NFL Game Recaps: Week 13, 2025

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

Packers 31, Lions 24

It didn’t appear as though this would be a high-scoring game. Jared Goff didn’t complete a single pass in the opening quarter, and it didn’t help that Amon-Ra St. Brown was lost to an ankle injury. The Packers, meanwhile, kicked an early field goal and were stuck on a fourth down in Detroit territory. Eschewing a field goal, the Packers had “No Cookie” Jordan Love throw a pass to Dontayvion Wicks for a touchdown, giving Green Bay a 10-0 lead.

There was some question as to whether Wicks caught the touchdown, but there was even greater controversy on a botched call on the ensuing touchdown. The Packers false started on another fourth-down try, but the officials incorrectly ruled that Matt LaFleur called a timeout before the penalty. On the ensuing play, the Packers scored to extend the lead to 17-7.

Throughout the rest of the second quarter and second half, both teams exchanged scores with some big plays. Jameson Williams scored a touchdown when he spun out of a tackle by Carrington Valentine. Meanwhile, Christian Watson hauled in a 51-yard bomb. The streak of scores finally snapped when Goff, who completed 14 consecutive passes beginning in the second quarter, had a bad miss on fourth down. Jahmyr Gibbs was also stuffed on a fourth down on a questionable play call.

The Lions were still up 10 late in the fourth quarter, but they were driving. Micah Parsons sacked Goff, forcing Detroit to settle for a field goal. The Packers took over, up seven, with three minutes on the clock. They were then stuck on a fourth-and-3 near midfield, but instead of punting, they went for the win. Love connected with Wicks, who made a leaping grab to end the game.

Cowboys 31, Chiefs 28

Both the Chiefs and Cowboys entered this game in desperation mode. The winner would keep their season alive, while the loser would be in dire straits in regard to their playoff lives.

It initially appeared as though the Chiefs would be able to cruise to a victory. They intercepted Dak Prescott on Dallas’ opening drive, setting up a Patrick Mahomes touchdown to Rashee Rice for the initial score of the game. The Chiefs scored on another touchdown right after that, with Mahomes finding Travis Kelce to go up 14-7.

The Chiefs looked like the better team to start, but the Cowboys controlled the game for the majority of the evening after that. Prescott rebounded nicely from the interception and was nearly flawless after that, particularly on throws to George Pickens. The former Steeler continued to prove that his former team goofed by trading him, as he made some crucial receptions, one of which featured an impressive hurdle in the red zone. With the Kansas City offense sputtering as a result of three offensive line injuries, the Cowboys managed to go up 31-21.

Kansas City was on life support at that point, and Mahomes appeared to revitalize the team with a 42-yard pass to Xavier Worthy and a subsequent touchdown to Marquise Brown. However, Pickens and CeeDee Lamb both drew pass interference flags on the ensuing possession. The nail in the coffin was a 13-yard pass to Pickens to end the game.

Bengals 32, Ravens 14

The Ravens had prevailed in five consecutive games, but they hadn’t performed well in recent weeks because Lamar Jackson was playing with an injury. The Bengals, meanwhile, would have their own injury question mark at quarterback, with Joe Burrow returning from a turf toe injury that prevented him from playing in Week 2. It wasn’t clear how well Burrow would look off the injury, so there were multiple unknowns heading into this contest.

Burrow began the game 4-of-4, but missed some throws after that and squandered some opportunities created by his defense. Yes, his 32nd-ranked defense. Cincinnati was able to pressure Jackson and force five turnovers. Jackson lost two fumbles, one on a strip-sack, while Isaiah Likely lost a fumble just shy of the goal line in between the Jackson turnovers. Three of the turnovers occurred prior to intermission, while the fourth was a Jackson second-half interception that occurred because of a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage.

As this was happening, Burrow was catching fire. His squandered opportunities transformed into precise throws. Burrow diagnosed Baltimore’s defense with ease and made all the right decisions in the second half. He threw multiple touchdowns following intermission, ultimately building a 29-14 lead with the ball in the red zone with four minutes remaining. A field goal would have sealed the victory because it would have made the margin a three-score lead, but a Samaje Perine lost fumble gave the Ravens a slim chance. However, Baltimore’s fifth turnover occurred a few plays later when Zay Flowers lost a fumble after making a catch near midfield.

