grabbed his leg in pain and was later ruled to have a broken leg and a possible torn ACL.

The Bills looked like they were going to run away with this game, but played with their food too much in the second half. They barely ran with James Cook, while Allen was constantly hounded by Cleveland’s pass rush. On one occasion, Allen took a 22-yard sack, half of which was awarded to Myles Garrett, who now has 22 sacks on the year. The Browns eventually had a chance to tie or take the lead, down 23-20, but Sanders was the one who took a big sack this time, getting tackled at his own 1-yard line to effectively end the game.

Saints 29, Jets 6

This was the Taysom Hill show, but not in a good way. Hill was given a carry on the opening drive, but lost a fumble to set up a Jets field goal. Hill was later stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sneak on his own 45-yard line, though the Jets couldn’t capitalize this time.

It wasn’t all bad for Hill, as he converted on another fourth-and-1 after that in his own territory. The Saints marched on to kick a field goal to go up 9-6. Hill even had a great play late when he threw a 38-yard touchdown to Chris Olave to seal the victory.

In between all of that, we saw pure domination by the Saints defense. Brady Cook, whom we are calling “the Chef,” was sacked on eight occasions and was picked once. The Saints struggled to pull away for a while because they kept stalling in or just outside the red zone, but they eventually scored a touchdown when Tyler Shough found Olave for his first score of the afternoon.

Vikings 16, Giants 13

The Vikings entered this game on a hot streak of sorts, but it looked like they wouldn’t continue to win because of constant offensive mistakes. J.J. McCarthy was charged with an early interception because the ball popped off the hands of Jalen Nailor. This set up a Giants field goal, but Nailor wasn’t done screwing up. The Vikings eventually entered the red zone, when McCarthy threw to him again. The ball bounced off Nailor’s hands and into the arms of a Giants player, who returned the interception for a touchdown. Fortunately for Nailor, the Giants were offsides, so the pick didn’t count.

Minnesota eventually went up 13-3 and was driving just prior to halftime. However, McCarthy was blasted on a sack, and he fumbled. The Giants scooped and scored, and this time, the touchdown stood. McCarthy was ruled out for the rest of the game with a hand injury, giving way to the anemic Max Brosmer.

Brosmer had virtually no success, aside from one drive in which the Vikings kicked a field goal. That was all Minnesota needed. Jaxson Dart was even worse than Brosmer in this game. He failed to complete a single pass until just prior to halftime. He had just 33 passing yards in total, and he took some bad sacks, including one on fourth down on what was the final offensive possession of the game.

Panthers 23, Buccaneers 20

The Buccaneers entered this game on a cold streak, most recently losing to the Falcons at home. They looked like they were going to break out of their funk when they scored an early touchdown and then were awarded with a free set of downs when the Panthers were penalized on a made field goal.

Tampa Bay was up for most of the first half, but the Panthers roared back and eventually took a 13-10 lead when Bryce Young found Tetairoa McMillan for a touchdown. The Buccaneers answered right out of the break in the third quarter, with an 8-minute drive, capped off by a Sean Tucker touchdown run that was set up by a Mike Evans interference penalty in the end zone.

The Panthers put together a great drive to answer the Tucker score, and they eventually scored a touchdown on a Young pass to Ja’Tavion Sanders. The Buccaneers responded, but only with a field goal to tie the game. Young hit a big play on the ensuing possession, finding Jalen Coker for a 34-yard reception. The drive stalled in Tampa Bay territory, but Ryan Fitzgerald hit a 48-yard field goal to go ahead.

Mayfield still had 2:20 remaining to tie or take the lead. He struggled with Carolina’s blitz all afternoon, but broke free for a 26-yard scramble. He then hit Cade Otton for a 9-yard gain on third-and-4. Two plays later, however, there was a miscommunication with Mike Evans, and Mayfield was picked to end the game.

Titans 26, Chiefs 9

The Chiefs entered this game with a skeleton crew roster. Not only was Patrick Mahomes knocked out for the year, but the Chiefs were also missing a high number of other players, including Rashee Rice. And as bad as it was, it only got worse when Gardner Minshew suffered a knee injury. Someone named Chris Oladokun took over for Minshew. Oladokun completed some passes, but was overmatched against Tennessee’s improving defense.

