The 2025 NFL season has been impossible to predict. The latest example took place in Charlotte on Sunday.
Coming into Week 13, most would have agreed the NFL’s best team is the Rams, a 9–2 outfit coming off a blowout win over the Buccaneers. Then, visiting the Panthers with Carolina on a short week, the home underdogs rose up and won, 31–28, picking off Matthew Stafford twice and forcing three total turnovers in the win.
In the late window, the Bills and Chargers both earned emphatic conference wins, keeping them in the playoff picture as wild-card teams, with Los Angeles jumping over the Colts, who lost on Sunday for the third time in four weeks. The Chargers now have an extra day off before playing Monday night, but a tough road awaits, including games against the Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys, Texans and Broncos over the final five weeks.
On Black Friday, Chicago outmuscled Philadelphia with a relentless rushing attack, prevailing 24–15 to take control of the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. A year ago today, the Bears fired coach Matt Eberflus. Now, they’re 9–3 with rookie coach Ben Johnson. The boo birds were out in full force for the Eagles’ paper-thin defense and stagnant offense during the standalone game Friday.
On Thanksgiving, we saw the Packers going on the road and earning a season sweep of the Lions, winning 31–24 at Ford Field behind Jordan Love’s four touchdown tosses and Micah Parsons collecting 2.5 sacks. In the late-afternoon window, the Cowboys beat the Chiefs 31–28, before another upset in the nightcap as the Bengals forced the Ravens to commit five turnovers en route to a 32–14 victory.
But we start with the Panthers, who suddenly have a chance to make a real run toward the postseason.
Good: Panthers show they’re legitimate playoff contenders
For most of the season, nobody has talked about the Panthers as honest playoff contenders—a good story, sure, but nothing more.
However, after upsetting the Rams, 31–28, things are changing for the perennial doormats in Charlotte. Carolina won on the back of a Mike Jackson 48-yard pick-six and three Bryce Young touchdown passes, helping the Panthers drop the NFC’s top-seeded team while also improving to 7–6 under Dave Canales, who needs significant Coach of the Year consideration.
Carolina has now earned quality wins over the Rams, Packers and Cowboys, propelling them into NFC South contention. The Panthers are only a half-game behind the division-leading Buccaneers and still play them twice, with those matchups coming in Week 16 and 18.
On Monday, there was plenty to be concerned about for Carolina. The defense picked off 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy three times in the first half and managed just three points over that span in a 20–9 defeat at San Francisco. Yet against the Rams and their vaunted front, featuring Braden Fiske, Byron Young and Jared Verse, the Panthers notched 358 yards, 17 first downs and converted 10-of-18 on third and fourth downs.
Going forward, Carolina had a bye week before visiting the Saints. If the Panthers can win that game, it sets up a wild final three weeks, with two games against the Buccaneers, sandwiched around a home date with the Seahawks.
Bad: Raheem Morris’s job security after loss to Jets
What’s the case for Morris to stay on the job in Atlanta?
After losing 27–24 to the previously two-win Jets at the Meadowlands, the Falcons are 4–8 and losers of five of their previous six games, beating only the Saints. Atlanta has been lost in key moments far too often, with each of its past four defeats coming in one-score games.
Morris can certainly point to injuries, including those to quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and receiver Drake London, as part of the problem. But realistically, the Falcons were a dead team walking, even with those two in the lineup, consistently finding ways to lose, either through questionable game management (see: Colts loss) or by giving up massive days to unheralded players (see: Bryce Young throwing for 447 yards).
Morris is in his second season with Atlanta (his third, counting his interim stint in 2020 when he went 4–7) and barring a miracle, is going to be without a winning season. When he coached the Buccaneers from 2009 to 11, Morris went a combined 17–31 before being ousted.
Atlanta needs a hard reset, something which won’t be easy without its 2026 first-round pick. Still, it must happen at season’s end, and it should start with Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot.
Ugly: Colts are falling apart in real time, and could be in real trouble
Remember when the Colts were 7–1 and the best feel-good story in the NFL? Life moves fast.
After losing 20–16 to the Texans at home, Indianapolis is now 8–4 and in second place in the AFC South, with the Jaguars ahead of them via tiebreaker.
The Colts have concerns galore, ranging from their recent defeats to mounting injuries. Quarterback Daniel Jones (fractured fibula), defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (neck) and corner Sauce Gardner (calf) are all ailing, with Buckner on IR and Jones looking nothing like the reclamation project he was early this season.
