NFL Game Recaps: 2025 Playoffs

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

Seahawks 31, Rams 27

The Rams have been regarded as the best team in the NFL for most of the season, but they’ve had two problems that have persisted all year: short yardage and special teams. Both hurt them in this game.

The Rams failed on a third-and-1 in the 2-minute drill that led to a Seattle touchdown just prior to intermission, but the play that really turned the game occurred just after halftime. The Rams, down 17-13, forced a punt and were going to have possession to take the lead, but returner Xavier Smith tried to catch the ball while falling down, muffing the punt in the process. This set up a Sam Darnold touchdown to Jake Bobo to put Seattle up 24-13.

As a result of Smith’s blunder, the Rams were playing catch-up the entire second half. A comeback seemed very feasible because Matthew Stafford caught fire, but the Seahawks appeared to stop them at one point. However, a Tariq Woolen taunting penalty gave the Rams a free set of downs. Stafford threw a touchdown pass to Puka Nacua on the very next play.

The Rams, however, couldn’t get stops until the fourth quarter. Down 31-27, they drove down the field and looked like they were going to take the lead when they got the ball to the Seattle 6-yard line, thanks to a heroic Stafford fourth-down scramble. However, Sean McVay called a horrible run that went nowhere on second down, and then two Stafford incompletions turned the ball over on downs.

Los Angeles needed a stop to give Stafford one more chance, but Darnold had other ideas. Darnold completed some big-time throws to Kenneth Walker and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and then the latter drew a defensive holding penalty to effectively end the game and send the Seahawks to the Super Bowl.

Patriots 10, Broncos 7

The Broncos came into this game as 3.5-point underdogs, but they struck first. Jarrett Stidham launched a 52-yard bomb to Marvin Mims, setting up a touchdown to Courtland Sutton. The Broncos had a chance to go up 10-0, put passed on a field goal and went for it on fourth-and-1. Sean Payton’s foolish decision backfired, as the field goal would have given the Broncos a chance at overtime later in the afternoon.

The Patriots looked like they would lose this game for a while, as Drake Maye struggled to do anything besides scramble. However, the Patriots were given an absolute gift when Stidham heaved a backward pass just prior to halftime. The officials blew the play dead for some reason, negating a defensive touchdown, but Maye scored anyway on a run to tie the game at seven. The Patriots then tacked on a field goal in the third quarter.

This was the last time either team would score any points. The conditions were fine to begin the afternoon, but this game devolved into a windy blizzard in which passing became impossible. The Patriots didn’t bother passing at all in the fourth quarter, and they didn’t need to because they were up by a field goal. Stidham, meanwhile, could do nothing besides hand the ball off and hurl a helpless interception deep downfield to effectively end the game.

Rams 20, Bears 17

Both teams drove down the field to begin this game. The Bears went first and stalled in the red zone with Caleb Williams throwing an interception on a high throw. The Rams, conversely, scored a touchdown on a Kyren Williams run. This would end up being a theme for the Bears in this game, but not so much for the Rams.

Chicago had three fourth-down miscues in this contest. The second occurred later in the opening half when Kyle Monangai was stuffed. Matthew Stafford, however, struggled to throw until the end of the first half. The Bears bothered him with their blitz, which was curious because Stafford is ordinarily elite against the blitz. Nevertheless, the Rams put together a field goal drive at the end of the second quarter to tie the game at 10.

The second half featured some poor quarterbacking from both teams. Williams had a drive where he moved the chains, but he fired an interception off his back foot into double coverage. Stafford, meanwhile, couldn’t put together a quality possession until the fourth quarter. Sean McVay brewed a creative play to convert a fourth down, and then there was an ensuing touchdown by Kyren Williams to put the Rams up 17-10.

The Bears drove down the field, but the third fourth-down miscue occurred with an incomplete pass one play after Quentin Lake stuffed D’Andre Swift. The Rams, however, were too conservative on the following possession, and a poor punt gave Chicago the ball at the 50. There was another fourth down, but the Bears finally came through with a conversion. Williams drifted back 15 yards in the pocket and launched a prayer to the end zone. Cole Kmet, who was somehow wide open, came down with the ball to tie the game.

In overtime, Williams moved the ball toward midfield with the help of his own fourth-down sneak, but he launched a careless pass into heavy coverage that was picked. Stafford hit some throws, including a 16-yard dart to Puka Nacua, to set up a 41-yard field goal for Harrison Mevis, which was converted for the win.

