NFL Game Recaps: Week 11, 2025

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

Patriots 27, Jets 14

The Patriots would have to avoid a flat spot similar to the one the Broncos experienced against the Raiders last Thursday. It looked like the Patriots could suffer the same fate when the Jets opened the game with a lengthy touchdown drive. New York controlled the ball nearly 10 minutes and matched down the field to take a 7-0 lead.

New England was able to answer with a couple of touchdown drives after that, while the Jets largely struggled to move the ball. However, the Patriots had some issues that allowed New York to remain within striking distance. Stefon Diggs dropped two passes, and there was a holding call on a third down. The Patriots also allowed too much time to tick off the clock on the possession preceding halftime, forcing them into a field goal, which was missed.

The Jets finally got a drive going in the third quarter, with Justin Fields finding John Metchie in the end zone when a New England defender fell down. Suddenly, this was a seven-point game. The Patriots answered, however, with Drake Maye throwing to TreVeyon Henderson for a touchdown. This was Henderson’s third score of the night, with the other two coming on the ground. The Jets had a chance to make things interesting at the end, but Fields fumbled a shotgun snap to end any hope.

Dolphins 16, Redskins 13

NFL fans in Spain thought they were getting an American football game. Instead, they watched a comedy show. Two of the worst teams in the NFL participated in a comedy of errors in the NFL’s first NFL game in Spain.

Both teams tried their hardest to lose. This was a six-all affair entering the second half, which is when most of the blunders occurred. The Dolphins failed to convert at the goal line on two occasions, while the Redskins were guilty of this once as a result of Zach Ertz stumbling. Miami’s second goal-line blunder occurred right after the Redskins muffed a punt. Washington was going to receive possession close to midfield with a few minutes remaining in regulation, so there’s a chance that could have been the final drive of the game. Instead, the Dolphins were able to start a drive on the Washington side of the field. However, De’Von Achane and Ollie Gordon were both stuffed on consecutive plays when Miami could have kicked a field goal to go up 16-13.

The Redskins took over and drove into Dolphins territory, thanks to some long completions by Marcus Mariota. Washington stalled, however, forcing a 56-yard field goal try, which was missed. This game went to overtime as a result, which is when we saw the final error of the game. Mariota heaved an interception, giving Miami another short field. The Dolphins kicked this time, and the successful field goal allowed them to come away with their third victory in four weeks.

Jaguars 35, Chargers 6

The Chargers somehow beat the Steelers last Sunday night despite missing their top three offensive tackles. Perhaps that gave them a false sense of confidence because they didn’t seem to game plan as well for their awful blocking versus the Jaguars.

Herbert was under siege all game. He did what he could to engineer a couple of field goal drives in the opening half by completing some deep throws to Keenan Allen. However, Herbert was beaten to a pulp, getting hit early and often. The final hit of the first half seemed to get Herbert knocked out of the game, as Trey Lance began warming up when Herbert was slammed to the ground.

Herbert somehow remained in action, but it didn’t matter. He was awful following intermission, throwing one of the ugliest interceptions you’ll ever see from a talented quarterback. The Jaguars, meanwhile, got a better half out of Trevor Lawrence, but were able to do most of their damage on the ground with Travis Etienne and Bhayshul Tuten.

Panthers 30, Falcons 27

The Panthers crushed the Falcons 30-0 in Week 3 when it was apparent that Atlanta was a no-show following a win on national TV against the Vikings. The Falcons looked jetlagged following their 11-hour flight from Germany on the opening drive of the game where Bryce Young converted a fourth-and-2 and then found Tetairoa McMillan for a touchdown to extend Carolina’s seasonal scoring advantage over Atlanta, 37-0.

And then, the game completely flipped. Young suffered an injury on a sack, and while, he returned to action, he was never the same throughout the rest of the opening half. Meanwhile, Carolina’s defense had no answer for Bijan Robinson and Drake London. Both tallied 100-plus net yards in the first half alone, with Robinson scoring twice. Tyler Allgeier added a third touchdown to give the Falcons a 21-10 lead entering intermission.

