NFL Game Recaps: Week 12, 2025

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

Texans 23, Bills 19

Josh Allen struggled in a trip to Houston last year. He fell behind early, but despite a late charge, he still lost to drop his second consecutive game. History repeated itself despite Allen being a six-point favorite against a Texans team starting its backup quarterback.

Davis Mills began the game slowly with numerous underthrown passes, but eventually found his stride and completed some throws to engineer enough drives to ge the Texans into the 20s. However, the story of this game was Houston’s dominant defense against Allen. The reigning MVP was coming off a six-touchdown performance against the Buccaneers, but couldn’t sustain consistent drives following the opening possession. That was the only offensive touchdown in this contest. The Bills scored again on a Ray Davis kickoff return, but relinquished too many points to the Texans. Houston was able to score off an Allen interception that was actually a pick-six negated by a penalty, and then a lost fumble by Khalil Shakir.

The primary problem with Buffalo’s offense was the offensive line surrendering pressures to Will Anderson and the rest of Houston’s elite defensive line. Allen was sacked five times heading into the penultimate drive. He overcame an early sixth sack with a Shakir third-and-long conversion, but was sacked on a seventh occasion to force a field goal.

Down 23-19, Buffalo received the ball with just a bit more than two minutes remaining in regulation. Allen was sacked twice more to be placed in a fourth-and-27. Undaunted, Allen completed a pass to Joshua Palmer that was lateraled and then converted for a first down by Shakir. However, the Bills failed on the next fourth down with Allen’s pass falling incomplete to Palmer.

Chiefs 23, Colts 20

The Chiefs are known by many as a team that gets its fair share of calls, but that hasn’t been the case this year. There have been many blown calls go against the Chiefs this season, and that continued in this game. Down 7-0 because of a Patrick Mahomes deflected interception by Laiatu Latu, the Chiefs appeared to score a touchdown on a trick play by Travis Kelce, but a ruled face mask negated the score. Replay showed that the face mask wasn’t grabbed, however, forcing Kansas City into a field goal. The Chiefs were then flagged for another bogus penalty on defense, which helped the Colts continue what would end up being a touchdown drive.

Kansas City was eventually down 20-9 at the beginning of the fourth quarter when more poor variance persisted. The Chiefs drove into the red zone, but the potential scoring opportunity went awry when Kareem Hunt lost a fumble. On the next possession, Noah Gray dropped a potential touchdown. Brashard Smith then made a big play, but a blind-side block penalty negated it.

The Chiefs looked like they were going to lose once again, but they put together two scoring drives, as Indianapolis’ offense couldn’t do anything late. The Chiefs forced overtime with two scoring drives, and then the Colts couldn’t move the ball on the opening possession. Mahomes hit Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice on passes of 31 and 21 yards, respectively, setting up the game-winning field goal to keep the season alive.

Patriots 26, Bengals 20

The Patriots were touchdown favorites entering this game, but no one would have known that by what transpired in the first 20 minutes. The Bengals took a long drive down the field for a kick and then scored a touchdown defensively when Drake Maye lobbed an ugly overthrow. The 9-2 Patriots were suddenly down 10-0 early in the second quarter.

A poorly coached team may have folded, but the Patriots kept their composure and put together a touchdown drive where Maye located Hunter Henry in the end zone. New England’s defense then returned the favor by picking off Joe Flacco on a telegraphed throw to the flat. Marcus Jones returned it to the house to give the Patriots a four-point lead.

The Patriots had an opportunity to extend the lead into double digits, but they couldn’t convert at the goal line. They had 10 plays at the goal line on two separate drives, but managed just three points. They inexplicably attempted a quarterback sneak only one time and then kicked a field goal on fourth down. This put them up 10, but their defense allowed a back-door touchdown to the Bengals on a drive in which Tee Higgins suffered a concussion. The Bengals had one more chance to win the game and moved into New England territory on a 19-yard pass to Andrei Iosivas, but the game was over four incompletions later.

Ravens 23, Jets 10

If you take Lamar Jackson’s legs away from him, you get a talented, but severely inconsistent passer, and that’s what we saw in this game. Jackson, who still couldn’t scramble very much because of an ankle injury, had to do everything with his arm when the Jets took Derrick Henry’s runs away from him. The Jets no longer have Quinnen Williams and Sauce Gardner, but they were able to limit Jackson to three points in the opening half.

Conversely, the Jets were moving the ball well on the Ravens. Tyrod Taylor, in a revenge game, was able to keep advancing the chains on throws to his young receivers, namely John Metchie. The Ravens, potentially looking ahead to their Thanksgiving night affair versus the Bengals, looked completely flat and uninterested in doing anything to stop the Jets.

