NFL Game Recaps: Week 5, 2025

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

49ers 26, Rams 23

The 49ers entered this game severely outmatched. They were missing Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, Jauan Jennings, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle – and that was just on offense. The defense also wouldn’t have a star player in Nick Bosa, so it appeared as though the Rams would demolish the 49ers. The spread reflected that, with the Rams being favored by 8.5 points.

Well, as the saying goes: That’s why they play the games. The 49ers opened a 14-0 lead in this game, as Mac Jones did a great job of moving the chains, especially on third and fourth down. The lifeless Rams defense had no answers for San Francisco, allowing the 49ers to convert 10 third and fourth downs in total.

The Rams couldn’t get anything going offensively either until the second half. Matthew Stafford, who looked skittish in the pocket prior to intermission, caught fire and led multiple touchdown drives. It appeared as though he threw the go-ahead touchdown to Kyren Williams, but the Rams had their extra point blocked. Los Angeles had a chance to extend its lead in a 20-20 tie, but a very questionable drive saw the Rams never give Williams the ball, especially in a third-and-1. They punted on fourth-and-1, but pinned the 49ers at their own 2-yard line.

Jones suffered a safety around this area a few weeks ago, but not in this game. He was able to escape the poor field position with multiple clutch throws to Kendrick Bourne, setting up the go-ahead field goal from Eddy Pineiro. The Rams had one more chance to win in regulation. They drove down to the red zone. Williams ran just shy of the goal line, but inexplicably lost a fumble.

The 49ers, stuck near their own goal line, punted the ball away, and the Rams had enough time to move into field goal range and force overtime. San Francisco kicked a field goal on its drive, and then the Rams proceeded to move down the field with ease. They reached the red zone, but on a fourth-and-1, Williams was stuffed to give the 49ers the upset victory.

Vikings 21, Browns 17

The Browns had been highly competitive in their games this season despite their 1-3 record, but they’ve crushed themselves with senseless turnovers. Perhaps a quarterback change is what they needed because they refrained from giving the ball away in this contest. Instead, it was the Vikings who tried their best to throw away a potential victory.

Minnesota was moving the chains on the opening drive, but the possession concluded early when Jordan Mason lost a fumble. Much later, in the fourth quarter, the Vikings moved into Cleveland territory, but Zavier Scott, playing for a banged-up Mason, lost a fumble in Cleveland territory.

Despite these horrible turnovers, the Vikings were still in position to win because Dillon Gabriel couldn’t really move the ball outside of two drives. Carson Wentz, under siege all afternoon, was able to connect with T.J. Hockenson on several occasions, moving into the red zone. Wentz, who hur this shoulder in the second quarter, was able to locate Jordan Addison for a touchdown. Addison, who didn’t play in the first quarter because of a coaching decision, secured the game-winning score to help the Vikings improve to 3-2.

Texans 44, Ravens 10

The Ravens entered this game shorthanded on defense. They were able to get a few players back from injury, but were still missing numerous starters, including Kyle Hamilton, Justin Madubuike, Roquan Smith, and Marlon Humphrey. The question was whether the Texans and their dreadful offense would be able to take advantage of Baltimore’s injury-ravaged defense.

It didn’t take very long to receive an answer to that question. The Texans had one early drive ruined by poor blocking, but they otherwise drove the ball easily on the Ravens, opening up a quick 17-3 lead. Nick Chubb looked young and spry compared to the players he was battling, while C.J. Stroud was nearly flawless. He misfired on just three occasions on his 17 first-half attempts, constantly throwing for significant gains to his receivers. The Texans opened up a 24-3 lead heading into intermission.

The Texans didn’t slow down in the second half. Stroud continued to attack Baltimore’s defense, ultimately throwing for as many touchdowns (4) as incompletions. Cooper Rush, meanwhile, made things even easier for Houston with three interceptions, as he had no chance against Houston’s dominant defense.