All hope seemed lost for the Panthers, but Young had a massive second half. He torched a usually strong Atlanta secondary with ease, putting together quality drives in a comeback. Young hit Xavier Legette for a deep score to draw to within 21-16, and then the Panthers were able to benefit from a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. Carolina was still trailing toward the end, but Young found McMillan for a second touchdown to take the lead. Atlanta responded with a great kickoff return for once. Kirk Cousins, playing poorly for the injured Michael Penix Jr., didn’t have to do enough to set up the tying kick to send the game to overtime.

The Falcons received the ball first in overtime, but went three-and-out, as Cousins’ struggles continued. The Panthers didn’t waste much time going down the field, as a long Tommy Tremble reception set up the decisive field goal.

Steelers 34, Bengals 12

Most expected an offensive explosion in this game, given how poorly both defenses were playing entering Week 11. The two teams engaged in a shootout on a Thursday night several weeks ago, so there was no reason not to expect a carbon copy of that contest. Instead, both offenses struggled, with the Steelers leading just 10-6 entering intermission.

Two things sparked the Steelers in the second half. The first was the injury Aaron Rodgers suffered to his hand/arm just prior to intermission. Mason Rudolph stepped in and was far better than his 41-year-old teammate. The second was a brutal pick-six thrown by Joe Flacco. The 40-year-old quarterback didn’t see Kyle Dugger in coverage, so a 13-9 game quickly turned into a 20-9 affair.

The Bengals kicked a field goal following the pick-six, but any chance they had of coming back ended when Rudolph engineered a touchdown drive, as Cincinnati showed a horrible tackling effort. Pittsburgh then scored once again when Noah Fant lost a fumble, which was taken back for six.

Packers 27, Giants 20

The Packers began the season with a 5-1-1 record, but had dropped two consecutive games to the Panthers and Eagles. They were bound to play better in this contest to avoid a further slide. Instead, they looked completely unprepared for a horrible Giants team in a lackluster effort that was comprised of countless mistakes.

Drops were in an issue for the Packers in the opening half. There were three of them, including two from Romeo Doubs to negate big gains. The Packers needed to complete those throws because they were trailing from the beginning of the game when their defense surrendered a touchdown drive to the Giants, where Jameis Winston completed a couple of 20-yard passes to Wan’Dale Robinson and Isaiah Hodgins. These drops, as well as a missed extra point hurt the Packers, and then Luke Musgrave appeared to fumble just prior to halftime, but replay review ruled it incomplete.

Following halftime, there were more drops from the Packers, who were playing without Josh Jacobs because of an injured knee. Green Bay was finally able to put together a successful drive, thanks to a deep drawn pass interference flag by Matthew Golden. This set up a quick touchdown, giving the Packers a 19-13 lead, which would have been 20-13 if it weren’t for the second missed extra point of the afternoon. The Giants answered, with Winston putting together another successful drive with several third-down conversions. The Giants scored a touchdown, going up 20-19.

“No Cookie” Jordan Love, who missed a drive earlier in the contest with a midsection injury, had one more chance. He made the most of it with a deep pass to Christian Watson, which set up a touchdown to give the Packers a seven-point lead. Winston’s final chance ended with an interception, allowing the Packers to win for the first time since battling Pittsburgh.

Texans 16, Titans 13

Davis Mills had a heroic fourth-quarter comeback against the Jaguars last week. Those betting the Texans as a large favorite must have assumed that the momentum would continue. Instead, Mills made some mistakes in this game to allow the Titans to stay within striking distance.

Mills’ first mistake occurred after the Titans gave Houston a free set of downs when Jeffery Simmons committed a penalty on a field goal. Mills got the Texans down to the Tennessee 1-yard line, but Mills took a sack just shy of the goal line. Mills later took another foolish sack, this time moving out of field goal range.

The Titans were up 3-0 at halftime, but Mills got his act together in the second half. He connected often with Nico Collins, including once for a touchdown. The Texans went up 13-6, but Cam Ward engineered a rare touchdown drive to tie the game at 13. The Texans had one more chance with 1:35 remaining, but their chances seemed bleak when Mills took another sack to begin the possession. However, Mills and Collins hooked up for a 17-yard completion on a third-and-16. Several plays later, the Texans lined up for a 35-yard field goal, which was successful.