Patriots 28, Texans 16

If you like turnovers, this may have been the best game of all time. Both quarterbacks were extremely careless with the football in this snowy divisional-round battle in Foxboro.

The calamity began with C.J. Stroud throwing an interception in New England on a careless floater. Drake Maye returned the favor by losing a fumble while diving forward, allowing Houston to take over in favorable field position. This set up a touchdown on a Stroud pass to Christian Kirk. Houston went up 10-7, but it would be the final time that the Texans reached the end zone on the afternoon.

The Patriots wouldn’t stop scoring touchdowns, however, and their next one came on a Stroud pick-six as he was getting hit. The Patriots went up 14-10, and they then intercepted Stroud again on a play in which the ball bounced off Xavier Hutchinson’s hands. Stroud had no choice but to throw to Hutchinson with injuries to Nico Collins (pre-game), Dalton Schultz, and some other players. Woody Marks also got hurt, but he returned to action only to lose a fumble.

Meanwhile, Maye had his own issues following a touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs. He lost another fumble on a strip-sack by Will Anderson and was intercepted, albeit on a Hail Mary attempt. The Patriots couldn’t get much going offensively, and it looked like that the Texans, despite Stroud’s countless turnovers, would be able to hang around when they kicked a pair of field goals to trim the margin to 21-16. However, Maye finally put together a great drive that was capped off a 32-yard touchdown to Kayshon Boutte, which the young receiver reeled in with one arm while beating Derek Stingley Jr. to ice the victory.

Seahawks 41, 49ers 6

This game was over before it even began. The opening kickoff went for a touchdown, as Rashid Shaheed went the distance. A yellow flag was thrown, but it was a tripping foul on the 49ers.

The 49ers were able to move the ball well in the first half, but they constantly stalled in Seattle territory or were hurt by their own mistakes. Kyle Shanahan made a horrible play call to run Kyle Juszczyk on the outside on a fourth-and-1, which was predictably stuffed. Jake Tonges then lost a fumble. The 49ers finally posted some points after that, but settled for a couple of field goals. In typical Shanahan-type fashion, the 49ers eschewed a fourth-and-3 to kick.

This was a 17-6 affair just prior to halftime, but Kenneth Walker scored a touchdown to extend the margin to 18. Things only got worse for the 49ers after that, with Christian McCaffrey and Tonges suffering injuries to begin the third quarter. The Seahawks, meanwhile, rode Walker the rest of the way, as Walker trampled a disheartened San Francisco defense en route to a blowout victory.

Broncos 33, Bills 30

The Broncos have been the luckiest team in the NFL this year, and their great fortune was prevalent throughout this entire game. It began innocently when the Bills had a recovered fumble overturned by an offside penalty, allowing the Broncos to salvage three points on the opening drive. The Bills then recovered and scored a touchdown and then took over following a punt. They drove into Denver territory to perhaps go up 10-3 or 14-3, but James Cook lost a fumble, and in doing so, he got his center, Connor McGovern injured. The Broncos turned the fumble into a touchdown.

Cook wasn’t the only Buffalo player who put the ball on the ground. Josh Allen did so right before halftime, recklessly coughing up the ball when scoring was impossible. This allowed Denver to kick a free field goal, and then the same thing happened right after intermission when Allen lost another fumble. The Broncos were gifted six points on these turnovers.

Injuries also played a factor in Denver’s good luck. In the second quarter, safety Cam Lewis suffered an injury, and Bo Nix found Lil’Jordan Humphrey for a touchdown. Later, after the Bills took the lead, Tre’Davious White became the latest Buffalo defensive back to get hurt, and the Broncos went right after his replacement on a Marvin Mims touchdown.

Following the Mims score, the Bills had 55 seconds to drive the field. They hit a big play on a lateral to Ray Davis to set up a 50-yard field goal for Matt Prater, which was converted by the 41-year-old kicker.

In overtime, Allen completed a deep pass to Brandin Cooks, but the officials screwed up and ruled it an interception. The Broncos took advantage of the bogus pick with R.J. Harvey making things happen in the open field for a 24-yard gain. Their inexplicable luck continued with a horrible pass interference call deciding the game. This moved the Broncos into field goal range, and then the officials made things even easier with another ticky-tack pass interference call. Denver then hit a chip-shot field goal to get the undeserved win in which it was outgained by 100 yards.