Bears 24, Eagles 15

The Eagles must not have watched any of the Thanksgiving games because they would have seen all three favorites lose outright. Perhaps Nick Sirianni could have alerted his players that this occurred, but maybe he didn’t watch either. Or, if he did, his message didn’t reach his players. Either way, the Eagles completely embarrassed themselves in a non-effort game as a big favorite over the Bears.

Amazingly, one team rushed for 282 yards in this game, and it wasn’t the Eagles, who were going up against a Chicago linebacker corps missing its top three players. The Eagles weren’t doing much offensively, with Saquon Barkley once again struggling to find any sort of running room. Jalen Hurts, meanwhile, was completely erratic on his throws. The passing stats don’t look abysmal, but Hurts did most of his damage in garbage time. Hurts also ran only three times, one of which was a sneak that saw him lose a fumble in the red zone on a Tush Push. It’s unclear why Hurts failed to run very much in this contest, outside of his continued lethargy this season.

The Bears, meanwhile, did whatever they pleased on offense. Both Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift trampled a completely uninterested Philadelphia defense. They took turns gashing the Eagles, carrying a Chicago offense that couldn’t sustain success aerially because of the windy conditions.

Texans 20, Colts 16

Daniel Jones entered the game with a fractured fibula. It was apparent that he wasn’t going to run very much, but it was clear that his passing was adversely affected. He struggled to complete some passes, with one of his early big gains being a dump-off to Jonathan Taylor. Jones also wasn’t in on a sneak. Instead, it was Tyler Warren, who was charged with a lost fumble on a botched snap.

The Texans, meanwhile, were gifted a major injury on the other side with Sauce Gardner suffering a very early injury. C.J. Stroud threw an interception on a high throw, but was otherwise effective in moving the chains. The Texans were also aided by sketchy officiating. There was one sequence where the Colts were flagged for a phantom pass interference, surrendered a touchdown, and then saw the extra point being missed, only to have the officials say that the kick was good. The announcer in this game said, “Colts fans, go get a drink after that series of events.”

Houston was now up 20-16, but the Colts had a couple of chances to tie. However, Indianapolis couldn’t generate anything offensively, as Houston clamped things down and willed the team to another victory. On the final sequence, the Colts entered Houston territory, but three consecutive incompletions from Jones ended the game.

Jaguars 25, Titans 3

The Titans entered this game having played three close games in a row. Two of those contests came via Chimere Dike punt return touchdowns, but a sign that this would go the other way was that Dike lost a fumble on a kickoff return.

Another sign was that Cam Ward didn’t scramble on a single occasion in the opening half. Ward ran much more than usual last week, so it’s unclear why he didn’t use his best asset – his legs – at all in this game. Meanwhile, the Jaguars repeatedly hit big plays in the passing game. Trevor Lawrence had numerous 20-yard completions to his receivers, including Jakobi Meyers, who snatched a 50-yard reception. And thanks to a dumb decision by the Titans to go for it on fourth down with limited time left in the second quarter, the Jaguars were able to build an 18-3 lead by intermission.

Nothing really happened in the second half, save for a lone Jacksonville touchdown by Bhayshul Tuten. Ward inexplicably scrambled one time, which undoubtedly left Tennessee fans completely confused by what transpired in this game.

Panthers 31, Rams 27

The Rams entered this game as huge favorites, but their defense didn’t get the message that they were supposed to dominate. They allowed some long runs to Carolina backs and even surrendered a 35-yard touchdown to Chuba Hubbard on a third-and-8. The Panthers were able to win the time of possession by 11 minutes with some substantial gains on the ground.

Still, the Rams should have held a big lead entering halftime, but were up only four because of two interceptions. Matthew Stafford entered the red zone on an early drive, but had a pass deflected for an interception. On the ensuing drive, he threw a pick-six on a pass behind Puka Nacua.

Despite all of this, the Rams held a 21-17 lead entering the third quarter. The rain began to come down, and the announcers said the Panthers would continue to feed their running backs. However, on a fourth-and-3, Bryce Young launched a deep ball to Jalen Coker for a touchdown to take the lead.