The Tennessee defense actually got on the board first, with Jeffery Simmons blasting Kareem Hunt in his own end zone for a safety. This was a 2-0 game for a while, but the Titans eventually got going offensively. Cam Ward completed a high percentage of his throws, including a dime pass to Chimere Dike along the sideline.

Ward eventually found Dike and Chig Okonkwo for touchdowns, blowing open a big lead for the Titans, who vanquished the Chiefs easily. Kansas City achieved just nine first downs and 133 total net yards in this ugly defeat.

Chargers 34, Cowboys 17

The Cowboys were eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night when the Eagles beat the Redskins. No one seemed to tell Dallas this, as the Cowboys looked like they were trying hard in this game. They took the lead early with a touchdown pass to George Pickens, and after the Chargers scored, Dallas responded with another touchdown pass to Ryan Flournoy.

Dallas led 17-14 in the second quarter, but that was all the scoring the Cowboys would do for the rest of the afternoon. The Chargers’ No. 2-ranked defense was unforgiving after that, smothering Dak Prescott throughout the second half.

The Chargers, meanwhile, couldn’t be stopped. When Justin Herbert wasn’t throwing darts to all four of his primary receivers – Tre Harris made some nice plays in this game, but Quentin Johnston hauled in a 50-yard reception – he and Omarion Hampton were gashing Dallas’ poor run defense. On one drive, Herbert sprinted for a 34-yard scamper to set up one of three scores the Chargers had in the second half.

Bengals 45, Dolphins 21
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I guess we can say that Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t responsible for the team’s poor record. Miami had no chance with Quinn Ewers. Speaking of Ewers, I’d love to know why he didn’t throw to Darren Waller more than once in the second half. He kept throwing to some guy named Wease instead.

This game had no impact on the playoffs with both teams eliminated, but both coaching staffs are trying to avoid the ax and build some momentum for next season. Zac Taylor helped himself as Cincinnati exploded in the second half to blow out Miami. After benching Tua Tagovailoa, Quinn Ewers was making his first NFL start. Ewers had a few mistakes, but it wasn’t bad overall. Miami’s defense was completely dominated and incapable of stopping Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Chase Brown.

Late in the first quarter, Burrow led a scoring drive with a chunk completion to Chase and then a short touchdown toss to Tee Higgins. The Dolphins quickly tied the game at seven with De’Von Achane taking off on a 48-yard touchdown run. Cincinnati took the lead with a field goal, but again the lead didn’t last long as Ewers hit a couple of completions to Jaylen Waddle for 38 yards, moving inside the 15. Malik Washington took an end-around into the end zone to put the Dolphins up 14-10. Late in the first half, Burrow made a superb play, escaping a sack and finding Drew Sample on a checkdown that turned into a 27-yard completion. Samaje Perine scored from a few yards out to put the Bengals up 17-14 at the half.

In the third quarter, Chase Brown scored three touchdowns, with two coming in the air from Burrow. To get the scoring going, on the opening drive, Dolphins tight end Greg Dulcich fumbled the ball away, and Cincinnati recovered. A completion to Chase set up a short touchdown pass to Brown. On the ensuing Dolphins possession, Ewers had a pass deflected, and linebacker Barrett Carter caught the deflection for an interception. A few plays later, Brown scored again with a run up the middle of the Miami defense to put the Bengals up 31-14. Cincinnati got the ball back and moved into position to score with a 36-yard completion to \Chase. A few plays later, Burrow completed an easy touchdown pass to a wide-open Brown to go up 38-14 late in the third.

On the Dolphins’ next play from scrimmage, Ewers threw to a blanketed receiver, and Jalen Davis intercepted him. A few plays later, Burrow threw a bullet to Mike Gesicki for a 17-yard touchdown down the seam to put the Bengals up 45-14 early in the fourth quarter. In garbage time, Ewers led a 97-yard drive that ended with Jaylen Wright darting into the end zone from a few yards out to end the scoring.