Saints 26, Giants 14

The Giants lost this game by double digits, but it appeared as though they would prevail for the second week in a row. They opened the game with a touchdown drive in which Jaxson Dart was 5-of-5. He hit Daniel Bellinger for an 18-yard pass and then found Theo Johnson in the end zone for an early touchdown. A bit later, Dart scrambled out of a sure sack and then ran for 20 yards. He then located Johnson in the end zone for another touchdown to go up 14-3.

The game turned just prior to halftime, which was when the Giants forgot how to secure the ball. It began when Darius Slayton lost a fumble around midfield. The Giants were up 14-13 at the time, but an ensuing field goal gave the Saints the lead going into intermission.

Things only got worse in the second half. Dart was next to fumble when he tried to juke a defender. He simply dropped the ball despite not being touched, allowing New Orleans to recover. Cam Skattebo was next to join the party. He lost a fumble in New Orleans territory in a 19-14 affair. The Saints scooped and scored, giving them a victory in a game in which their offense didn’t do much aside from a deep Spencer Rattler touchdown pass to Rashid Shaheed.

Broncos 21, Eagles 17

The Eagles looked like they were well on their way to a 5-0 record. They dominated the first three quarters of the game, as Jalen Hurts had some surprising success attacking Denver’s secondary. The Broncos have several talented defensive backs, and the Eagles haven’t been able to get much downfield so far this year, but Hurts delivered some deep throws to his receivers.

Philadelphia, however, lived by the sword and died by the sword. The team failed to run out the clock by throwing too often in the fourth quarter. Despite having the lead for most of the afternoon, Saquon Barkley had just six total carries, while Hurts threw on 38 occasions. These disrupted drives gave the Broncos an opportunity to crawl back into the game, which is exactly what they did. Bo Nix, who struggled early, caught fire by delivering precise throws to Courtland Sutton, Evan Engram, and Troy Franklin. The Broncos went from trailing 17-3 to leading 18-17 in a blink of an eye.

The Eagles had one more chance to win the game following a Denver field goal to extend the lead to 21-17. Hurts took a sack to drain the clock, but regrouped and moved the ball to midfield. He launched a deep pass to Dallas Goedert, whose jersey was tugged before the ball got to him. The officials didn’t throw a penalty flag for some reason. On the next play, the final one of the game, Hurts lobbed a rainbow into the end zone, but the pass fell incomplete to give Denver an upset victory.

Colts 40, Raiders 6

The Raiders entered this game with an already-poor offensive line missing Brock Bowers, as well as its best blocker, Kolton Miller. Yet, the Raiders easily moved down the field on the opening drive. They got stuck in the red zone and settled for a field goal.

The Colts struck back and scored a touchdown. They then blocked a punt, setting up a quick Jonathan Taylor touchdown to go up 14-3. The Raiders tried to answer, and they looked like they’d be able to do so with a pair of third-and-11 conversions on the same drive. However, once Geno Smith reached the red zone, he threw an interception on a deflected pass. The Colts took over and put together a long drive, which concluded with a Daniel Jones touchdown pass to Michael Pittman Jr. Indianapolis took a 20-3 lead into the break.

Things only got worse for Smith in the second half. He heaved another interception, which would have been brought back for a touchdown had the defender not barely been out of bounds on the return. Still, the Colts converted and couldn’t stop scoring otherwise in this lopsided affair.

Panthers 27, Dolphins 24

While a 17-0 early lead may make box score watchers believe that the Carolina defense was primarily at fault for what seemed to be an inevitable blowout loss, that wasn’t exactly the case. Carolina’s defense was dreadful, but the offense was to blame for this early, ugly result.

The Dolphins led 3-0 when the issues began for Bryce Young. The former No. 1 overall pick had Bradley Chubb charging at him, and he just dropped the ball. Yes, he inexplicably just dropped the ball, and no, he wasn’t touched. Chubb scooped up the ball, giving the Dolphins a short field. De’Von Achane scored a touchdown to widen the lead to 10-0. On the next possession, Young took a deep shot into a crowd. He overthrew his attempt and was intercepted. The Dolphins, once again benefiting from a short field, scored a touchdown on a Tua Tagovailoa touchdown pass to Darren Waller. This put the Dolphins up 17-0.

