We have officially reached the halfway point of the NFL season, and there are many intriguing matchups still left on the schedule—some of which that look more appetizing than they did a few months ago.
Hopefully, the games improve in the back half of the season because the product on the field wasn’t the best for the first two months. Or maybe I just haven’t gotten over the brutal Week 8 slate when 12 of the 13 games were decided by double digits. The Jets beating the Bengals was the lone one-score game that week.
But there have been some exciting high-scoring games such as Bears-Bengals in Week 9, Broncos-Giants in Week 7 and Cowboys-Giants in Week 2. Also, let’s not forget about the Old Man Bowl between Joe Flacco’s Bengals and Aaron Rodgers’s Steelers in Week 7.
We’ve also had some big upsets at the expense of the Packers, who fell to the Panthers last week and the Browns in Week 3. There was also the “Little Giants” beating the Eagles with rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo leading the charge in Week 6.
With all the fascinating games coming up, there could be many memorable battles that transpire from now to Game 272 in Week 18.
I was told by my editors to come up with a top-10 list of the best remaining games, but I struggled to narrow it down after circling about 30 games. So here’s a top-15 list with five games in the honorable mention section.
Oh, and I didn’t count any of the games for this week because, again, I needed help forming a list with plenty to choose from (sorry, Patriots vs. Buccaneers and Eagles vs. Packers).
Let’s get to the rankings!
15. Bears at Vikings, Nov. 16, Week 11
I know, I know. There are more appealing matchups from the 15 or so games that I left off from this list. But, personally, I’m intrigued by several storylines from this game.
We’ll find out whether the Bears have truly turned a corner or they’re the same chaotic team that blew an 11-point second-half lead at home to the Vikings in Week 1. Since that loss, Chicago is 3–0 in one-score games with an offense that appears ready to soar.
Additionally, we’ll get to see how much Caleb Williams and J.J. McCarthy have progressed since the season opener.
14. Buccaneers at Bills, Nov. 16, Week 11
Hopefully, the Buccaneers are close to full strength by next week. Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin haven’t played in weeks and Emeka Egbuka hasn’t been the same since injuring his hamstring last month against the 49ers.
How Tampa Bay does this week against New England could signal whether we’re going to get an epic shootout between Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen in Week 11.
13. Bengals at Ravens, Nov. 27, Week 13
Thanksgiving night will be the first of two meetings between the AFC North rivals. Last year, these explosive offenses delivered two of the best games of the 2024 regular season.
Ja’Marr Chase had a combined 457 receiving yards and five touchdowns against the Ravens. He might post similar numbers again against a Baltimore secondary that has struggled at times this season.
Expect plenty of points even if Joe Burrow isn’t cleared by then, because Flacco has been on a heater since being traded by Cleveland to Cincinnati.
12. Ravens at Steelers, TBD, Week 18
I’m rolling the dice here. I won’t care much about this game if it’s not flexed into the Sunday Night Football matchup for Game 272 with the AFC North title on the line.
With the Ravens getting healthy and having somewhat of a soft schedule, they have a legitimate chance of catching the first-place Steelers, who hold a two-game lead over Baltimore. These two rivals play each other twice in Weeks 14 and 18.
11. Colts at Seahawks, Dec. 14, Week 15
All eyes will be on the Sauce Gardner vs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba matchup in this game.
As my colleague Conor Orr mentioned, the Colts made the splash trade for Gardner to help them defend against all the star quarterbacks and receivers they could face down the stretch. It won’t get much tougher than facing Sam Darnold and JSN in Seattle—a sentence I didn’t expect to write in August. And no one expected Gardner to be playing for Indianapolis this season.
10. Chiefs at Broncos, Nov. 16, Week 11
Now we’re getting into the intriguing territory of teams that could shed the pretender label against established Super Bowl contenders.
I can’t get behind the Broncos yet because Bo Nix has struggled against top defenses. Nix came back to earth in Houston last week after carving up the terrible defenses of the Giants and Cowboys. At the same time, though, Nix has shown he’s capable of getting hot at any moment.
We’ll learn plenty about the Broncos during the first of two meetings against the Chiefs.
9. Eagles at Chargers, Dec. 8, Week 14
Maybe this game is too high now that stud left tackle Joe Alt is out for the season due to an ankle injury. But the Chargers’ coaching staff has a month to figure out a plan to produce a component patchwork offensive line for Justin Herbert after Los Angeles traded for former Saints lineman Trevor Penning.