A bit later, the Rams, up 28-24, had a chance to take over on a fourth down. However, Young lobbed another deep ball to Tetairoa McMillan for a touchdown to take the lead. The Rams looked like they would either re-take the lead or tie when they drove into the red zone, but Stafford committed his third turnover on a strip-sack, allowing the Panthers to run out the clock and end the game.

Dolphins 21, Saints 17

The Saints have to see what they have in Tyler Shough because they foolishly spent the 40th-overall pick on him despite the fact that he was a fifth-round prospect. Shough, however, could end up helping the Saints earn a high pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, given his complete incompetence.

Shough was anemic for long stretches in this game. Down 10-0 because of a long De’Von Achane run, Shough turned the ball over as a result of a lost fumble on a strip-sack. This occurred near midfield, ruining a potential scoring opportunity. The Dolphins gave the ball back right away with a Tua Tagovailoa interception on a deep ball, but the Saints couldn’t post any points on the next possession, or any possession in the opening half. Shough was responsible for another turnover a bit later with a telegraphed throw in the red zone.

The Saints were down 16-0 at halftime, but finally were able to get something going in the second half. Shough engineered two touchdown drives, with the second one drawing the score to within 19-17 with less than two minutes remaining. The Saints went for two, but Shough was picked. The defender returned the attempt for two, which was huge because the Saints recovered the ensuing onside kick and drove deep into Miami territory. However, the Saints couldn’t kick a field goal to win because the margin was four instead of two. Instead, Shough tried a sneak for a first down on fourth-and-1, but was stuffed, giving Miami the win.

Jets 27, Falcons 24

The Falcons have struggled coming off wins because of Raheem Morris’ poor coaching. Would they once again disappoint following a victory? It sure seemed that way early on when they muffed a punt. The Jets turned that into a quick touchdown with a Breece Hall run. The Falcons, meanwhile, were doing nothing for a big chunk of the game, but finally were able to string together some first downs with big runs. Tyler Allgeier ran into the end zone to tie the game, and then Bijan Robinson scored to open the third quarter to go up 14-7.

Atlanta looked like it would be able to take control of the game, but that quickly changed. Tyrod Taylor, who had done nothing all afternoon against the Falcons’ strong passing attack, launched a 52-yard bomb to Adonai Mitchell to tie the score at 14.

The Falcons were able to re-take the lead on a great play by David Sills, while the Jets answered on a Taylor touchdown run. The two teams exchanged punts, and just when it seemed like the game would go to overtime, the Falcons had a bad punt that set up the Jets in favorable field position. Taylor completed some passes to move into position for a Nick Folk 56-yard field goal, which was good at the buzzer.

49ers 26, Browns 8

Shedeur Sanders made his second professional start in this game. Things weren’t promising right away, however, as he missed a wide-open Jerry Jeudy for a potential touchdown on the first drive. The Browns punted and surrendered a long return to Skyy Moore, setting up a San Francisco touchdown on a short field. On the ensuing drive, Quinshon Judkins was sacked on a fourth-and-1.

Sanders, however, was able to bounce back and complete a high percentage of his throws. He led a touchdown drive with a score to Harold Fannin, and with a two-point conversion, was able to take an 8-7 lead. Later, following a 49ers field goal, the Browns were driving, but made another crucial mistake. Fannin lost a fumble in his own territory, setting up another short field for San Francisco. Brock Purdy scored on a rushing touchdown to go up 17-8.

The Browns still had some life, but that came to an end when they muffed a punt to set up yet another short field for San Francisco. The 49ers converted with a Purdy touchdown to Jauan Jennings to seal the victory. The 49ers prevailed by 18 despite being outgained by a yard as a result of all the short fields created by the defense and special teams.

Buccaneers 20, Cardinals 17
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: Baker Mayfield is tough. I didn’t think he’d even play this week with a sprained AC joint, but he actually performed on a high level. I was glad to see the Cardinals get the cover at the end though.

The Buccaneers were desperate to end their losing streak, and they got a nice draw on their schedule with the lowly Arizona Cardinals. Baker Mayfield played with his injured left shoulder, and even though he was clearly not himself, it was good enough to beat the Jacoby Brisset-led Cardinals. Tampa Bay improves to 7-5 to keep pace with the upstart Panthers for the NFC South title. This loss drops Arizona to 3-9 and eliminates them from the playoffs.