Bears 19, Vikings 17

The Vikings entered this game with an excellent matchup against a Chicago secondary missing its top two cornerbacks and best safety. If J.J. McCarthy was going to emerge with a strong performance in his first year as a starter, this would be it. Conversely, if McCarthy struggled, the Vikings would have to worry about the long-term success of their young quarterback.

There’s no way of describing McCarthy as being anything but an absolute disaster. McCarthy tried a couple of early deep shots that fell incomplete, including an overthrow on Jordan Addison, which should have been an interception. The deep incompletions then turned into interceptions. McCarthy threw his first pick when he was hit upon release, setting up a field goal for Chicago. McCarthy was then picked again on an underthrown pass into the end zone.

McCarthy’s struggles continued into the third quarter. He had an open Justin Jefferson on a third down, but overshot him by a mile. McCarthy continued to miss his receivers, eventually causing Jefferson to slam his helmet in frustration.

The Vikings seemed dead while down 16-3 entering the fourth quarter, but for the second consecutive fourth quarter against the Bears, McCarthy played better. He engineered two touchdown drives, hitting Addison for a touchdown to go ahead, 17-16. The Vikings left too much time on the board, however, and the Bears continued to make big plays. They moved into field goal range, and Cairo Santos hit a 48-yard field goal to give Chicago its seventh win.

Bills 44, Buccaneers 32
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: What a second half from Josh Allen. He looked awful during parts of the first half, but he helped us get the all-important cover. Good quarterbacks win, great quarterbacks cover. Allen is now 16-10 against the spread off a loss since his second season.

This game went back-and-forth as neither defense played well. Buffalo had some terrible turnovers, but Tampa Bay’s struggles to defend the Bills’ kick return unit helped set up short fields for Josh Allen, and eventually the reigning MVP took over. Allen threw three touchdowns, ran for three touchdowns, and got Buffalo a critical win to improve to 7-3 on the season. Tampa Bay falls to 6-4, but they remain the top team in the NFC South despite Carolina improving to 6-5.

The Buccaneers took the opening drive into Buffalo territory, but punted and pinned Buffalo in front of their end zone. On a second down, Allen was blitzed and fighting off getting tackled for a safety when he shoveled a desperation pass that was intercepted by Jacob Parrish at the Bills’ 7-yard line. Tampa Bay turned it into a field goal. Buffalo returned the kick 61 yards and turned the good field possession into a short rushing touchdown from Allen.

Tampa Bay responded with a nice drive, and on fourth-and-inches from the four, Mayfield took it himself and dove into the end zone to give the Bucs a 10-7 lead midway through the first half. The lead didn’t last long as Allen found Tyrell Shavers open in busted coverage running into the end zone for a 43-yard touchdown. The Bucs quickly snatched back the lead with a 43-yard touchdown run by Sean Tucker. On the ensuing Bills’ drive, Tykee Smith deflected a pass, and SirVocea Dennis caught the deflection for their second interception of the half. The Bills’ defense forced a punt, and late in the first half, a screen pass to Ty Johnson went for a 52-yard touchdown to give the Bills the lead. Tampa Bay grabbed a field goal on the final play of the second quarter to cut the Bills’ lead to 21-20 at the half.

Early in the third quarter, MeCole Hardman fumbled a punt and Tampa Bay recovered the ball at the Bills’ 43. Tampa Bay took advantage with a drive that ended with a short touchdown run by Tucker, but missed the two-point conversion to hold the Bucs lead to 26-21. For the third time in the game, the Bills had a long kick return to start their drive in Tampa Bay territory. Buffalo turned it into a field goal to make it 26-24 midway through the third. The Bills’ defense got a badly needed turnover with Cole Bishop picking off Mayfield, and promptly, Allen lofted in a 25-yard touchdown pass to James Cook to put the Bills up 31-26 entering the final quarter.