Steelers 29, Lions 24
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: The most shocking result of the day. It was like all of the ghosts from Detroit’s past came back to haunt them, with former Packer Aaron Rodgers throwing to former Viking Adam Thielen and former Packer Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

This was a must-win game for the Lions, and this loss to Pittsburgh essentially eliminated Detroit from the playoffs. With the majority of their starting secondary on injured reserve, Detroit’s defense was incapable of stopping Pittsburgh on third downs, and they were gashed by Jaylen Warren in the second half. The Steelers’ win moves Pittsburgh to 9-6 and keeps them on track in the AFC North. Pittsburgh clinched an NFL record 22nd non-losing season in a row and the 19th under head coach Mike Tomlin.

The Steelers scored first with Chris Boswell connecting on a 59-yard field goal. Detroit responded with a drive down the field with Goff using tight end Anthony Firkser, but a fourth-and-goal pass was broken up to produce a turnover on downs. The Lions’ defense forced a punt, and Goff connected with Jameson Williams to set up a field goal that tied the game. Aidan Hutchinson got a third-down sack, and Goff moved the ball down the field with a perfect strike to Isaac TeSlaa for a 20-yard touchdown. In the final seconds before the half, Kenny Gainwell made an incredible diving catch and then got up and ran a few yards into the end zone for a 45-yard score to tie it at 10 at the half.

To open the third quarter, the Steelers went down the field, but inside the five, Darnell Washington was stripped by Jack Campbell, and Campbell recovered the ball. However, a few plays later, Goff was sacked for a safety by Kyle Dugger to put the Steelers up 12-10. Pittsburgh ate up nine minutes off the clock and hit a field goal to make it 15-10. The Lions ran only three plays on offense in the third quarter.

After another Detroit three-and-out, Jaylen Warren took off on a 45-yard run to put the Steelers up 22-10 early in the fourth quarter. On a fourth-and-short, Goff hit Kaliff Raymond on the run, and he exploded down the field for a 27-yard touchdown to make it 22-17 midway through the fourth quarter. However, the Lions’ defense gave up another big play with Warren ripping off another 45-yard touchdown run to put Pittsburgh up 29-17. The Lions went quickly down the field, and Goff threw a short touchdown pass to Jahmyr Gibbs to make it 29-24 with just over four minutes remaining. Pittsburgh moved down the field, but the drive stalled, and Boswell hit a field goal attempt off the upright to give the Lions more life.

With two minutes remaining, the Lions started at their 27. Two Steelers penalties moved the ball inside the 40, and a 25-yard screen pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown moved it to the 12, a screen TeSlaa moved it to the one, and Goff threw a short touchdown pass to St. Brown, but it was called back on a pass interference by TeSlaa. On fourth-and-goal, it was ruled the Lions were stopped short and had a pass interference on the St. Brown to end the game.

Falcons 26, Cardinals 19

The Falcons were off a comeback, upset victory over the Buccaneers, and it looked for a while that they would lose in a low-effort performance. Kirk Cousins was intercepted on fourth down, and then he took a sack on a later third down. Meanwhile, the Cardinals took the lead with an incredible touchdown by Michael Wilson, where he grabbed the ball that landed on a defender’s leg.

Atlanta did not give up despite the slow start. Bijan Robinson made some massive plays as both a runner and a receiver out of the backfield. Before long, the Falcons took a 19-16 lead in the third quarter. The Cardinals appeared as though they’d answer with an impressive drive, but Chad Ryland missed a 44-yard field goal.

This was devastating for the Cardinals, who allowed another big gain to Robinson, setting up a touchdown on a Kirk Cousins sneak. Up 26-16, the Falcons chewed up some clock, but ultimately failed to convert on a couple of fourth downs. Arizona, however, failed to capitalize. One drive concluded with a field goal, but the final possession of the game was a Jacoby Brissett interception where the pick shouldn’t have stood, but the replay booth made a mistake, which ended the game.

Jaguars 34, Broncos 20

The Broncos have been known as maintaining a stout defense, but that hasn’t been the case. They’ve allowed big games to mediocre or worse offenses, most notably a 26-point performance to Marcus Mariota in a Sunday night affair. Denver’s paper tiger defense would actually be tested in this matchup, and it failed miserably.

The Jaguars couldn’t get anything going on the first couple of drives, but it didn’t take Trevor Lawrence very long to solve Denver’s defense. Lawrence torched Denver’s defense all afternoon; the Broncos had no answer for Lawrence, who is playing the best football of his career. The Broncos even helped the Jaguars, with Bo Nix fumbling an exchange with his running back. This allowed Jacksonville to go up 34-17.