The Jets led 7-3 entering the third quarter, but the Ravens finally got going with a deep pass interference flag drawn by Mark Andrews and then an ensuing touchdown. The Jets then went for it on fourth down at their own 42, and turned the ball over on downs with a poor throw by Taylor. The Ravens turned that into another score.

Suddenly down 20-10, the Jets had one more chance to draw to within one score in the fourth quarter. However, Breece Hall, who had a big gain earlier in the drive, lost a fumble in the red zone to effectively end the game.

Bears 31, Steelers 28

The Bears have gotten an obscene number of turnovers in their favor this season, and that looked to be the case again early in this game. Mason Rudolph underthrew a pass that was picked. Chicago took the ensuing possession down the field for a touchdown, giving them a 7-0 lead.

Chicago’s fortunes turned after that, however, as the Bears were guilty of two turnovers themselves. Caleb Williams lost a fumble on a strip-sack where he held the ball for an eternity in his own end zone. The announcer in this game commented, “I’m not sure what Caleb was trying to do there.” The recovered fumble gave Pittsburgh a 14-7 lead. The Steelers then recovered a D’Andre Swift lost fumble near midfield.

Things didn’t go completely well for the Steelers after that initial pick, as DK Metcalf was knocked out of the game with an injury. However, a 55-yard Kenneth Gainwell run set up a touchdown to give the Steelers a lead heading into intermission.

Rudolph was guilty of a second fumble when this game was 24-21. This allowed the Bears to extend the lead to 10. The Steelers came back to score a touchdown to draw to within three, but their final drive stalled around midfield.

Lions 34, Giants 27

The Lions have nearly been flawless following a loss in the Dan Campbell regime, but that was not the case in this game. The Giants, despite starting Jameis Winston once again, moved the ball with ease against Detroit’s No. 2 defense. It looked fluky when the Giants hit a big play on an end-around flea-flicker, but Winston continuously torched Detroit’s beleaguered secondary on throws to Wan’Dale Robinson. The Giants scored 20 points in the opening half alone.

One would think the Lions would be able to keep up and even exceed that pace against the Giants’ poor defense, especially off a loss, but Jared Goff had issues with the pressure he saw from New York’s defense. The Lions were able to hit some big plays to keep the game close, but they were constantly behind with Winston’s great passes. Detroit, potentially distracted with a Thanksgiving game coming up, looked completely flat.

The Lions roared back with some scores to draw to within 20-17, but the Giants scored on another trick play, this time with Gunner Olszewski throwing a 33-yard touchdown to Winston, who used a stiff arm and a spin move to reach the end zone. Winston and his team celebrated the inexplicable touchdown, but this was the last time the Giants would score all afternoon.

Detroit was able to score 10 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Jahmyr Gibbs, who was already having a monstrous performance, sprinted for a 69-yard touchdown in the extra session to go up seven. Winston moved into Detroit territory, but was sacked on fourth down to end the game.

Seahawks 30, Titans 24

The final score says this game was close, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Seahawks dominated this game following Tennessee’s opening drive until garbage time. They were up 23-3 and 30-10, but took their foot off the gas and allowed the Titans to cover the spread with a back-door touchdown in the final minute.

When the Seahawks were trying, they repeatedly had Sam Darnold torch Tennessee’s awful secondary on deep throws to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Titans had no hope of stopping him, and it could have been even worse because Smith-Njigba was barely out of bounds on what potentially looked like a third touchdown reception.

Seattle’s defense, meanwhile, put the clamps on the Titans after the opening drive, allowing nothing until late. They swarmed Cam Ward and stuffed Julius Chestnut on a fourth-and-1, though it’s unclear why Chestnut was given the carry in that opportunity in the first place.

Packers 23, Vikings 6
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: The trade deadline is over, but could the Vikings even get an eighth-round pick for J.J. McCarthy right now? What a bum. The Vikings should give this Max Brosmer guy a shot.

The Packers cruised over Minnesota as Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy was awful. He took bad sacks and threw two interceptions, and the Minnesota offense had only four yards on 15 plays in the second half. In the first half, the Vikings called a very conservative game to protect McCarthy, but the Packers’ offense and defense were able to take advantage of the opportunities.

Green Bay improves to 7-3-1 to stay in the NFC North race. At 4-7, the Vikings’ hopes of making the playoffs are dire. Realistically, Minnesota is going to have to hope that McCarthy improves over the final six games and shows some signs of being a competent starter for 2026. Right now, the decision to pick McCarthy over Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones looks horrific.