In the first quarter, the Cardinals had a good drive going into Tampa Bay territory, but Brissett threw a bad pass that was deflected by Jamel Dean and intercepted by Antoine Winfield Jr. Early in the second quarter, Mayfield connected with Chris Godwin for a 31-yard completion to set up a first-and-goal. However, Godwin dropped a touchdown pass, and the Bucs settled for a field goal. Late in the first half, Tampa Bay put a drive together, and on third-and-goal, Mayfield connected with Tristan Wirfs on a tackle-eligible play for a short touchdown. The Cardinals were able to produce a field goal drive to close out the half to cut the Bucs’ lead to 10-3 at the half. At the start of the third quarter, Bam Knight fumbled the ball away and set up the Buccaneers near midfield. Arizona’s defense forced a punt, and the Cardinals let another scoring opportunity get away from them with a missed field goal midway through the third quarter. Tampa Bay took advantage of the momentum with a short drive that ended with a Bucky Irving touchdown. Arizona’s offense rediscovered Trey McBride with a few completions, and Brissett tossed a 20-yard touchdown to a wide-open Bam Knight to make it 17-10 Tampa Bay entering the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals had a fourth-and-1 stopped for no gain, and Tampa Bay turned that into points with Chase McLaughlin hitting a 57-yard field goal. Arizona narrowed the lead with a scoring strike to McBride to make it 20-17 with five minutes remaining. Arizona got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining, starting deep in their own territory, but the Bucs defense forced a four-and-out to clinch the win for Tampa Bay.

Bills 26, Steelers 7
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Steelers looked like they had a great chance to cover, but Aaron Rodgers aggravated his hand injury to start the second half. I guess that’s what you get for siding with an injured quarterback.

The Bills needed a win in the competitive AFC, and Buffalo cruised in Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ offense was completely inept with an injured Aaron Rodgers, a lack of playmakers, and a vanilla game plan by Arthur Smith. At 8-4, the Bills maintain control over a wild-card spot. Pittsburgh falls to 6-6, tied with the Ravens for first place in the AFC North, but momentum is not on the Steelers’ side.

The Bills’ opening drive moved into Pittsburgh territory, but a pass intended for Gabe Davis was picked off by Brandon Echols. After a scoreless first quarter, James Cook fumbled the ball away, and Pittsburgh recovered at the Bills’ 45. The Steelers took advantage of the short field with some completions and runs to set up a short rushing touchdown for Jaylen Warren. Buffalo had a long, time-consuming drive to close out the half that resulted in a short field goal.

At the start of the third quarter, Joey Bosa strip-sacked Rodgers and Christian Benford scooped up the fumble with a short return for a touchdown to make it 10-7. Rodgers was injured on the play, aggravating his left hand injury, and Mason Rudolph replaced Rodgers on the ensuing possession. Rudolph promptly threw an interception to Benford, and Buffalo was set up at midfield. James Cook set up a first-and-goal with a 31-yard carry. On fourth-and-goal, Allen scrambled and found Keon Coleman in the back of the end zone for the score. Buffalo missed the extra point, so the lead went to 16-7.

In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Allen used his legs and power to get over the goal line. That put the Bills up 23-7, and Allen set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. Pittsburgh drove deep into Buffalo territory, but on fourth-and-2 inside the 10, the Bills got a stop for no gain to hold their 16-point lead. Buffalo drained more clock, and then added a field goal late in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring.

Seahawks 26, Vikings 0

The Vikings were starting undrafted rookie free agent Max Brosmer in this game, but Sam Darnold made the first mistake in an obvious revenge game. Darnold lost a fumble on a strip-sack, setting up Minnesota in favorable field position. Any hope the Vikings had ended there, as Brosmer made a completely bone-headed play on a fourth down where he threw an underhanded pass while being dragged down. The pass was picked and taken back for six, giving the Seahawks a 10-0 lead.

