NFL Game Recaps: Week 10, 2025

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

Broncos 10, Raiders 7

The Broncos were 7-2 heading into this game, but there are plenty of naysayers who refuse to believe that Denver is a legitimate Super Bowl contender. This game strengthened that argument.

It’d be one thing if Denver barely beat a tough Raiders team, but Las Vegas is one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Raiders scored a touchdown on an early drive, but didn’t do anything after that. They went seven drives without securing a single first down. The Raiders were guilty of an interception (off Ashton Jeanty’s hands), a surrendered blocked punt, nine penalties, a missed field goal, and a touchdown negated by penalty. And despite this, the Broncos won by just three points.

Many were to blame for Denver’s incompetence. The play-calling was atrocious, as short passes went nowhere, while a run on a second-and-20 ended a drive. There were some drops, including one by Troy Franklin that resulted in an interception. Bo Nix was especially poor with horrible accuracy and awful footwork. Nix has played well at the end of some games, but he was abysmal in this contest. Unless he improves, Denver will be eliminated early in the playoffs.

Colts 31, Falcons 25

The Colts entered the latest European exhibition game as a heavy favorite, but they were certainly challenged. Atlanta brought tons of pressure to dismantle Indianapolis’ offense, while the Falcons scored two touchdowns in the opening half via some big plays from Drake London. Despite Sauce Gardner’s presence, the Colts coaching staff decided not to have their new elite cornerback shadow London, and they paid the price, as the Falcons entered intermission up 14-13.

Indianapolis moved the ball well in the second half, but scored just one touchdown because of two red-zone drives that were disrupted. Atlanta’s underrated defensive line was able to pressure Daniel Jones and strip-sack him twice. Indianapolis’ defense was at least able to stop the bleeding by having Gardner cover London.

The Colts trailed on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter, but Jonathan Taylor took matters into his own hands. He sprinted 83 yards for a touchdown to go up in the fourth quarter, and once this went to overtime – via a Tyler Allgeier touchdown – Taylor picked up some significant gains before bursting into the end zone for the decisive score.

Saints 17, Panthers 7

The Panthers entered this game as near-touchdown favorites. They were 5-4 and owned some amazing home-road splits, but no one informed the Saints that they were supposed to roll over and die.

Carolina took an early touchdown lead in this game via a Rico Dowdle touchdown, but the Saints dominated the rest of the opening half. Tyler Shough hit Chris Olave with a 62-yard touchdown, while the New Orleans defensive line was able to disrupt Dowdle and put plenty of pressure on Bryce Young.

Still, the Panthers had a chance to come back, down just 10-7. They drove into field goal range in the second half, but stalled and kicked a field goal. The kick was blocked, but they recovered the loose ball and had another chance. However, shortly later, the Panthers lost a fumble on a botched handoff. That wasn’t the only turnover the Panthers had late in the game, with Bryce Young heaving an interception on an underthrown pass.

The Saints capitalized on the turnover, with Tyler Shough throwing a touchdown to Juwan Johnson. Shough then kept the chains moving on the ensuing drive, which included a back-shoulder throw to Olave. They did a great job of playing keep-away from the Panthers, who saw half the fourth quarter tick off the clock in a 17-7 deficit.

Texans 36, Jaguars 29

The Texans entered this game without their quarterback, but they might as well not had their special-teams coordinator either. Houston made countless mistakes on special teams to put them in a huge hole early in the afternoon.

The trouble began on the initial drive when Davis Mills threw an interception. The Jaguars took over on a short field and were forced into a kick immediately, but the Texans committed a personal foul penalty to give Jacksonville a fresh set of downs. Following a Jacksonville score, the Texans fumbled the ensuing kickoff to give the Jaguars another opportunity on a short field. The Jaguars turned that into a quick touchdown. A bit later, Jacksonville once again found the end zone via a special-teams play, scoring on a punt return touchdown to put the Texans in a 17-0 hole.

Jacksonville increased its lead to 29-10 entering the fourth quarter. The team seemed poised to improve to 6-3, but football games are 60 minutes rather than 45. No one informed the Jaguars, as they fell asleep at the wheel. The Texans kept pecking away at the huge deficit until they drew to within 29-24. They forced a punt, but were pinned inside their own 10-yard line. Unfazed, Mills completed numerous passes and drew an interference flag on a throw to Christian Kirk until he reached the red zone. Mills took matters into his own hands, running in for the go-ahead touchdown.

Now down 30-29, the Jaguars still had enough time to try a field goal. However, Trevor Lawrence took a sack. Lawrence then scrambled for a long gain, but on the next play, he was strip-sacked and saw his fumble returned for the covering touchdown as time expired.