The Vikings got a field goal on their opening drive that was set up by some nice runs from former Packer Aaron Jones. Green Bay responded with a scoring drive that was keyed by chunk completions to Christian Watson and Dontavius Wicks. Emanuel Wilson plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give the Packers a 7-3 lead. After the teams traded some punts, Minnesota got some good runs out of Jordan Mason to crack the 20, but the Packers came up with no-gain stops on third and fourth-and-1. Green Bay seized the momentum with some good runs from Wilson and a completion to Romeo Doubs that set up a field goal for a 10-3 lead. Minnesota got moving with an 18-yard completion to Justin Jefferson, but McCarthy took a bad sack, and they settled for a long field goal from Will Reichard to make it 10-6 Packers at the half.

Early in the third quarter, Vikings’ punt returner Myles Price had the ball bounce off him while blocking. Price was trying to let the ball bounce into the end zone rather than getting downed inside the 10, but he was too close to the bouncing ball, and it hit off his helmet. The Packers recovered at the Vikings’ five-yard line, and a couple of plays later, Wilson plunged into the end zone to put Green Bay up 17-6. Some sacks from the Packers’ defense set up a short field for Green Bay that was turned into a field goal to make it 20-6 early in the fourth quarter. The Packers added a field goal and kept the pass rush roaring. Rashan Gary got past Christian Darrisaw to get a hit on McCarthy and forced an errant throw that was intercepted. After a punt, McCarthy threw a horrible pass that was easily intercepted by Evan Williams to clinch the win.

Cowboys 24, Eagles 21
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Eagles fumbled away the game against the Cowboys – literally. Why do they keep having these second-half meltdowns? I know they can’t run the ball, but surely they should be able to keep throwing well.

The Eagles were up by 21 and looked like they were going to blow out the Cowboys in the second quarter. But then, Dallas got a score before the half, and the Eagles’ offense went to sleep in the second half, getting shut out. Philadelphia had 14 penalties and multiple turnovers to gift the game to Dallas. At 5-5-1, the Cowboys got a big win to help stay in the NFC playoff race with one of their biggest comebacks in team history.

Midway through the first quarter, the Eagles went down the field and Hurts fired a 16-yard touchdown to A.J. Brown. Shortly later, Philadelphia caught a break with a suspect roughing the punter penalty that gave them a first down. They turned that into a short rushing touchdown from Hurts to go up 14-0. At the start of the second quarter, Dallas drove into Philadelphia territory, but KaVontae Turpin fumbled the ball away. Hurts hit two completions to DeVonta Smith for 52 yards, and then Hurts ran the tush push to put the Eagles up 21-0. Dallas drove down the field, but Prescott threw a bad pass that was intercepted by Reed Blankenship. The Cowboys’ defense forced a stop, and Dallas got moving with a 48-yard completion to Turpin. To end the drive, Prescott hit a short strike to Perkins to make it 21-7 at the half.

In the third quarter, Brandon Aubrey missed a field goal, but Dallas continued to make game-changing plays. However, a 50-yard completion to CeeDee Lamb set up a short touchdown pass to Brevyn Spann-Ford. Jake Elliott missed a 56-yard field goal to keep it a one-score game, and promptly Prescott hit a deep ball to Pickens for 43 yards. It was a great catch over two defenders, and two plays later, Prescott tied the game when he ran into the end zone. On the ensuing drive, Saquon Barkley was stripped of the ball by Sam Williams, and Kenneth Murray recovered at the Dallas 33.

The Eagles’ defense forced a punt, but on the punt return, the Eagles fumbled the ball, and Dallas recovered inside the 10. The Eagles’ defense came up with a goal-line stand, including stopping Jake Ferguson at the one on fourth-and-goal. Philadelphia was forced to punt, and Prescott had 1:35 starting at their own 27. A strike to Ferguson crossed midfield, and then a pass to Pickens set up Brandon Aubry to hit the game-winning field goal on the final play of the game.

Browns 24, Raiders 10

All eyes were on Shedeur Sanders after his ghastly performance against the Ravens last week. Sanders dazzled the crowd with a great play to start the game. He rolled out of the pocket and was able to launch a completion to Isaiah Bond for 52 yards, setting up a short touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins.

It wasn’t perfect for Sanders. While he stopped drifting in the pocket for the most part, he threw an interception when he didn’t see a player in coverage. This set up a field goal for the Raiders. Sanders also didn’t see Jerry Jeudy wide open deep downfield. Jeudy had his own issues, losing a fumble after making a deep completion.

While the Browns made their mistakes, it didn’t matter because the Raiders couldn’t get anything going offensively. Cleveland’s defense swarmed the backfield, sacking Geno Smith 10 times. Smith’s seven sack ended a drive because it occurred on a fourth down, while the 10th sack was a strip-sack by Myles Garrett, who collected three sacks and two forced fumbles in this game.