This Brosmer pick-six was the first of five turnovers the Vikings were guilty of on the afternoon. Aaron Jones lost a fumble following a long T.J. Hockenson completion. Brosmer then was intercepted on three more occasions. One pick was a high throw, the second was the result of a deflection, and the third was a telegraphed throw that was fumbled by the intercepting player.

Despite the lopsided win, the Seattle fans grumbled in the stands because the team couldn’t score an offensive touchdown for a while. That changed late when Zach Charbonnet found the end zone in the fourth quarter. The starters were pulled on the ensuing possession.

Chargers 31, Raiders 14

The Chargers had a scary moment in this game. Justin Herbert injured his non-throwing hand and was taken into the locker room. Trey Lance had to play some snaps while Herbert wasn’t on the field, but Herbert emerged with a white glove on his left hand.

Herbert was rusty in his return, throwing an interception into the end zone. However, the Chargers were given new life when a defender of theirs picked off Geno Smith on a crazy double deflection near the sideline. The Chargers were stuffed on an ensuing fourth down, giving the Raiders some hope.

The Raiders tied this game at seven heading into overtime, but Herbert couldn’t be stopped following intermission. Whatever the training staff did to him in the locker room must have worked wonders because Herbert misfired on only five occasions. He was able to engineer four scoring drives in the second half, giving the Chargers a 17-point victory.

Broncos 27, Redskins 26

Many expected a Denver blowout of the Redskins in a Sunday night game that NBC seemingly forgot to flex. However, no one gave the Redskins the memo that they needed to just roll over. The Redskins, down 3-0, looked like they would tie or take the lead when they entered the red zone, but Mariota attempted a silly jump pass and was intercepted. However, the Redskins responded on the ensuing drive. Following a Denver field goal, the Redskins were given a free touchdown with an unsportsmanlike penalty.

Denver entered halftime with a 13-7 lead, thanks to a great 2-minute drill by Bo Nix in which he threw a touchdown to Courtland Sutton while falling down. The Redskins did not go away, however, as they had their own special touchdown when Treylon Burks skied in the air and hauled in the score with one arm. Still, the Broncos were in control, up 20-14 with possession, when Nix threw a horrible interception where he didn’t see Bobby Wagner in coverage.

The Redskins were able to convert a field goal off the interception. Down 20-17, they had one more chance with three minutes remaining. Mariota had a nice run to pick up a first down, but was betrayed by two horrible calls by the officials. Stuck in a second-and-25, Mariota converted the first down on two throws to move into field goal range. Jake Moody drilled a 32-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.

Denver scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the extra session, thanks to a 41-yard reception by Evan Engram. Mariota ventured into Denver territory, but appeared to be sacked on a fourth down. However, the sack was negated by pass interference. Mariota then launched a touchdown to Terry McLaurin, but a holding penalty negated the score. Undaunted, Mariota fired a shot to Deebo Samuel down to the Denver 1-yard line. Four plays later, Mariota found McLaurin for the touchdown. The Redskins went for two, and it appeared they’d have a walk-in score, but Nik Bonitto deflected the ball to give Denver its 10th win of the year.

Patriots 33, Giants 15

We’ve endured some miserable luck with special teams concerning our picks this year, and this may have been the most egregious example of that. Nothing will be more painful than the blocked field goal returned by Jordan Davis versus the Rams back in September, but this was a death by a thousand cuts, or rather, a lost cover by a trio of blunders.

The trouble started when the Patriots, up 3-0, returned a punt for a touchdown. A bit later, the Giants’ kicker did something no one has ever seen. In Charlie Brown-type fashion, Younghoe Koo stubbed his toe before being able to kick the ball, resulting in a sack of the holder. And if that wasn’t enough, the Giants fumbled on a special teams return. The end result was 14 points for the Patriots and a removal of three possible points for the Giants.

This comedy of errors shouldn’t take anything away from Drake Maye, who was spectacular in this game. Strengthening his case for MVP, Maye torched the Giants relentlessly and picked up some clutch first downs with his legs. The Giants, meanwhile, bungled any sort of chance they had at a comeback. Interim head coach Mike Kafka showed his inexperience by continuously calling runs despite being way down in the second half and then punting while down 15 with nine minutes to go. He also punted on fourth-and-inches near midfield just prior to halftime, allowing the Patriots to score a field goal.