It is Thanksgiving in the NFL. That means three games on Thursday, one in Detroit and another in Dallas. This season has been packed with action and a general sense of confusion about who the best teams are. Coming into the final month of the season, I think we are getting a clear picture.
Let’s look back at Week 13 in the 2025 NFL regular season.
The Bears are Da Real Deal!
Coming into Thanksgiving week, the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles were seen as two of the best teams in the NFC. Both could win their division and the top spot in the conference, giving them a first-round bye in the playoffs. A win would provide these teams with a serious boost in their playoff contention. But who would be victorious on Black Friday?
The Bears had the first possession of the game but were unable to convert this into points, turning the ball over on the edge of the Eagles’ red zone. However, their second attempt was more successful. Led by quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears’ offense made their way down to the Eagles’ three-yard line. Here, D’Andre Swift found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to take the lead.
In response, the Eagles were able to get something on the board. Jalen Hurts led the Philadelphia offense down to the Bears’ 26-yard line but no further. This set up a 44-yard field goal attempt from kicker Jake Elliot, which was successful. This brought the lead back to four points, but Chicago immediately widened it on their next drive. A Cairo Santos field goal from 30 yards out was enough to restore the touchdown lead.
Nothing much happened to end the half with both teams struggling to get anything significant on offense. This meant that at halftime, the Bears had a 10-3 lead over the Eagles.
The offense struggles for both teams continued as the second half began, with the first two drives of the half ending in punts. Then, Hurt’s deep pass to A.J. Brown was intercepted by the Bears’ defense. Luckily for the Eagles, Chicago struggled to get anywhere with their new possession.
Hurts was able to recover from this mistake on the Eagles’ next drive, leading his offense down to the Bears’ 33-yard line. Here, he found Brown for the touchdown pass. But, as Elliot’s kick went wide, the Bears would remain in the lead, albeit by one point.
This lead looked fragile as Williams threw an interception on the Bears’ next drive. This gave the Eagles a good chance to take the lead. However, a Hurts fumble on the Bears’ 11-yard line ended all hopes.
In response, Chicago was able to extend its lead. Starting from their 13-yard line, Williams and company drove down the field to reach the Eagles’ four-yard line. Here, Kyle Monangai found the endzone for the rushing touchdown. The lead further increased on the Bears’ next drive with Williams finding Cole Kmet for a 28-yard touchdown pass.
The Eagles found the end zone on their next drive to slightly narrow the deficit, but it was not enough to steal the win.
The Chicago Bears had defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-15.
This win increases the Bears’ winning streak to five games and gives them a 9-3 record. It also makes them the best team in the NFC, and they remain on top of the NFC North. As for the Eagles, they fall to 8-4 on the season and stay on top of the NFC East. These teams could meet in the late stages of the playoffs in what could be a very interesting affair.
Next week, the Bears face the Green Bay Packers, while the Eagles play the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Colts’ Downfall Begins?
For the first half of the season, the Indianapolis Colts were one of the stronger teams in the NFL. Over the last few weeks, this has not been the case, and with their AFC South rivals catching up, their playoff hopes could be in doubt. One of these rivals is the Houston Texans, and a win for Houston would put them one game away from the Colts in the division.
The Colts had the first possession of the game, but were unable to do anything with it. This would not be the case for the Texans. On their opening drive, Texans QB C.J. Stroud led the offense down to the Colts’ four-yard line. The drive stalled here, but Ka’imi Fairbairn’s field goal from 23 yards out found the uprights to give them the early lead.
We then had a period where neither team was able to get anything going on offense. This period was brought to a halt when the Texans made a mistake. A deep pass from Stroud from his own 11-yard line was intercepted by the Colts’ defense. Now with possession, the Daniel Jones-led offense quickly got to work. This short drive was capped off by Jones finding Alec Pierce for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give Indy the lead.
But this lead did not last long, as Nick Chubb found the endzone from four yards out to score a rushing touchdown to give the Texans the lead again.
This meant that at halftime, the Texans had a 10-6 lead over the Colts.
Houston was able to extend their lead on the first drive of the second half, with Fairbairn finding the uprights from 43 yards out. But, this lead did not last long, as Jones found Tyler Warren for a 12-yard touchdown pass in response to level the scores as the teams went into the fourth quarter.
The Texans struck first in the final quarter when Nico Collins found the endzone for a seven-yard rushing touchdown to again make it a one-possession game. The Colts needed to respond to give themselves a chance to remain in the game. On the next drive, Jones and company made their way down to the Texans’ 24-yard line but no further. A 42-yard field goal from Michael Badgley would keep them in the game, but they would need another strong drive to win the game.
This drive did not come to pass, meaning the Houston Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts 20-16.
This win opens up the AFC South. The Texans now have a 7-5 record and are only one game behind the Colts. As for the Colts, they fall to 8-4 on the season and lose their spot as conference leaders to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who also have the same record. This conference is set to heat up in the final weeks of the season. Can Daniel Jones hold on, or will we see another late-season collapse from the QB?
Next week, the Texans face the Kansas City Chiefs, while the Colts face the Jags.
Another Close Game for Denver
The Denver Broncos have positioned themselves as one of the stronger teams in the AFC and are the likely winners of the AFC West this season. But, while they have been playing winning football, a majority of their games have been very close affairs, and the nine-win Broncos could have had a lot less if one moment had gone differently. This week, they faced the Washington Commanders, who have been struggling for most of the season. Will Denver finally get their easy win?
The Broncos had the first possession of the game and scored the first points. Starting from their 26-yard line, the Bo Nix-led offense was able to get itself down to the Commanders’ 15-yard line. Here, the drive stalled, setting up kicker Will Lutz with a 33-yard field goal attempt that was successful. In response to this opening drive, the Commanders nearly made it into field goal territory but ultimately had to punt.