In the three recent losses to the Steelers, Chiefs and Texans, Jones has thrown for five touchdowns and three interceptions while completing 59.2% of his attempts, averaging 6.7 yards per throw. Meanwhile, All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor hasn’t gotten to 100 rushing yards or scored a touchdown in any of those games as well.
The schedule moving forward is brutal, including two with the Jaguars, road games against the Texans and Seahawks, and a Monday night game in Indy against the 49ers.
Good: Everyone who loves chaos in the playoff picture
Which race is over? Which teams are legitimately out of the race?
Looking around the NFL, the only division that can reasonably be declared won is the AFC East, unless the Patriots lose against the Jets, Giants or Dolphins. Otherwise, the other seven are open to varying degrees.
In the wild-card picture, insanity abounds. The only teams with a steep or impossible climb ahead are the Jets, Dolphins, Browns, Titans, Raiders, Giants, Commanders, Vikings, Falcons, Saints and Cardinals. The other 21 teams are all fighting for 14 spots, including some divisions with three-team races such as the NFC West, AFC South and NFC North.
With every game of Week 18 being within divisional boundaries, there’s a near mathematical certainty that the final week will be full of tiebreaker procedures, scoreboard watching, and a few surprises to shake up the eventual playoff picture.
As we enter Week 14, the Chiefs and Lions are out of the postseason, while the Patriots and Bears hold the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences. Imagine believing that was possible on Labor Day.
Bad: Pittsburgh’s offense is trending in a disastrous direction
The box scores show a team scoring at a middling clip, averaging 19.75 points per game over its past four contests. In reality, the Steelers are starting to break down worse than the surface-level numbers indicate.
Including their 26–7 loss at home to the Bills on Sunday, a game in which they managed a measly 166 total yards, the Steelers have now failed to throw for at least 200 yards in their past four contests, in which they are 1–3.
Aaron Rodgers was supposed to come in and be a savior for the passing attack, a massive upgrade over Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. Last year, Pittsburgh ranked 27th in passing yards per game (192.0), while throwing for 21 touchdowns against six interceptions. Entering Sunday, the Steelers were 23rd (195.1 passing yards), with 21 scores and eight picks. A slight improvement, if at all.
The rest of the schedule isn’t friendly either, with the Ravens twice and the Lions, two teams struggling to find themselves, but clearly more talented than Pittsburgh. At 6–6, there’s a real chance coach Mike Tomlin will suffer the first losing season of his 19-year career.
Ugly: Everything about the Vikings’ quarterback situation
There are no words in the English language adequate to describe the horror show going on in Minnesota’s backfield.
The Vikings got a good look at what’s gone wrong and what could have been on Sunday, when Minnesota was blanked 26–0 against the Sam Darnold–led Seahawks. Darnold, who last year threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns in his only season as a Viking, wasn’t special in the victory, going 14-of-26 for 128 yards and two fumbles (one lost).
Still, Darnold looked like Joe Montana at his apex compared to what has been under center for the Vikings this season. Through the first 12 weeks, J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz started every game and combined to complete 59.7% of their attempts for 2,145 yards (6.5 YPA), with 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Those figures look great in comparison to what Max Brosmer did in his first start Sunday. The rookie undrafted free agent was a mess, throwing a pick-six to linebacker Ernest Jones IV as part of a four-interception afternoon, throwing for 126 yards and 4.2 YPA.
After the season, Minnesota must have honest and uncomfortable conversations about whether to blow up the quarterback room entirely, McCarthy included, and where that road might lead.
Good: Jordan Love playing like a star when the Packers needed him most
For Green Bay to beat Detroit, Jordan Love was going to need a big day. He got it.
Love was brilliant on Thursday afternoon, completing 18 of 30 for 230 yards and four touchdowns. More importantly, though, his biggest moments came when the crucible was hottest.
After the defense got a fourth-down stop to start the second half, Love took the ball with a 17–14 lead at his own 49-yard line. Two plays later, he rainbowed a beautiful 51-yard bomb to receiver Christian Watson, giving the Packers a 10-point lead to play with down the stretch.
Love also completed the game-sealing pass despite a heavy Lions rush, finding Dontayvion Wicks for 16 yards on fourth-and-3 from the Detroit 45-yard line, assuring victory.
Throughout the game, Love consistently made tight-window throws, including a touchdown on fourth down to Wicks from the 22-yard line. Without Love’s accuracy and the willingness to cut the ball loose for explosive plays, the Packers don’t win.
If Green Bay is going to the Super Bowl, it’ll need Love to play tremendously. Thursday’s performance should inspire confidence. — Matt Verderame
Bad: Dan Campbell refusing to take points on fourth down
It needs to stop. Campbell can be as aggressive as he wants within reason, but over the last few weeks, reason has gone out the proverbial window.