Texans 30, Steelers 6

A margin of 30-6 usually indicates that one team dominated the other, but that wasn’t the case concerning this game. The Steelers and Texans battled in a close contest for more than three quarters, with neither team leading by more than four points until a game-changing play.

The Steelers opened this final wild card-round playoff game with a good drive in which Aaron Rodgers hit DK Metcalf for a 25-yard gain. This led to a field goal to put the Steelers up 3-0. It seemed like Pittsburgh found something with Metcalf, who had been absent the past two weeks because of a suspension, but multi-billionaire offensive coordinator Arthur Smith couldn’t figure out how to get Metcalf the ball after that. Metcalf was inexplicably targeted only once in the second half.

The Texans put together one quality drive as well in the opening half with some big runs, which culminated with a Christian Kirk touchdown. C.J. Stroud, however, lost two fumbles. The second cough-up allowed the Steelers to kick a field goal to draw to within one point. Stroud also made a mistake in the second half, throwing an interception in the red zone. The Steelers couldn’t get anything going, however. The Texans eventually did, as Stroud located Kirk for a 46-yard reception to set up a field goal to go up 10-6.

This was still a close contest in the fourth quarter, but everything changed on one play when the Steelers had the ball. Smith stupidly called a running play on second-and-10, putting Rodgers in a third-and-long situation. Rodgers was promptly strip-sacked by Will Anderson, and Sheldon Rankins scooped and scored. The Texans then added an offensive score when the Steelers gave up defensively, and then Rodgers tossed a pick-six to make the final result look especially ugly.

Patriots 16, Chargers 3

Drake Maye enjoyed an MVP-level season, but would be making his first-caeer playoff start. How would he handle it? Well, the early returns weren’t promising. Maye threw an early interception and couldn’t lead his team to a touchdown drive in the first three quarters.

Luckily for Maye, the Chargers couldn’t get anything going either outside of the area in between the 20s. Justin Herbert was able to reach the red zone on a couple of occasions in the opening half, but the Patriots stalled twice inside the 3-yard line. They failed on fourth down on one try and settled for a field goal the second time.

The Patriots were up 6-3 or 9-3 in the third quarter. They appeared to be on the move to score, but Maye sailed a pass over a wide-open Austin Hooper’s head for a potential touchdown and then lost a fumble on a strip-sack. However, Maye rebounded with a perfect touchdown pass to Hunter Henry to take a 16-3 lead.

This 16-3 advantage was insurmountable for the Chargers. Herbert could do nothing with New England’s secondary locking down his receivers. Herbert had some nice scrambles on a possession in the middle of the fourth quarter, but he also lost a fumble on a strip-sack to effectively end the game.

49ers 23, Eagles 19

The Eagles entered this game as near-touchdown favorites, but the 49ers established that they would be a threat to win the game on their opening drive. Brock Purdy found Demarcus Robinson of all players for multiple receptions, including a 61-yard play. A touchdown put the 49ers up 7-0.

Philadelphia, however, took over for the next two quarters. George Kittle went down with a torn Achilles, while Purdy seemed to have issues throwing into the wind. Meanwhile, the Eagles ran the ball well with Saquon Barkley for a change. They made some mistakes, like Jalen Hurts misfiring on too many occasions, and A.J. Brown dropping the ball on multiple occasions, but they still had a 13-10 lead at halftime and a 16-10 advantage following the third quarter.

The Eagles’ blunders prevented them from establishing a big lead, however, and it allowed the 49ers to hang around. San Francisco capitalized with a trick-play touchdown, where Jauan Jennings found Christian McCaffrey for a touchdown pass. Purdy then threw his second interception of the evening, but the Eagles couldn’t do anything more than kick a field goal. This once again opened the door for the 49ers to take the lead, and they did so by scoring a touchdown via a McCaffrey reception from Purdy this time.

Hurts still had three timeouts and plenty of time to move down the field. He dealt with no pressure, allowing him to move the chains into the red zone. However, some errant passes and a wasted timeout meant that a fourth-and-11 was for the game and the season. Hurts inexplicably fired a helpless pass into quadruple coverage that fell incomplete.