Early in the fourth, Mayfield connected on a short pass to Tucker, and he darted down the field for a 25-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and the Bucs held a 32-31 lead. Buffalo came right back with a drive down the field that resulted in a short running touchdown from Allen. The two-point conversion was missed by Allen, so the Bills held a 37-32 lead.

After a Tampa Bay punt, Buffalo started to put the game away with James Cook taking over with a few runs and a chunk reception. To cap the drive, Allen scored his sixth touchdown of the game with a run up the middle from about eight yards. In the final minutes, DaQuan Jones strip-sacked Mayfield, and Buffalo recovered to clinch their seventh win of the season.

Rams 21, Seahawks 19
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Not that I had a bet on the game, but I find it outrageous that the Rams didn’t cover despite being up 14-3 and 21-12, and getting four interceptions from Sam Darnold.

Both teams were 7-2 entering this game, with control of the NFC West at stake. Sam Darnold almost led a miraculous late fourth-quarter comeback, but Seattle missed a field goal on the final play of the game. Darnold threw four interceptions, and that was the difference in Seattle falling to 7-3 and the Rams improving to 8-2.

The Rams got moving on the opening drive with Kyren Williams breaking off a 30-yard run, but on a fourth-and-1 at the Seattle 8-yard line, Matthew Stafford threw incomplete. Three plays later, Darnold was picked off by Kam Kinchens, and he had a 31-yard return to the Seahawks’ 3-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, Williams charged into the end zone to give Los Angeles a 7-0 lead. Seattle responded with a field goal drive to make it 7-3. The Rams expanded their lead with a 34-yard run from Williams to the 1-yard line, and Stafford hit Davante Adams on a quick slant to go up 14-3. Seattle responded with a field goal drive to make it an eight-point Ram lead. After getting the ball back, Jaxon Smith-Njigba made a superb one-handed grab, and Seattle added a field goal to make it 14-9 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Seattle dominated the time of possession but was only able to generate three points as Darnold threw a pair of drive-killing interceptions. Early in the fourth quarter, the Rams padded their lead with a short touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson. On the ensuing possession, Darnold was pressured and threw a terrible jump pass into traffic, and it was intercepted by Darius Williams. Seattle’s defense kept them in the game, and late in the fourth quarter, Darnold engineered a drive that set up a first-and-goal with just under three minutes. Kenneth Walker scored to make it 21-19 with 2:23 remaining. Seattle’s defense got a stop, and the Rams’ punt was downed inside the 1-yard line. The Seahawks had 1:41 to work with, and Darnold made a few completions to get close to midfield with under 20 seconds. A holding on Emmanuel Forbes and a short completion set up Jason Myers for a 61-yard field goal, but Myers missed it by a mile.

49ers 41, Cardinals 22

This game was completely lopsided from the very first play of the game. The 49ers took the opening kickoff return 98 yards to set up a Christian McCaffrey touchdown. The 49ers were up 7-0 before anyone in the stadium could even blink.

Arizona’s defense had as many issues stopping the 49ers as the special teams. Brock Purdy, in his first game back from injury, had nearly as many touchdowns as incompletions. He connected early and often to George Kittle, hitting him twice in the end zone. McCaffrey, meanwhile, scored a second time on a reception, and then on a third occasion in garbage time.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, crushed themselves with countless mistakes. When it seemed as though they’d be able to make this game interesting on a long Bam Knight touchdown run on a fourth-and-1 play in the second half, they were called for their 13th penalty on the afternoon. Jacoby Brissett’s two interceptions didn’t help matters in this lopsided affair.

Though the game was decided very early, the Cardinals continued to throw throughout the second half. They threw so much that Brissett finished with an NFL single-game record for completions with 47.

Broncos 22, Chiefs 19

Both teams moved the chains well between the 20s in the opening half, but they had issues converting in the red zone. The Broncos opened the game with two field goals to go up 6-0, but the Chiefs hit a big play when Xavier Worthy drew a pass interference flag. This set up the first of Kansas City’s two field goals in the opening half, and this set up a tie game heading into intermission.