Two weeks ago, the Lions fell to the Eagles while going 0-for-5 on fourth down. In each case, it would have made sense to either punt or kick a field goal, albeit not being necessary. Instead of taking points or playing for field position, Campbell decided to press the issue. The Lions lost, 17–9.
On Thanksgiving, Campbell once again left many scratching their heads. The Lions had a fourth-and-3 near midfield on the first drive of the second half, trailing 17–14. While going for a conversion is defensible, running a halfback dive straight into the line isn’t. Then, trailing 31–21 in the fourth quarter, Detroit faced fourth-and-3 at the Packers’ 21 yard-line. Jared Goff threw to Jameson Williams instead of attempting a 39-yard field goal to make things a one-score game. The ball was inaccurate and dropped.
Being aggressive is Campbell’s identity. Fine. But there’s a line. Eschewing a chip-shot field goal down 10 points in the fourth quarter is bad coaching. It’s far beyond the line. — MV
Ugly: Everything about Detroit’s porous defense
The Lions entered Thanksgiving without two starting interior offensive linemen and tight end Sam LaPorta. Then, in the first half, they watched All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown go down with an ankle injury.
In a spot like that, against a division rival, the Lions desperately needed defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and his unit to step up. Instead, they got smoked like a turkey, giving up 31 points and 359 total yards in a significant loss.
This is nothing new in big spots. Earlier this season, the Detroit defense allowed 31 points to the Ravens. It gave up 30 points in a loss to the Chiefs. Last season, the Lions permitted 45 points to the Commanders in the divisional round, despite having two weeks to rest and prepare as the No. 1 seed.
Next Thursday, the Lions host the high-powered Cowboys. The week after, a trip to SoFi Stadium and the Rams with receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, along with MVP frontrunner Matthew Stafford at quarterback.
If the 7–5 Lions are going to make a run towards the postseason and do something within it, they’ll need the defense to become a positive force. — MV
Good: Cowboys’ passing game can scare any opponent into retreat
The Chiefs entered Thanksgiving not having allowed a wide receiver to cross the 100-yard threshold in a game. Against Dallas, they almost permitted two to reach that mark.
CeeDee Lamb beat the proverbial brakes off the Kansas City secondary, catching seven passes on nine targets for 112 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. George Pickens also did whatever he wanted, winning on one slant route after the next to finish with six catches and 88 yards, albeit on 13 targets.
Dak Prescott also had another 300-yard day, giving him four on the season to go with 25 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. At 6-5-1, the Cowboys are still a longshot to reach the playoffs due to the logjam ahead of them in the NFC standings, but Dallas could get there by winning out or maybe losing once.
The rest of the schedule isn’t impossible though, with the Lions on the road next week but then games against the Vikings, Chargers, Commanders and Giants. Even with the Washington and New York matchups being on the road, there’s reason to believe Dallas could get to double-digit wins. — MV
Bad: Kansas City’s defense does nothing in critical loss
The Chiefs needed to back up their rousing win over the Colts with another victory four days later against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. Instead, they laid an egg.
Kansas City’s defense was a tire fire all afternoon after a Jaylen Watson interception on the game’s first drive. From then on, save for drives ending in kneeldowns, Dallas scored 31 points on six possessions, mixing in one punt as a result of George Pickens dropping a would-be third down conversion. All told, Dallas totaled 457 yards of offense while the three-time defending AFC champs committed 10 penalties for 119 yards.
Chiefs’ defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo had no solution, no matter what he tried. The four-man rush was invisible, as for the second straight week Kansas City failed to muster a sack. The five-man rush was equally bad, resulting in an abysmal 14% pressure rate. Behind the line was star corner Trent McDuffie repeatedly getting torched in man coverage, giving up a touchdown and taking two penalties while guarding CeeDee Lamb.
At this rate, the Chiefs need to win out for a playoff spot. They’ll need to beat the Broncos, Texans and Chargers at home, and the Raiders and Titans away from Arrowhead. Possible? Yes. Likely? Far from it. — MV
Ugly: Ravens’ horrific offense coughs up five turnovers
The Ravens must have been in a giving mood or they forgot to wipe their hands after eating turkey legs all day.
Baltimore had five turnovers, including four fumbles, in an ugly loss against Cincinnati, which cost the team the lead in the AFC North. Pittsburgh ended Thanksgiving with a half game lead in the division before Sunday’s showdown against Buffalo.
