We are nearly in the final stretch of the regular season, and over the next few weeks, we should start to see which teams will qualify for the postseason. But, as every week of this unpredictable season has shown us so far, who those teams will be will change between now and January.
Let’s look back at Week 12 of the 2025 NFL Regular Season
Da Bears as Champions?
The Chicago Bears are currently one of the hottest teams in the NFL. After a 0-2 start, they have won six of their last seven games, and come into this week on a three-game win streak. They faced the Pittsburgh Steelers this week, who are without Aaron Rodgers. So, without their former nemesis, could the Bears keep their streak going?
The Bears had the first possession of the game, but could not do anything with it. Then, Steelers backup quarterback Mason Rudolph came into the game and made a mistake on his first pass of the game. His deep pass was intercepted. This mistake proved costly for Pittsburgh, as the Bears’ offense made their way down to their five-yard line on the subsequent drive. Here, Caleb Williams found DJ Moore for the touchdown pass to give them the early lead.
The Steelers had possession next and took their time with it. The offense slowly made its way down the field to reach the Bears’ six-yard line. Here, DK Metcalf found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to level the scores.
Then, the Bears would make a massive mistake. Williams began a play on his 10-yard line, but went backwards and was sacked inside the Bears’ endzone. This would normally be a safety, but thanks to T.J. Watt, Williams fumbled the ball on the sack, which was recovered by the Pittsburgh defense for a touchdown.
The Bears’ next drive also ended in a fumble. But this one wasn’t in the end zone, and the Steelers were unable to do anything on the following drive. Chicago was able to shake off these fumbles and tie the game on its next drive. Williams found Colston Loveland for a 12-yard touchdown pass. This parity did not last long, as on the following drive. Jaylen Warren found the endzone for a one-yard rushing touchdown to restore the Steelers’ lead.
Chicago tried to level things up before halftime, but the best they could do was a 47-yard field goal from Cairo Santos. This meant the Steelers had a 21-17 lead at halftime over the Bears.
The Bears were able to take the lead early in the second half when Williams found Moore for a 25-yard passing touchdown. A few drives later, the Steelers made another costly mistake. Rudolph was sacked and fumbled the ball on the Bears’ 45-yard line. The team lost possession of the ball with this and soon paid the price. Bears’ running back Kyle Monangai would score a two-yard rushing touchdown on the following drive to give Chicago a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Pittsburgh brought the lead down on its next drive. This took 17 plays, as the Steelers slowly made their way down to the Bears’ three-yard line. Here, Rudolph found Pat Freiermuth for the touchdown pass to make it a three-point game.
But, after this, there were no more scoring opportunities, meaning that the Chicago Bears had defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-28.
This win extends the Bears’ winning streak to four games and seven of their last eight. This also gives them an 8-3 record for the season, and a slim lead atop the NFC North. With the defeat, the Steelers fall to 6-5 and have lost the top spot in the AFC North to the resurging Baltimore Ravens.
Next week, the Bears face the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday, while the Steelers face the Buffalo Bills.
Are the Chiefs back in contention?
The Indianapolis Colts returned from their bye week still among the stronger teams in football. A spot in the playoffs is nearly guaranteed, and now they are trying to become the number one seed in the AFC. This week, they faced the Kansas City Chiefs. These are not the Chiefs we have seen over the last few seasons, and they have been struggling. A win against this team would help Indy with their playoff goals. Could they get it?
The Colts had the first possession of the game but were unable to do anything with the ball. Luckily, they were not without possession for long. On his first pass of the game, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an interception deep in his own territory. This mistake was costly, as two plays later, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones found Michael Pittman for a six-yard touchdown pass.
The Chiefs’ second drive was better than their first, with the offense making it down to the Colts ‘ 10-yard line. The drive stalled here, but kicker Harrison Butker found the uprights from 28 yards out to get the team on the scoreboard. In response to this, the Colts extended their lead when Jones found Drew Ogletree for a four-yard touchdown pass.
The next two drives from Kansas City were identical. They would make their way into the Colts’ territory, but stall just when the offense was getting hot. Butker would then score the required field goals.
This meant the Colts led the Chiefs 14-9 at halftime.
Indianapolis would strike first in the second half. This drive would stall on the Chiefs’ 14-yard line, but kicker Michael Badgley would be successful with his 32-yard field goal attempt to widen their lead. The lead would be made even larger on their next drive, when Badgley would again kick a field goal, this time from 23 yards out.
At the beginning of each quarter, the Chiefs would make a potentially costly mistake. Up to this point, the drive had been going well, with the Mahomes-led offense getting itself down into the Colts’ red zone. But here, things would go wrong. Kareem Hunt fumbled the ball near the endzone, lost possession, and the opportunity to score. Luckily for the Chiefs, Indy did nothing with their new possession and immediately gave the ball back to them.
On their next drive, the Chiefs were successful. Hunt would avenge his mistake on the previous drive to score a two-yard rushing touchdown. This was followed up by a successful two-yard conversion attempt to make it a three-point game with eight minutes left to play.
For most of that time, not a lot happened. However, it allowed the Chiefs to tie the game at the end of regulation and send it to overtime. Starting from their three-yard line, the Chiefs’ offense slowly made its way down the field to the Colts’ seven-yard line as time was about to run out. Then. Butker made the 25-yard field goal to level the scores, sending the game to overtime.
The Colts had the first possession of overtime, but were unable to do anything with it. This meant that all the Chiefs had to do was score a field goal to win the game. That is what they were able to do, with Butker finding the uprights from 27 yards out.
This meant that the Kansas City Chiefs had defeated the Indianapolis Colts 23-20 in overtime.