Denver struck back with a long drive, thanks to a big play by R.J. Harvey. The team had a fourth down inside the Jacksonville 5-yard line, but Sean Payton inexplicably opted for the field goal. It ultimately didn’t matter because the Broncos couldn’t get anything else going offensively. Nix threw some horrific passes, and this game ended in tragedy, as Pat Bryant suffered a devastating injury and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher.

Texans 23, Raiders 21

This looked like it would be yet another ugly performance by the Raiders when the Texans scored very quickly. Geno Smith had a miscommunication with Tre Tucker, allowing Derek Stingley to snatch an interception and take it back for a touchdown.

The Texans were up 7-0 right away, and this game almost seemed over. The problem was that Houston couldn’t move the ball whatsoever. C.J. Stroud was out of rhythm all afternoon, but it didn’t seem to matter because the Raiders couldn’t do anything offensively.

Houston led 13-7 at halftime, but the Raiders finally broke a big play. Ashton Jeanty caught a pass and took it the distance for a 60-yard touchdown. The Texans answered with a field goal and then turned to Nick Chubb, who rumbled for some big gains. Thanks to Chubb’s runs, and three Raider penalties on the possession, the Texans were able to score a touchdown on a C.J. Stroud pass to Dalton Schultz. This made the margin nine, putting the game out of reach for the Raiders.

Or, so everyone thought. Jeanty broke free for another huge gain, this time sprinting 51 yards into the end zone. The Texans were up just two with four minutes remaining. On the ensuing possession, a pass interference gave the Texans a free first down, and then Stroud stepped up in the pocket to locate Jayden Higgins for another first down. Jawhar Jordan then ripped off an 11-yard run, and then Stroud launched a 24-yard rainbow to Nico Collins to actually end the game this time.

Patriots 28, Ravens 24

The Patriots hadn’t prevailed in a tough game this year, save for their early-season victory at Buffalo. Heading into this Sunday night affair, they knew they could prove themselves by winning at a desperate Baltimore team, all while inching closer to the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

This was a 10-10 affair when the Patriots were given a huge break. The huge break was the injury to Lamar Jackson, who hurt his ribs as he hit the ground. This didn’t look like a major injury, but he was ruled out just after the second half began, so the Ravens would have to prevail with Tyler Huntley.

Despite the injury to Jackson, the Ravens were able to go up 24-13. DeAndre Hopkins made a great catch by the sideline, setting up a Zay Flowers reverse touchdown run. The Patriots then botched a fake punt. Derrick Henry trampled over New England’s defense to give Baltimore its 11-point lead.

Henry had been unstoppable at that point of the game, but he was inexplicably nowhere to be seen after that. For some reason, he never took the field again, even when the Ravens were tasked with running out the clock following a New England touchdown. Instead, he was seen talking to Jackson on the sideline the entire time. The Ravens, as a consequence, weren’t difficult to stop, and the Patriots quickly got the ball back. Drake Maye, putting forth an MVP drive, took the Patriots down the field for a touchdown. Up 28-24, the defense then forced a turnover when K’Lavon Chaisson stripped Flowers to end the game.

49ers 48, Colts 27

The Colts were starting Philip Rivers again, but they came to play. They opened the game with a touchdown drive, and they were able to overcome a fumbled kickoff that allowed San Francisco to score its second touchdown of the evening. Rivers, who just dinked and dunked the previous week against Seattle, took numerous shots downfield to Alec Pierce and Josh Downs. Pierce caught both of Rivers’ touchdowns.

As good as the Colts’ offense was in the opening half, their defense was that much worse. Despite DeForest Buckner’s return to the lineup, the Colts couldn’t stop anything the 49ers were doing. They failed to force San Francisco into a single punt. Brock Purdy shredded an Indianapolis secondary missing its top two cornerbacks, constantly firing to George Kittle and Jauan Jennings. Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, picked up big chunks of yardage, both on the ground and as a receiver.

Purdy had a hiccup late in the game when he was intercepted. Down 14, the Colts had a chance to trim the margin to one score, but Rivers forced a pass over the middle of the field and was pick-sixed to end the game.