Dolphins 30, Bills 13

Things weren’t very promising for the Dolphins early in this game when Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted on a reckless deep shot. It was all Miami after that, however. Tagovailoa misfired on just three other occasions in the opening half, all while throwing a pair of touchdowns to Jaylen Waddle and Malik Washington. As this was happening, De’Von Achane was ripping off some big gains on the ground to help the Dolphins dominate the time of possession. Miami held the ball for 18 minutes in the first half.

Of course, it takes two to tango, so the Bills being down 16-0 at intermission was partly on Josh Allen as well. Allen had an opportunity to run for a first down on a fourth-down try, but tried a dumb throw instead that was incomplete. James Cook, meanwhile, lost a fumble in the red zone. The rain bothered the Bills, who dropped numerous passes throughout the afternoon.

The Bills, still down 16-0 entering the fourth quarter, had a chance to bounce back when Allen find Keon Coleman for a touchdown. Things seemed even better when Tagovailoa was intercepted on another deep shot, but Allen lost a fumble on a scramble, which effectively sealed the huge upset victory for the Dolphins.

Ravens 27, Vikings 19

These teams mirrored each other, as they both entered this game trying to recover from their poor starts early in the season as a result of numerous injuries. These teams also mirrored each other in this game. The Vikings led at halftime with some struggles from both quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson had pass rushers in his face all afternoon, while J.J. McCarthy, who made some nice throws, heaved a reckless pass downfield that was intercepted late in the second quarter.

This wasn’t the only time McCarthy made a blunder on a deep throw. He tried another long pass to Justin Jefferson that was also intercepted, though Jefferson stumbled on the play. Meanwhile, Minnesota lost a fumble on a kickoff return following a Ravens field goal. The score was 12-10 at the time, but the Ravens were able to convert with a touchdown on the short field. The Ravens scored again later to put the game out reach at 27-13.

The Vikings still had time to mount a comeback, but they continued to make mistake. Jefferson dropped a touchdown, while the offensive line was guilty of some ill-timed false start penalties. Minnesota inexplicably was flagged for eight false starts on the afternoon.

Jets 27, Browns 20

The disparity in the stats was staggering. When these teams ventured into halftime, the Browns had outgained the Jets, 156-62. They had 14 first downs compared to four for the Jets. They were up in time of possession, 18:32 to 11:27. And despite this, these teams were tied at 17 at the break.

How was this possible? It was all special teams. The Browns got out to a 7-0 lead, but the Jets quickly answered with a kickoff return touchdown. Following a three-and-out on Cleveland’s next drive, the Jets scored again on a punt return touchdown. New York, which had three offensive snaps at this point, were suddenly up 14-7.

The Browns were not dead yet, as the Jets gave them new life with a Justin Fields interception setting up a Dillon Gabriel touchdown to Jerry Jeudy. This tied the game. New York, however, was able to put together a quality drive in the second half to get a touchdown, and that was pretty much all the team needed. The Browns needed to get the ball back at the end of the game, but couldn’t because of an inexplicable defensive holding penalty on third-and-16, and then an even more inexplicable offside penalty on a fourth-and-4 to give the Jets the undeserved victory.

Patriots 28, Buccaneers 23

Mike Vrabel has done a great job with the Patriots this year, but his one misstep has been his reluctance to utilize his talented rookies. Perhaps he’ll reevaluate his strategy after being forced into using his rookies amid some injuries.

The Patriots got off to a slow start in this game, as color analyst Tony Romo pointed out that Drake Maye was having issues in the rain. This ended when Maye took a deep shot to Kyle Williams for a 72-yard touchdown. The rookie receiver, playing for the injured Kayshon Boutte, exploded to give the Patriots the tie after Baker Mayfield found Emeka Egbuka for a touchdown on the opening drive. Later in the game, the Patriots scored on another long touchdown when TreVeyon Henderson, starting for the injured Rhamondre Stevenson, sprinted for a 55-yard touchdown. The Patriots, who scored just prior to halftime, were suddenly up 21-10.

The Buccaneers were able to inch closer with a touchdown from Mayfield to Tez Johnson, but the Patriots answered with yet another long touchdown run from Henderson, who scored on a 69-yard burst this time to put this game away for the Patriots.

Bears 24, Giants 20
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I’d like to thank the gambling gods for the opportunity to bet against Russell Wilson again.

The Giants were controlling this game for three quarters as Jaxson Dart was having his way with the Bears’ defense. Chicago was incapable of stopping the rookie, but the game turned when Dart went into concussion protocol. Russell Wilson was ineffective, and the Bears’ offense got hot to pull off the comeback victory. At 6-3, Chicago is firmly in the race for the NFC North and wild cards. At 2-8, New York inches closer to a high first-round pick and potential change in head coach and/or general manager.