It looked like the Dolphins would run away with an easy victory, but they inexplicably scored just one touchdown after that. The Panthers, conversely, were able to engineer some great drives. This primarily was because of Rico Dowdle’s great running. Dowdle ripped off long gains throughout the afternoon, setting up easy passing opportunities for Young, who was able to settle down and refrain from making mistakes.

The Panthers took a 27-24 lead late in the fourth quarter and then the defense came up with a big stop, sacking Tagovailoa on a third down. The Dolphins punted, but never saw the ball again because a defensive back interfered with a Young pass on third down, icing the victory for Carolina.

Cowboys 37, Jets 22
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: You don’t see coaches get fired after one year, but Aaron Glenn is trending that way. The Jets have been a mess, and they didn’t show any effort in their loss to the Cowboys.

The Cowboys cruised to an easy win over the Jets. The Dallas offense was without CeeDee Lamb and other starters, but they rolled the New York defense. Jets quarterback Justin Fields looked like a backup-quality quarterback against a vulnerable Dallas defense, and the Jets were blown out by halftime. Dallas improves to 2-2-1, and can actually entertain being a wild-card competitor this season. The Jets protected their draft standing, and the best thing for New York would be to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft so they can draft a potential franchise quarterback. My 2026 NFL Mock Draft was updated on Friday.

The Jets took the opening drive down the field with some big third-down conversions to Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, but settled for a field goal. Dallas responded with a field goal drive of their own. Early in the second quarter, the Cowboys moved inside Jets territory, and a short screen to Jake Ferguson turned into a 26-yard touchdown. New York moved into Dallas territory, but Marist Liufau stripped Breece Hall inside the Cowboys’ 10-yard line, and Dallas recovered. Late in the second quarter, Prescott dropped in a nice deep ball to Ryan Flournoy for a 46-yard completion. Javone Williams scored from five yards.

With less than 30 seconds before halftime, Williams exploded down the field for a 66-yard gain. He got stopped at the goal line, but the next play, Ferguson got wide open for a short touchdown pass in the flat. The extra point was missed, so Dallas took a 23-3 lead into the locker room.

Early in the third quarter, Prescott dropped in a perfect deep ball in the end zone to George Pickens for a 43-yard touchdown. New York responded with a field goal, and the Cowboys took a 30-6 lead into the fourth quarter. In garbage time, Fields threw a short touchdown pass to Andrew Beck and a two-point conversion to Mason Taylor. Dallas tacked on another short touchdown run from Williams, and Fields threw a short touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson with a two-point conversion to Josh Reynolds.

Buccaneers 38, Seahawks 35
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: What a game! The Buccaneers continue to win despite all of their injuries.

The 2018 NFL Draft was a great year for quarterback talent, with Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold going in the top three. It took some years to get there with both quarterbacks bouncing around the league, but now they are showing they are true franchise quarterbacks. Mayfield and Darnold were superb in this game, going back and forth with beautiful passes to move the ball and produce points. It became clear that the team with the ball last was going to win, and that happened to be Tampa Bay after a deflected pass was picked off. The Bucs maintain control of the NFC South while Seattle falls to 3-2 in the competitive NFC West.

The Buccaneers got a field goal from their opening drive with Mayfield moving into Seattle territory thanks to completions to Chris Godwin and Cade Otton. Darnold responded with a 24-yard completion to Cooper Kupp, and some runs from Kenneth Walker set up a field goal, but Seattle missed a 44-yarder. Midway through the first half, Tampa Bay drove down the field but once again had to settle for another Chase McLaughlin field goal. The Seahawks moved into Bucs territory, but Seattle ran an option play and fumbled the pitch with the Buccaneers recovering. Tampa Bay took advantage, moving down the field before Rachaad White scored from six yards. Late in the first half, Seattle’s offense moved deep into Bucs territory with Darnold using his tight ends. With nine seconds remaining, Darnold threw a 6-yard laser to Jaxon Smith-Njigba on a skinny post to make it 13-7 Tampa Bay at the half.