Washington would make the first mistake of the game on their next drive. The offense, led by quarterback Marcus Mariota, was down in the Broncos’ red zone with a good chance of finding the endzone. But Mariota’s pass did not find the endzone, but the hands of a Broncos defender. This interception was costly, as Nix led Denver down to the Commanders’ 10-yard line. The team stalled here, but Lutz made another 33-yard field goal to take a six-point lead.
This lead did not last long. Shaking off the mistake on the previous drive, the Commaders made their way down to the Broncos’ eight-yard line on their next drive. Here, Chris Rodriguez found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to give Washington the lead. Denver immediately responded and retook the lead when Nix found Courtland Sutton for an 11-yard touchdown pass.
This meant that at halftime, the Broncos had a 13-7 lead over the Commanders.
Washington had the first possession of the second half and would use it to retake the lead. Mariota and company were able to get themselves down to the Broncos’ five-yard line. Here, the quarterback found Treylon Burks for the touchdown pass. But, this lead (just like the Commanders’ lead in the first half) was short-lived, as RJ Harvey found the endzone for a one-yard rushing touchdown on the following drive to give Denver a six-point lead going into the final quarter.
The final quarter did not begin well for the Broncos, as Nix threw an interception. This mistake would prove costly as the Commanders were able to get the ball down to the Broncos’ 20-yard line. The drive stalled here, but kicker Jake Moody was able to make his 38-yard field goal attempt to make it a three-point game.
For most of the quarter, the drives ended in punts, which would be enough to give the Broncos to win. But the Commanders had the ball for the final drive of the game. Could they cause an upset? Starting from their 15-yard line, Mariota led his offense down to the Broncos’ 14-yard line. Then, as time ran out, Moody kicked a 32-yard field goal to send this game to overtime.
The Broncos had the first possession of overtime and did precisely what was needed. Harvey scored a five-yard rushing touchdown to retake the lead and force the Commanders to match this to stay in the game.
The Commanders were able to do this with Mariota finding Terry McLaurin for a three-yard touchdown pass. Washington then decided to attempt a two-point conversion. This attempt failed, meaning that the Denver Broncos had defeated the Washington Commanders 27-26.
This win is the Broncos’ ninth consecutive, and another one decided by one possession. Interestingly, this was their first game of the season to go to overtime. Denver improved to 10-2 for the season, and now leads the AFC West by two games. They are likely to be in a battle with the New England Patriots for the top seed in the conference. As for the Commanders, the defeat leaves them at 3-9 for the season.
Next week, Denver faces the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Commanders play the Minnesota Vikings.
What Happened in the Other Games?
Thanksgiving began as usual in Detroit, as the Lions faced the Green Bay Packers in a pivotal game in the NFC North race. Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for four touchdowns as Green Bay recorded a 31-24 win against the Lions, making Detroit’s playoff hunt a little bit harder.
The main course of the Thanksgiving trio was in Dallas, as the Cowboys faced the Kansas City Chiefs. This was a game the Chiefs needed to win if they wanted a chance to make the postseason. Despite Patrick Mahomes throwing four touchdowns, it was not enough as the Cowboys held on for a 31-28 win. The Chiefs are now 6-6 for the season.
Thanksgiving ended in the AFC North as the Cincinnati Bengals, with a returning Joe Burrow, faced the resurgent Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore turned the ball over five times in this game, and that was all the Bengals needed to record a 32-14 win. The Ravens are still top of the division with a .500 record, which tells you all you need to know about the strength of the conference.
The San Francisco 49ers continued their hunt for the NFC West title with a win over the Cleveland Browns. Shedeur Sanders made his home debut for the Browns and was sacked three times in the 49ers’ 26-8 win.
The Jacksonville Jaguars inserted themselves into the AFC South race with an easy win over the Tennessee Titans. Trevor Lawrence threw for two touchdowns in the Jags’ 25-3 win to put them level with the Indianapolis Colts.
The Miami Dolphins piled more misery onto the New Orleans Saints this week. A strong performance from De’Von Archane was enough to give them a 21-17 win over the now eliminated Saints.
In another battle of struggling teams, the New York Jets faced the Atlanta Falcons. This game was close throughout, and a last-second field goal from 56 yards out by Nick Folk was enough to give the Jets a 27-24 win.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been in a slump over the last few weeks, and needed a win to keep them in contention for the NFC South title. They faced the Arizona Cardinals this week, and they got a win. It was another strong performance from Jacoby Brissett that went nowhere, as the Buccs recorded a 20-17 win.
In a game with ramifications throughout the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams faced the Carolina Panthers. A late touchdown from Bryce Young was enough to record a 31-28 win for the Panthers, keeping them level with Tampa Bay in the NFC South.
The Seattle Seahawks faced the struggling Minnesota Vikings this week. The game went as expected, with the Seahawks cruising to a dominant 26-0 win.
The Buffalo Bills returned to their usual form against the Pittsburgh Steelers. A strong performance on the ground was all that was needed to give the Bills a 26-7 win.
The Los Angeles Chargers kept up with the Denver Broncos in the AFC West with an easy win over the Las Vegas Raiders. An injured Justin Herbert led the team to a 31-14 win.
And finally, the New England Patriots faced the New York Giants on Monday night. Jaxson Dart returned for the Giants, but could not do a lot of stop Drake Maye and the Patriots, as they cruised to a 33-15 win. The Giants finally have their bye week next week, which means I get one week off from the suffering of watching them.
That was a lookback at week 13 of the NFL season. Next week, the Colts face the Jags in what could be a pivotal game in the AFC South, the Packers face the Bears, and the Steelers face the Ravens.