It had been 18 years since the last time the Ravens had four fumbles in a game. It’s also been a long time since Lamar Jackson had a stellar game. Outside of the second half in Miami in Week 9, the two-time MVP has had a handful of sluggish performances since returning from his hamstring injury. Jackson went 17-of-32 for 246 yards and three turnovers against the Bengals.
The Bengals didn’t turn any of the takeaways into touchdowns, but it led to four field goals. More importantly, it allowed Joe Burrow time to shake off the rust before the Bengals took over in the second half.
The Ravens cost themselves multiple touchdowns with the self-inflected mistakes in the first half. Tight end Isaiah Likely lost the ball before crossing the goal line and wide receiver Zay Flowers missed out on a touchdown after being called for an offensive pass interference. Baltimore managed to shake off slow starts against Miami, Minnesota, Cleveland and New York, but this team couldn’t do much right vs. Cincinnati.
Now the Ravens’ sluggish offense has to improve quickly before next week’s critical matchup against the Steelers. —Gilberto Manzano
Good: Burrow brings Bengals hope after missing three months
In the week leading up to his return, Burrow fielded several questions about why he decided to play for a team with eight losses. He often responded by saying he loves the game and gets paid too much money to stand on the sidelines, but now he can say there’s a chance for his team to make a playoff push.
It’s a very slim chance, but there’s a chance, even at 4–8. Last year, the Bengals also had a 4–8 record and went on to win five consecutive games to remain in the playoff hunt until the final week of the regular season.
More importantly, Burrow managed to shake off some rust in the first half against the Ravens before his team dominated in the final two quarters. The star QB leaned on Ja’Marr Chase to get into a rhythm and delivered touchdown passes to wide receiver Andrei Iosivas and tight end Tanner Hudson. Overall, Burrow finished 24-of-46 for 246 yards and no turnovers.
Obviously, it was a risky decision for the Bengals to play Burrow because there’s a chance he sustains another injury. But, at the very least, Burrow can develop chemistry with the inexperienced pass catchers and set the tone for next year. And it wouldn’t hurt if this team plays in a few meaningful games even if they come up short again to clinch a playoff spot. —GM
Bad: Saquon Barkley a nonfactor again for poor Philly offense
Barkley must have been jealous watching the Bears commit to giving the football to two different running backs.
Unlike Chicago, Philadelphia has had no rhythm on offense for quite some time. Perhaps the noise of wide receiver A.J. Brown wanting the ball more has thrown off this team’s identity, because the Eagles were racking up wins when they didn’t care about style points. Philadelphia, which started 8–2, has lost back-to-back games despite Brown tallying over 100 receiving yards and scoring a touchdown in the setbacks vs. Dallas and Chicago.
On Black Friday, Barkley had 13 carries for 56 yards and zero receptions. For comparison, Swift and Monangai each had at least 18 carries and combined for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
Yes, Barkley has had quiet performances all season, but at least Philadelphia embraced a physical brand of football and prioritized dominating the line of scrimmage before the two-game skid. They’re no longer excelling in those areas and now the groans will get louder for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo, who has failed to get Barkley going this season.
Last year, Barkley rushed for more than 2,000 yards. Now he can’t even get into the flow of the game, seeing less than 20 carries in nine games this season. At this rate, Barkley would be lucky to crack 1,000 rushing yards, with 740 yards through 12 games. —GM
Ugly: Eagles’ paper-thin run defense labors against Bears’ backfield duo
Philadelphia’s defense might not be as good as we thought after the unit acquired edge rusher Jaelan Phillips in a deal with the Dolphins.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his deep unit had no answers for slowing Swift, who rushed for 125 yards, and rookie Monangai, who contributed 130 rushing yards. The two running backs set the tone for Chicago maintaining a one-score lead through three quarters.
The Bears probably should have broken the game wide open a lot earlier than they did, but the Eagles’ defense, at least, had stellar coverage against the pass, forcing Caleb Williams into an interception in the third quarter. But Chicago didn’t allow Philadelphia to take advantage of the mistake, forcing Jalen Hurts into a fumble during a tush-push attempt with 4:46 left in the third quarter.
From there, the Bears went back to the ground, running the ball nine times during a 12-play, 87-yard touchdown drive to increase their advantage to 17–9. Eventually Williams built upon the stout rushing attack, hitting tight end Cole Kmet for a 28-yard touchdown pass and 15-point advantage with 6:19 left in regulation.
With a physical ground game, the surprising Bears may be for real after all. The Eagles, on the other hand, got exposed against the run. Philadelphia no longer looks like a mighty contender with issues on both sides of the ball. —GM
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Good, Bad and Ugly, Week 13: Panthers Upset the NFC’s Top Seed.