To open the third quarter, Seattle got moving with Kenneth Walker ripping off a 29-yard run, and then Zach Charbonnet finished the drive with a short touchdown run to go up 14-13. The lead didn’t last long as Mayfield ripped the ball through Seattle’s defense, and then Mayfield threw a perfect strike to the back of the end zone from 20 yards. They connected for a two-point conversion to make it 21-14. Darnold came right back, lofting in a 52-yard completion to Smith-Njigba. A few plays later, Darnold found A.J. Barner wide open in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 21.

Mayfield threw a bomb to Egbuka for a 56-yard gain to the Seattle 2-yard line. White went behind Tristan Wirfs to get Tampa Bay a 28-21 lead entering the fourth quarter. A penalty took away a tipped pass interception from Antoine Winfield Jr., and Darnold took advantage of the break by leading Seattle down the field with a short touchdown pass to Barner to tie it back up.

Seattle was pinned at its two, but a 34-yard run from Walker and a 22-yard completion to Smith-Njigba moved them into Tampa Bay territory. On a fourth-and-2 at the 21-yard line, Darnold made an incredible play to break a tackle and then slide to his left before finding Tory Horton wide open for a touchdown. With just over three minutes remaining, Mayfield connected with Egbuka for 25 yards and then Cade Otton for 25 to get to the Seattle 20-yard line. A few plays later, Mayfield threw an 11-yard touchdown strike to Sterling Shepard to tie the game.

Darnold had 1:03 remaining staring at his 23-yard line, but Darnold got hit as he threw, and the ball deflected off a helmet at the line, and Lavonte David caught the errant ball to set up Tampa Bay at the Seattle 35 with 53 seconds remaining. Tampa Bay ran some clock, and on the final play of the game, Chase McLaughlin hit a 39-yard field goal to send the Buccaneers back to Tampa Bay at 4-1.

Titans 22, Cardinals 21

The Titans were already in enough of a hole to start the game, so they couldn’t afford to make mistakes to keep burying themselves even deeper. Arizona scored quickly on two occasions, thanks to some brilliant Kyler Murray throws to Marvin Harrison Jr.

Arizona led 14-3 when the trouble started for Tennessee. It began when Elic Ayomanor dropped a pass on third down at midfield. Tyler Lockett then dropped a third-down pass as well where he had open daylight in front of him. Tony Pollard, meanwhile, lost a fumble. This gave the Cardinals a short field, which they turned into a 21-3 advantage.

Though the Cardinals established complete control after that, they allowed the Titans to hang around with some mistakes of their own. Arizona was in field goal range when Murray was charged with a lost fumble when the snap inexplicably hit him in the helmet. Murray had to leave the game with what initially seemed like a concussion but was later deemed to be a foot injury. Fortunately for Murray, he missed only two snaps.

Unfortunately for Murray, his team self-destructed in inexplicable fashion after that. Emari Demercado ripped off what should have been a long touchdown run, but he moronically dropped the ball just shy of the goal line despite another player doing so the prior week. The Cardinals then began playing prevent defense, allowing Cam Ward to carve them up. For a second, Arizona appeared to shut the door on the Titans by intercepting Ward, but the defender dropped the ball, which was kicked into the end zone and recovered for a Titans touchdown.

Now down 21-19, the Titans were able to retain possession because the Cardinals had an ultra-conservative drive. Ward got the ball back and drove down the field with a deep shot to Calvin Ridley. This set up the game-winning field goal to give Tennessee an extremely improbable victory.

Redskins 27, Chargers 10

The Chargers got off to a quick start in this game and appeared as though they would run away with an easy victory. They were able to score a touchdown on an early drive when the Redskins were flagged for being offside on a field goal attempt, setting up a Justin Herbert touchdown to Ladd McConkey. The Chargers took a 10-0 lead, as Jayden Daniels initially looked rusty in his return from his 2-week absence.

The trouble for the Chargers began when Quentin Johnston lost a fumble in field goal range while up 10-0. The Redskins scored a touchdown, but the Chargers appeared to answer with a score on their own on a punt return. However, roughing the kicker negated the touchdown, and on the next play on the fresh set of downs, Daniels was able to launch a 50-yard bomb to Luke McCaffrey, setting up a field goal to tie the game at 10.