In the first quarter, each offense had drives stopped around midfield with fourth-down stops. The Bears took advantage of a short field with some completions, and after Olamide Zaccheaus dropped a touchdown, Kyle Monangai powered into the end zone from eight yards out to put Chicago up 7-0. Darius Slayton made an incredible one-handed back shoulder catch for 31 yards, and then Dart hit Slayton again for 38. That set up a short rushing touchdown for Dart to tie the game at seven.

New York had a promising drive into Chicago territory, but on a fourth down, Daniel Bellinger had a touchdown ripped away in the end zone to turn the ball over on downs. Just before the two-minute warning, D’Andre Swift converted a fourth down with his legs, but then he dropped a fourth-down conversion. The Giants took advantage with a field goal drive to take a 10-7 lead at the half.

The Giants got the ball after the half and ran the ball down the field. Dart kept the ball on a zone-read run and darted through the defense for a 25-yard touchdown run. After a Chicago punt, New York was marching down the field again, but on a Dart run, the rookie quarterback was stripped from behind by C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and the Bears jumped on the fumble. Dart was hurt on the play and went into concussion protocol. Chicago took advantage with some nice gains, and Deonte Banks had two critical penalties that took away an Abdul Carter sack and set up a first-and-goal at the 10. The Giants’ defense forced a field goal to make it 17-10.

Early in the fourth quarter on a third-and-short, Devin Singletary was stopped behind the line of scrimmage, but he broke a tackle and exploded down the sideline for a 42-yard gain. The Bears stopped a goal-to-go situation, and New York settled for a field goal to make it 20-10 early in the fourth quarter. Midway through the fourth quarter, Williams had Odunze running wide open deep down the field for a 76-yard touchdown, but Williams overthrew him. Williams came back to make some nice completions and took off on a 29-yard run to set up a first-and-goal at the two. Williams connected with Rome Odunze to make it 20-17. Gardner-Johnson sacked Wilson, and a shanked punt set the Bears up near midfield with 2:53 remaining. A completion to Luther Burden moved the ball into field goal territory with two minutes remaining. Williams used his legs to scramble into the end zone from about 15 yards out to put Chicago up 24-20 with just over two minutes remaining. Chicago’s defense lit up Wilson on a few plays to clinch the win.

Rams 42, 49ers 26
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Somehow, 42-26 was the closest of the three afternoon games. If we weren’t sweating out Lions -20.5 +390, it would have been a stress-free afternoon slate.

The Rams lost to the 49ers in Week 5, and Los Angeles was determined to get revenge. By improving to 7-2, the Rams maintain their lead in the NFC West with their fourth straight win. San Francisco falls to 6-4, and the impact of their injuries was too much to overcome against a good Rams team. Without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, it could be impossible for the 49ers to keep pace with the Rams and Seahawks over the back half of the season.

The Rams took the opening drive down the field and set up a first-and-goal with a chunk completion to Davante Adams. Kyren Williams darted into the end zone from a few yards out, giving Los Angeles a quick lead. After a 49ers punt, Los Angeles went down the field and they found pay dirt with a 24-yard screen pass to Puka Nacua to go up 14-0. The 49ers started driving into L.A. territory, but Nate Landman stripped Juan Jennings, and Kam Kinchens scooped up the fumble with a return close to midfield to set up the Rams offense. Shortly later, Stafford found Davis Allen wide open in the back of the end zone for his 400th-career touchdown pass.

San Francisco drove into Rams territory, but on a fourth-and-short at the 11-yard line, the Rams got a stop for no gain. The 49ers defense finally got a stop, and Skyy Moore had a nice return to set up the drive at the Rams’ 36. San Francisco moved close to the end zone before Mac Jones connected with Jennings for a short touchdown. That cut the Rams’ lead to 21-7 at the half.

To open the third quarter, the 49ers got moving with a screen to Christian McCaffrey for 19 yards to get across midfield. After spreading the ball around, McCaffrey had a 13-yard run to set up a first-and-goal, and Brian Robinson powered into the end zone to make it 21-14. Los Angeles responded by moving into San Francisco territory and converted a fourth-and-2 with a pass to Nacua. To cap the drive, Stafford connected on a short touchdown pass to Davante Adams to go back up 28-14.

The 49ers responded with a drive moving down the field, and then Jones made a nice play to scramble and find Luke Farrell wide open for a touchdown. The extra point was blocked, so the Rams held a 28-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles quickly went down the field with a 31-yard completion to Terrance Ferguson, and Kyren Williams added his second touchdown of the game. Emmanuel Forbes intercepted Mac Jones, and a few plays later, the Rams put the game away with an easy touchdown pass to a wide-open Colby Parkinson from 16 yards.