Bills 27, Jaguars 24

Things looked grim for the Bills in the first half. They secured an interception when Trevor Lawrence didn’t see Shaq Thompson, allowing them to kick a field goal. However, Josh Allen entered the medical blue tent. This was one of three medical problems that Allen had throughout the afternoon. Allen then banged his finger on a helmet and injured his knee on a sneak.

Allen was 11-of-12 for 110 before the hand injury. For the next two quarters, he didn’t quite look like himself. As this happened, Jacksonville’s offense came alive. Lawrence overcame his slow start with some great throws to Parker Washington and Travis Etienne. He led two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter, taking a 24-20 lead with a few minutes remaining.

It was up to Allen to overcome his injuries, and that’s exactly what he did. He suddenly looked like his usual self. He completed some impressive passes and then scrambled for a big gain down to the goal line. With a minute remaining, Allen sneaked into the end zone to take a 27-24 lead.

Buffalo’s final touchdown tied the record for most lead changes in the fourth quarter of a playoff contest. Lawrence still had one minute to move into field goal range for his big-legged kicker, but a pass of his to Jakobi Meyers was tipped by Tre’Davious White and picked to end this game.

Bears 31, Packers 27

The Packers entered this game having lost four consecutive games, but they displayed no signs of that. They got off to a hot start with a touchdown drive on their opening offensive possession and then two more touchdown drives in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Bears lost top linebacker T.J. Edwards to an injury and constantly saw themselves botch fourth-down attempts.

The fourth-down miscues were prevalent throughout the first three quarters. On a fourth-and-4, Ben Johnson went for it on his own 35. The play was a disaster because of a high snap and an ensuing batted pass. This set up a Green Bay touchdown. Later, on a fourth-and-4, Caleb Williams was wide of the mark. Following halftime, Williams was heavily pressured on a fourth-and-3 in the red zone. He was promptly intercepted.

This was a 21-3 Green Bay lead at halftime and a 21-6 advantage following three quarters. The Bears couldn’t get anything going, but everything changed in the final quarter. Williams’ final quarter saw his horribly errant passes turn into precise strikes. The Bears drew to within three, but the Packers had a good shot to score. They drove into Chicago territory, but a delay of game penalty and a missed 44-yard field goal gave Chicago plenty of life. Williams drove down the field and connected with D.J. Moore for a touchdown to go up 31-27.

The Packers had one more chance with about 1:20 remaining. “No Cookie” Jordan Love hit Matthew Golden on a fouth down and then found Romeo Doubs on third down. Love followed that up with a 22-yard dart to Jayden Reed, but the reception was a Pyrrhic gain because the center suffered an injury, and with it came a 10-second run-off. The Packers sorely needed those 10 seconds – or the aforementioned 44-yard kick to be good – because Love was forced into a pass into the end zone from the Chicago 28-yard line, which fell incomplete.

Rams 34, Panthers 31

This looked like a completely lopsided blowout to start the game. The Rams were up 14-0 via two Puka Nacua touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Panthers lost left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and saw Bryce Young throw an interception when Jalen Coker stopped his route. And if that wasn’t enough, Trevor Etienne muffed a punt in a 17-7 game.

What occurred on the ensuing possession completely changed the game. The Rams eschewed a field goal and failed on fourth down, but that wasn’t the deciding factor. What was had to do with Matthew Stafford hitting his finger on a helmet of a Carolina defender. Stafford should have thrown a touchdown to Nacua when the All-Pro wide receiver dropped a sure score right before halftime, but the presumed MVP wasn’t nearly himself. Stafford was way off on some throws, including an interception where he couldn’t get the ball over the cornerback’s head. The Panthers, meanwhile, took a 24-20 lead, thanks to a 52-yard reception by Coker.

The Rams struck back with a touchdown drive, though Stafford was lucky to not be intercepted on a throw to the end zone to Nacua. Stafford eventually hit Kyren Williams for the score to go up three again. Following an exchange of stalled offensive drives between the two teams, the Rams had a punt blocked. The Panthers took over at the Los Angeles 30. Young lofted a pretty pass to Coker to go up 31-27.

With 2:34 remaining, the Rams had one more chance to win, and Stafford was finally able to overcome his finger injury to drive down the field, ultimately throwing a touchdown pass to Colby Parkinson. The Panthers were then given a final chance, but Young fired four incomplete passes to end the game.