The Redskins dominated the second half, as Jacory Croskey-Merritt was able to keep the chains moving with some terrific runs. That, along with a Tyler Conklin drop on fourth down, gave the Redskins possession, up 20-10. This should have been a comfortable spot for Washington, but Croskey-Merritt fumbled to make things interesting. However, a tipped interception right at the goal line allowed the Redskins to preserve the victory.

Lions 37, Bengals 24

Jake Browning had some nice performances late in 2023 when he took over for an injured Joe Burrow, but he hasn’t enjoyed nearly the same success in his second stint as Burrow’s replacement. Browning gave this game away, preventing the Bengals from having a chance to pull a big upset.

Jared Goff was actually the first quarterback to make a mistake in this game. He had a 7-0 lead, but lost a fumble on Trey Hendrickson strip-sack. However, it was all Browning gaffes after that. Still down 7-0, Browning threw his first interception, allowing Detroit to get the ball deep in Cincinnati territory. Browning later hurled the ball up for grabs from the back of his own end zone.

The mistakes continued into the second half, as Browning was picked a third time because he didn’t see Alex Anzalone in coverage. He also fumbled on a strip-sack, but a teammate recovered. Following this was one of the very few positive moments for Browning, as he launched a deep touchdown to Ja’Marr Chase. This allowed the Bengals to draw to within 11, but the Lions answered on a touchdown on the next drive to put this game away.

Patriots 23, Bills 20

The early parts of this game were defined by the mistakes made by both teams. Keon Coleman lost a fumble. Rhamondre Stevenson lost a fumble. Josh Allen was intercepted when he stared down a receiver in the red zone. Both teams were sloppy, but things changed in a wild fourth quarter.

The Bills, down 20-10, were able to trim the margin with a Josh Allen touchdown to Keon Coleman. They were able to get the ball back because the Patriots false started on third-and-1 and then took a sack on third-and-6. Allen connected with Coleman once again on a back-shoulder catch on third down to move the chains. This set up a field goal, tying the game at 20.

New England still had enough time for one more scoring drive. Drake Maye, facing heavy pressure, got the ball to Stefon Diggs somehow. Diggs was able to put together his best performance of the year thus far in his revenge game, but it was Kayshon Boutte who made a big catch to move his team into field goal range. Andy Borregales connected from 52 yards to win the game.

The Patriots prevailed to move to within one game of the Bills in the standings. Led by Maye, who was an incredible 13-of-14 in the second half, the Patriots can now say that they are for real.

Jaguars 31, Chiefs 28

This game was a roller coaster ride. First, the Chiefs were ascending with an early touchdown and then a stuff of Trevor Lawrence at the goal line. Lawrence actually lost a fumble while reaching over the goal line. The Chiefs recovered and put together a 97-yard drive. Patrick Mahomes capped it off with a touchdown to go up 14-0.

The tide turned when Lawrence nearly threw an interception. Three Chiefs had a chance at the pick, but the potential interception was dropped. Lawrence took advantage of the second opportunity by throwing touchdown to Parker Washington. Lawrence rushed in a touchdown on the opening drive following intermission to tie the game at 14. The Chiefs then appeared as though they’d take the lead, but Mahomes inexplicably threw an interception in the red zone when he failed to see Devin Lloyd. The Jacksonville linebacker ran 99 yards the other way to put the Jaguars up 21-14.

With 13 minutes remaining in regulation, Lawrence threw an interception as a result of an uncalled pass interference. This sparked the Chiefs, who scored two touchdowns in the quarter to take a 28-24 lead with less than two minutes remaining.

The Chiefs, however, committed one of countless special teams penalties on the ensuing kickoff when Harrison Butker booted the ball out of bounds. Lawrence took a sack on the initial second down, but fired a beautiful deep pass to Brian Thomas Jr. for a 33-yard completion. He then hit Dyami Brown for 13 yards to move into the red zone. Following an interference flag, Lawrence tripped because an offensive lineman stepped on his foot. A sack would have been game over, so Lawrence got up quickly and then sprinted into the end zone to score the decisive touchdown.