Seahawks 44, Cardinals 24

It didn’t take the Seahawks very long to get on the board in this game. Sam Darnold has been connecting with Jaxon Smith-Njigba on numerous deep balls this season, and that happened once again to start the afternoon. Darnold hit Smith-Njigba for a 43-yard bomb to go up 7-0.

This was just the beginning of Seattle’s 38-point barrage in the opening half. It wasn’t all on offense though, as the defense forced two strip-sacks of Jacoby Brissett. Battling a top-10 defense for the first time this year, Brissett withered with two lost fumbles on strip-sacks, setting up a pair of touchdowns by the Seahawks. By the time on the onslaught was over, the Seahawks led 38-0 at intermission.

It appeared as though the script could potentially be completely flipped in the second half. The Cardinals scored a touchdown on the opening possession and then recovered a pair of fumbles on Darnold strip-sacks. Arizona converted the first into a Trey McBride touchdown, but the Seahawks were able to turn Arizona over on downs following the second Darnold lost fumble to preserve the victory.

Lions 44, Redskins 22

The Lions were not a happy bunch entering this game. Not only were they coming off a loss to the Vikings; they wanted playoff revenge against the Redskins. It didn’t take them very long to score after they got possession following a Washington three-and-out. The Lions faced some adversity when Penei Sewell suffered an injury, but that didn’t affect the overall result. The Lions scored on every single drive in the first half and then the initial possession in the third quarter. This touchdown in the third frame put the Lions up 32-10.

The Redskins were able to put together a touchdown drive after that. Aided by the announcing of President Donald Trump, who joined the FOX Sports broadcasting booth, Mariota found Deebo Samuel for a touchdown. This gave the Redskins some temporary hope, but that quickly vanished.

The Lions, who had head coach Dan Campbell calling the plays, scored on the next two possessions to crush any dreams Washington had of pulling an upset. Following a field goal, Jahmyr Gibbs sprinted into the end zone to extend the lead to 41-16, putting away the injury-ravaged Redskins.

Chargers 25, Steelers 10

The Steelers entered this game off an upset victory over the Colts. Any hope Pittsburgh fans had of their team emerging as a potential Super Bowl contender were dashed quickly in this game, as the team demonstrated why it doesn’t have any hope of winning in January.

Aaron Rodgers has done a fine job of releasing passes quickly to negate the poor offensive line play throughout the season, but he couldn’t get anything going against the Chargers’ sixth-ranked defense. Rodgers air-mailed passes all night, and it finally cost him late in the second quarter. This was a 5-3 affair at that point, but Rodgers’ high throw turned into an interception gave the Chargers a short field, which Justin Herbert converted with a touchdown to Ladd McConkey.

We saw more of the same in the second half. Pittsburgh’s defense did what it could, but the Steelers couldn’t generate anything until garbage time. Following a missed throw into the end zone on a fourth down, Rodgers was just 9-of-21 for 91 yards and an interception. Trailing 15-3, Pittsburgh’s defense finally gave up, allowing a six-play, 90-yard drive spanning just 3:15. Kimani Vidal plunged into the end zone to seal the victory for the Chargers.

Eagles 10, Packers 7

ESPN announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman called this Monday night affair an “exciting 0-0 game” as this contest entered halftime. Both teams had a chance to score in the opening half, but hurt themselves with mistakes. Jalen Hurts lost a fumble on Philadelphia’s opening drive in Green Bay territory. “No Cookie” Jordan Love then returned the favor by fumbling on a strip-sack just prior to intermission while in Philadelphia territory. New Eagle Jaelan Phillips made the recovery.

The Eagles, who lost Lane Johnson to an injury for about two quarters, were finally able to get the chains moving to open the third frame. They became the first team to enter the red zone, and they ultimately settled on a field goal. The Packers, meanwhile, couldn’t get anything going, thanks to more mistakes. They appeared to complete a deep pass into Philadelphia territory, but an illegal formation nullified the play.

Both teams eventually traded touchdowns, with DeVonta Smith and Josh Jacobs scoring in order. The Packers had two chances to tie or take the lead at the end, but the penultimate drive saw Jacobs turn the wrong way on a promising-looking screen, while a fourth-down attempt was ruined by a Jacobs stuff where Green Bay was lined up illegally once again. The Packers had one more chance after a curious decision by Nick Sirianni where he called for a deep shot on a fourth down. The Packers moved right over midfield, but instead of trying a Hail Mary, Matt LaFleur thought he had a better chance with a 64-yard field goal. The kick was woefully off the mark, allowing the Eagles to improve to 7-2.