On the flip side, we’ll get to see whether this revamped Philly defense can hold up against Herbert, who’s in the midst of a career season. The Eagles traded for edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Michael Carter II before the deadline.
8. Bills at Patriots, Dec. 14, Week 15
Unlike some of the other surprise teams that haven't faced the bully of the division, the Patriots have already shown they can hang with the Bills during their Week 5 upset in Buffalo.
But that now sets up a chess-like rematch with heavy playoff implications. The winner of this game will likely get the AFC East crown and a top-three seed in the conference while the loser will be primed for a wild-card spot to start the postseason on the road.
To knock out the divisional champs, you gotta beat ‘em twice, New England.
7. Chargers at Chiefs, Dec. 14, Week 15
Here’s another spicy divisional rematch where the surprise contender beat the reigning champion in the first meeting.
But this one is a little different than Bills vs. Patriots II because the Chiefs and Chargers are both looking up at the Broncos in the AFC West. Also, the Chargers are a bit wounded with injuries and the Chiefs have dug themselves a sizable hole in the standings.
However, the standings could drastically change by this point. One thing is for certain, though: Patrick Mahomes vs. Herbert carries the promise of a thriller.
6. Packers at Broncos, Dec. 14, Week 15
Ah, the very intriguing Pretender Bowl. Maybe in the coming weeks the Packers or Broncos will change my mind about whether they should be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender.
Green Bay is stacked, but it’s concerning that it has lost games to Cleveland and Carolina and tied with Dallas.
But putting contender status aside, these are two evenly matched squads with several playmakers on both sides of the ball. I’m expecting this to be one of the best games of the year.
5. Eagles at Bills, Dec. 28, Week 17
I hate that this game is so late in the season. There’s a strong chance Philadelphia will be getting ready for the postseason by this point and won’t be willing to show as much to a potential Super Bowl opponent.
The Eagles have a massive lead in the NFC East standings. Maybe the Cowboys make it interesting with all the trades they made earlier this week (joking, of course). But Philly could still be playing for the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Here’s hoping the two established contenders provide an excellent game in what could be a Super Bowl LX preview.
4. Seahawks at Rams, Nov. 16, Week 11
I’ve been waiting for weeks for this game. Many pundits have declared recently that the Seahawks are currently the best team in football.
Orr is one of those pundits, but I’m not joining the Seahawks’ bandwagon, not when they haven’t played the Rams and have a Week 1 home loss to the 49ers. Seattle is also missing a signature victory and has a 2–2 record against teams that currently have a winning record.
But the Rams also have plenty to prove because they’ve only beaten one NFC team this season—the lowly Saints. A lot of mystery for this highly anticipated matchup.
3. Colts at Chiefs, Nov. 23, Week 12
The Colts spent two first-round picks just to increase their odds at beating Mahomes in a potential playoff matchup.
It was risky to give up that much for Gardner, but I applaud a move that the Bills and Ravens probably should have made years ago. If the Colts get by the elite QBs in the AFC because of the Gardner trade, many GMs are going to look foolish for not being as aggressive.
But we’re not there yet. First, the Colts need to show what they can do against the top teams in the regular season.
2. Lions at Rams, Dec. 14, Week 15
These two teams have been connected ever since the 2021 blockbuster trade involving the QB swap of Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff.
Whenever they play each other, the intensity level picks up for drama-filled one-score games. Expect more of the same in Week 15, and hopefully they meet again in the playoffs.
1. Lions at Eagles, Nov. 16, Week 11
I’m sure many will dispute this No. 1 ranking. I don’t care. I’m still mad we didn’t get this matchup in the playoffs last year. The injury-depleted Lions fell to the Commanders in the divisional round, and a week later Washington was boat raced by Philadelphia for a disappointing NFC title game.
Sure, the Lions don’t appear as mighty as last year, but they have plenty of time to find a rhythm for a passing offense that has disappointed a bit this season. Detroit’s physical brand of football matches up well against a rugged Philly squad.
These two teams haven’t played each other since 2022, when the Eagles prevailed 38–35 in the Week 1 meeting that was also A.J. Brown’s Philadelphia debut.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Top 15 NFL Games Left On the 2025 Schedule: Long-Brewing Showdown Tops the List.