This win snaps a two-game losing streak for the Chiefs and keeps them in the race for a wildcard spot in the AFC. Hope is not lost for them, as they improve to 6-5 for the season. As for the Colts, they fall to a still very respectable 8-3, with the Jacksonville Jaguars now within breathing room of them.
Next week, the Chiefs face the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, while the Colts play the Houston Texans.
The Raven Revival
The Baltimore Ravens have been on a minor resurgence in the last few weeks, thanks to the return of starting quarterback Lamar Jackson. This week, the Ravens faced the New York Jets, where a win would put them in serious contention for the AFC North title, something that would have been out of the question earlier in the season.
This game began just like many of the Jets’ games this season have, with punts and little action on offense. The first six drives of the game ended in punts, already taking us into the second quarter. It was here that the Jets took the lead. Starting from their 21-yard line and led by Tyrod Taylor, the Jets offense made their way down the field to the Ravens’ 13-yard line. Here, Taylor found John Metchie for the touchdown pass to give them a somewhat surprising lead.
In response to this, the Ravens’ offense finally woke up and got themselves down into the Jets’ red zone before stalling. This set up a 31-yard field goal attempt from kicker Tyler Loop, which was successful.
These two lone scores in the sea of punts meant that at halftime, the Jets had a 7-3 lead over the Ravens.
Baltimore had the first drive of the second half and used it to take the lead. Jackson and company made their way down to the Jets’ two-yard line. Here, Derrick Henry found the endzone for the rushing touchdown. He would do the same on the next drive to further the Ravens’ lead.
To begin the fourth quarter, New York was able to keep itself in contention with a 42-yard field goal from Nick Folk. This made it a one-possession game. But this did not last for long, as Loop found the uprights from 35 yards out on the Ravens’ next drive to extend their lead again.
The Jets needed to find the endzone on their next drive if they were going to cause the upset. On their next drive, they came very close. They made it down to the Ravens’ two-yard line, but Breece Hall would fumble the ball here and lose possession. This would be the last chance the Jets had to mount a serious challenge, with another field goal from Loop a few drives later sealing the win.
This meant that the Baltimore Ravens had defeated the New York Jets 23-10.
This win is the Ravens’ fifth consecutive, and with it, they improve to 6-5 on the season. This put them level with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North, and with two meetings between the sides in the coming weeks, the Ravens are very much contenders. As for the Jets, the defeat means they fall to 2-9 for the season, and are close to being officially eliminated from playoff contention. The fact that they have had a bye week is the only thing saving them from elimination this week.
Next week, the Ravens face the Bengals on Thanksgiving, while the Jets face the Atlanta Falcons.
What happened in the Other Games?
The Buffalo Bills have been in freefall over the last few weeks. On Thursday Night Football, they hoped to get themselves back in the win column against the Houston Texans. Except that they could not do this. Allen was sacked eight times and threw two interceptions as Davis Mills led the Texans to a 23-19 win.
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The New England Patriots continued their strong season with a win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Drake Maye threw for 294 yards and one touchdown as the Pats recorded a 26-20 win to extend their win streak to nine games, and put one hand on the AFC East title.
The Green Bay Packers kept themselves in contention for the NFC North title with a win against division rivals the Minnesota Vikings. It was another poor performance from Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, who threw two interceptions in the Packers’ 23-6 win.
By record, the worst team in football is the Tennessee Titans, with only one win. This week, they faced the Seattle Seahawks in a game that went as expected. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold threw for two touchdowns in the 30-24 win.
Two big events happened in Las Vegas last weekend. First, the streets were taken over by the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Then, just down the strip, the Las Vegas Raiders faced the Cleveland Browns. This was a game between two struggling teams, but it drew a lot of media attention for Shedeur Sanders’s debut. He had a decent start (but his post-game interview needs improvement and helps explain why the potential number one pick fell to the fifth round), and helped the Browns to a 24-10 win over the Raiders.
The Jacksonville Jaguars kept themselves in the running for the AFC South title with a win over the Arizona Cardinals. A late field goal from the Cardinals sent this game to overtime, but a 52-yard field goal from Cam Little was enough to give the Jags a 27-24 win.
In an all-NFC East affair, the Dallas Cowboys met the Philadelphia Eagles. At one point, the Eagles had a 21-point lead in their game and looked certain for the win. But the Cowboys launched a comeback, with Brandon Aubrey kicking a 42-yard field goal at the end of the fourth quarter to give Dallas a 24-21 win.
Kirk Cousins made his return this week for the Atlanta Falcons as they faced the New Orleans Saints. Cousins threw two touchdowns as the Falcons recorded a 24-10 win over the struggling Saints.
A few weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were one of the stronger teams in the NFC. Now, they seem to be a shell of their former selves. They faced the Los Angeles Rams this week, and the Rams demolished them 34-7. Could Matthew Stafford lead the Rams to another Super Bowl?
The San Francisco 49ers kept themselves in the race for the NFC West with a win over the Carolina Panthers. Despite Brock Purdy throwing three interceptions, the 49ers were the stronger team and recorded a 20-9 win.
The New York Giants played the Detroit Lions this week, and it happened again. Coming into the fourth quarter, the Giants had a 10-point lead. They lost in all in this quarter, with a late field goal from Jake Bates sending the game to overtime. Here, Jahmyr Gibbs recorded a 69-yard rushing touchdown to record a 34-27 win for the Lions. The Giants fired defensive coordinator Shane Bowen (about a year too late) after this game and are officially eliminated from playoff contention.
So, that was a look back at Week 12 of the 2025 NFL Regular season. Next week, it is Thanksgiving, so the Lions and Cowboys play on Thursday. This slate also features the Eagles and Bears playing on Friday, along with a reduced number of games on Sunday.