This was a 14-3 affair for a while, but that changed when Sanders dumped the ball off to Dylan Sampson, who sprinted toward the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown. This put the game well out of reach for the Raiders.

Jaguars 27, Cardinals 24

The Cardinals had gotten off to slow starts in their previous two games, and it looked like they could potentially be buried once again when the Jaguars drove down the field and scored a touchdown on the opening possession of the game. It didn’t help matters when the Cardinals couldn’t post any points on their initial drive. The defense, however, came up big when Lawrence was strip-sacked deep in his own territory by Jalen Thompson. The ball popped into the air, and Walter Nolen caught it and scored a touchdown.

Later, in that same end zone, the Jaguars looked like they would score when going the other way, but an Arizona defender ripped the ball out of the hands from Jakobi Meyers for an interception. However, Meyers scored on the next drive to put Jacksonville up 17-14.

Despite the Jaguars having the lead, Lawrence tried his best to throw away a potential victory. He was picked a second time when he didn’t see a defender drop into coverage and then threw a third interception when he telegraphed a throw. The third pick gave the Cardinals a short field and a quick touchdown when Jacoby Brissett connected with Greg Dortch to go up 21-17.

To Lawrence’s credit, he bounced back nicely on the ensuing possession, going 4-of-4 and hitting Parker Washington for the go-ahead touchdown. The Jaguars then had possession, up three, with a fourth quarter in field goal range. Liam Coen could have kicked a field goal to go up six, but as he did in the Cincinnati game back in Week 2, he decided to go for it. Lawrence threw a horrible pass, and there was a procedure penalty anyway, giving the Cardinals some life. Brissett took over and converted a couple of first downs before launching a 31-yard bomb to Michael Wilson. This set up a field goal to force overtime.

The Jaguars were able to kick a field goal on the opening possession of overtime. The Cardinals then took over and moved close to field goal range. However, on a fourth-and-4, Brissett took a deep shot to a receiver, but the pass fell incomplete in double coverage.

Falcons 24, Saints 10

The Falcons were playing this game without Michael Penix Jr. and Drake London, but the Saints made things very easy for them. Tyler Shough lost a fumble on a handoff early in the afternoon to give the Falcons an easy field goal. New Orleans then missed two field goals, including one from just 38 yards. The Saints also made mistakes deep in Atlanta territory to negate a potential touchdown while down 16-10 in the second half.

Kirk Cousins, meanwhile, had a much better performance than anyone could have anticipated. The stats show that he threw a pick-six, but that was the result of the ball popping out of Kyle Pitts’ hands. Cousins was otherwise precise for the most part despite missing his top receiver. He threw a late touchdown to Darnell Mooney to extend the lead to 24-10.

The Saints, who lost Alvin Kamara to an early knee injury, simply couldn’t sustain drives. They didn’t even get much of a chance to come back in the fourth quarter, as the Falcons did a good job of draining the clock.

Rams 34, Buccaneers 7

This was a battle between divisional leaders that qualified for the playoffs last year, but it was anything but an even matchup. The Rams dominated the Buccaneers on both sides of the ball en route to a blowout victory.

Matthew Stafford could not be stopped in the opening half. He shredded the Buccaneers with ease, throwing three touchdowns prior to intermission, two of which went to Davante Adams. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, couldn’t do anything. Baker Mayfield failed to complete half of his passes, and he threw a pick-six that bounced off the hands of Cade Otton. The Rams swarmed Mayfield, giving him no time to throw.

Mayfield took one final hit in this game just prior to intermission. He was blasted on his failed Hail Mary – his second interception of the evening – and had to leave the game with a shoulder injury. He was later seen on the sideline with his arm in a sling. Teddy Bridgewater stepped in and threw some passes out of bounds, and that was pretty much it for Tampa Bay in the second half.

49ers 20, Panthers 9

The 49ers entered this game with a big edge on offense, given that the Panthers were down their top two linebackers. Carolina also lost its top cornerback, Jaycee Horn, to injury during this game, and yet San Francisco mustered only 20 points.

Brock Purdy was the culprit for this poor offensive efficiency with three first-half interceptions. Purdy was a disaster with some horrible decisions, particularly when he tossed a pick in Carolina territory to take at least three points off the board. Purdy underthrew his target into the end zone for an easy Carolina pick. One of his interceptions gave the Panthers three free points.

Purdy got his act together in the second half. He didn’t make any mistakes. Instead, he consistently completed passes to Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle. The Panthers tried to keep pace and appeared as though they’d have a chance when Bryce Young threw a touchdown to Tetairoa McMillan. However, the Panthers stalled on their next two drives once they entered San Francisco territory to help the 49ers hold on to the victory.