Mahomes gave the Chiefs a chance to take the lead in the third quarter by driving into the red zone, but he was intercepted on an underthrown ball. The Broncos answered with the first touchdown of the afternoon, as Jaleel McLaughlin reached the end zone. Down 16-13, the Chiefs drew a deep interference flag on a throw to Marquise Brown. This set up a touchdown to Travis Kelce, putting the Chiefs up 19-16. A missed extra point kept the game at a three-point margin, which was crucial because the Broncos were able to convert a long field goal on the ensuing drive to tie the game.

The Chiefs took over, but Mahomes was sacked on third down to force a punt. Bo Nix struck back with a third-and-15 completion to Courtland Sutton. He then hit Sutton again with a 6-yard completion on third-and-6. The Broncos weren’t quite in field goal range yet, but that changed when Nix connected with Troy Franklin for a 32-yard gain. This set up a 35-yard field goal for Wil Lutz, who converted this time to give Denver the upset victory.

Ravens 23, Browns 16

A week ago, the Browns lost to the Jets because they allowed two special teams touchdowns. There was a 180 in that regard this week, as Cleveland was able to benefit from fluke plays and special teams nonsense to hang around with the Ravens.

This was a 3-3 affair when Baltimore lost a fumble on a muffed punt. The Browns turned a very short field into a successful kick to go up 6-3. A bit later, Keaton Mitchell had the ball bounce off his hands and into the arms of a Cleveland player, who scored on a pick-six. The Ravens continued to shoot themselves in the foot after that, as they were offsides on a punt to allow a Cleveland drive to continue. The Browns turned the extra opportunity into another field goal.

Cleveland couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half because Shedeur Sanders replaced an injured Dillon Gabriel. Sanders took numerous bad sacks, giving his team no hope. Lamar Jackson wasn’t much better, as he scrambled on just two occasions and had issues keeping the chains moving. However, Derrick Henry had a 59-yard run to set up a field goal, and then Mark Andrews scored the go-ahead touchdown on a fourth-and-1. Sanders had one more chance, but he missed a receiver in the end zone and ultimately turned the ball over on downs.

Eagles 16, Lions 9

Jared Goff has been an excellent quarterback over the years when protected in good conditions. Heavy pressure and poor weather have been his two foils, and he’d have to battle both in Philadelphia.

The Lions could barely do anything in this game. They hit some big plays to Jahmyr Gibbs, but that was the extent of their offense. And even after Gibbs had those big plays, Detroit couldn’t convert those into points. The Lions constantly stalled on third and fourth down. They were 3-of-13 on third down and 0-of-5 on fourth down, and they also left some points on the table by failing to kick field goals in red zone.

Goff simply had no chance. He was constantly under siege and threw some horrible passes as a result. Jalen Hurts also saw some heat because he was missing right tackle Lane Johnson for most of the evening. However, Hurts picked up some significant yardage as a runner to help the Eagles score enough points to get the victory in this windy defensive battle.

Cowboys 33, Raiders 16

The Cowboys dismantled the Raiders in this game, but they were off to an inauspicious start in this contest. Both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens remained on the sideline to begin the game, while Dak Prescott lost a fumble on a strip-sack. It would have been understandable had the Cowboys been flat following the tragic suicide of their teammate, Marshawn Kneeland.

Dallas, however, managed to regroup quickly. The team engineered three touchdown drives in the second quarter, with one being the byproduct of a fourth-down conversion in the red zone. Both Lamb and Pickens found the end zone at various points, with the latter putting together an especially stellar performance. Lamb also played well, but dropped a potential touchdown late in the game. Lamb’s dropped touchdown proved to be irrelevant, as the Cowboys were up by 17 points at that point.

While the Cowboys’ offense was explosive, their defense put the clamps on most of what the Raiders were tryin to do. They placed plenty of pressure on Geno Smith and forced the veteran quarterback into an interception when Smith didn’t see Kenneth Murray in coverage. The Cowboys also clamped down on Ashton Jeanty, who couldn’t even rush for 10 yards.

The Cowboys are still just 4-5-1, but it’s possible that they could go on a run, as their defense has improved with Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson providing upgrades at huge positions of weakness.