Although it might be hard to believe, the NFL regular season is six games away from coming to an end. The playoff push for over half the league is in full swing, and teams are starting to play like it.
With a three-game Thanksgiving slate, followed by a marquee matchup on Black Friday, football and the holidays always tend to complement each other well. Week 13 is upon us, and so is the final stretch of the season.
1. Los Angeles Rams (9-2) Previous Week: 1
Man… The Rams are scary, aren’t they? Their defense is playing lights out, and Matthew Stafford might be playing the best football of his career. After a close game against the Seahawks, where they picked off Sam Darnold four times, they smothered a depleted Bucs offense. Beating division rivals is one thing; blowing out another division leader is another. With the Eagles’ loss, the Rams are in firm control of the No. 1 seed with six weeks remaining in the regular season.
Next up: At Panthers
2. New England Patriots (10-2) Previous Week: 2
All the Patriots continue to do is win football games. Despite quarterback Drake Maye not having his best game under center, the Patriots were able to do more than enough to come out with a six-point victory against a desperate Bengals team. Couple that with a Bills loss, and the Patriots are well-positioned to take the AFC East. Crazy, right? They’ve been playing damn-good football, and they’ve shown little sign of slowing down. For as many good stories as there have been in 2025, the Patriots surely top the list.
Next up: Vs Giants (Monday Night Football)
3. Denver Broncos (9-2) Previous Week: 4
The Broncos headed into their bye week as the best team in football. Not only that, they took down the Chiefs in Week 11, all but knocking them out of the race in the AFC West. Barring more consistency from the Chargers, the Broncos are in a prime position to win the division and challenge for the top seed in the AFC. The defense is as good as it gets, and if the offense can find more consistency, this team becomes very dangerous.
Next up: At Commanders (Sunday Night Football)
4. Seattle Seahawks (8-3) Previous Week: 6
Heading into Week 12’s matchup with the Titans, it felt like there was no way Seattle would lose, especially with their (4-1) road record coming in. Despite holding a commanding lead for the majority of the game, the Titans had it a game late in the fourth quarter. In the end, the Seahawks escaped, and that’s all that really matters late in November, heading into December. With a matchup next week against a struggling Minnesota team, they’ve put themselves in a great position to make the playoffs heading into December.
Next up: Vs Vikings
5. Philadelphia Eagles (8-3) Previous Week: 3
The first half of Sunday’s game in Dallas looked like it was going to be a dominant victory and extend the Eagles’ winning streak to five games. The final 30 minutes were a disaster that allowed the Cowboys to score 24 unanswered points and ultimately lose the game. Although they still have firm control over the division, there’s been plenty of talk about some locker room concerns. It’s hard to imagine this loss will help that out too much. The only plus side is that they’ll have a short week before hosting the red-hot Bears on Black Friday.
Next up: Vs Bears (Black Friday)
6. Green Bay Packers (7-3-1) Previous Week: 9
It’s been a rocky road since their (2-0) start, but getting another divisional win against the Vikings was a way to make a statement. Following a dominant 23-6 victory in which they picked off quarterback J.J. McCarthy twice and sacked him five times, it was quite the performance. Despite their offensive injuries, it didn’t take much to come away with the win. With a short week ahead, this was a big win. They’ll kick off the Thanksgiving slate on Thursday when they head to Detroit for a huge divisional showdown with the potential of first place being up for grabs.
Next up: At Lions (Thanksgiving)
7. San Francisco 49ers (8-4) Previous Week: 8
The 49ers just keep on winning and have positioned themselves well for a playoff spot. There’s no question that the NFC is deep. Still, assuming that the trio of Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle can stay healthy, there’s plenty of reason to believe that they can finish out the season at (3-2), especially with their remaining schedule. It wasn’t a pretty performance on Monday Night Football, especially with three Purdy interceptions, but the defense played lights out, despite getting just one sack on the quarterback. With another winnable game at Cleveland on Sunday, things are shaping up well before their bye week.
Next up: At Browns
8. Indianapolis Colts (8-3) Previous Week: 5
Man… It felt like the Colts had every opportunity in the world to close out the Chiefs in an impressive showing for most of the day. Still, in the end, they let last year’s AFC conference champions hang around, and Indianapolis lost on a field goal in overtime. The reality is that they’ve been playing over their heads, but they can hang with anyone. With the Texans coming on late, the divisional race is tightening as we head into the stretch run. The Colts are still in a great position, but Sunday’s loss was a tough one to swallow, considering how the game went.
Next up: Vs Texans
9. Chicago Bears (8-3) Previous Week: 11
The Cardiac Bears live to win another week! This team, especially the defense, has been marred by injury, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Despite coming into the game without five key defensive starters, including both linebackers and two of their three starting cornerbacks, they keep finding ways to stack wins. Is this team a threat to get to the Super Bowl? Probably not, but any time teams find ways to win games (no matter the opponent), it’s not something many teams want to see down the stretch of the regular season. Buckle in, Bears fans, you’re heading into a second week of sole possession in first place.
Next up: At Eagles (Black Friday)
10. Detroit Lions (7-4) Previous Week: 12
It took a monster game from running back Jahmyr Gibbs and a possession over time, but in the end, the Lions’ streak of not losing two-plus games in a row continued in dramatic fashion. The good news is that they won the game and keep pace in the playoff race. The bad news is that both teams in front of them in the NFC North also won. Although the Lions have a slightly easier schedule than the two teams above them in the division, they’re also a full game behind in the division chase. A good start would be a home win over the Packers on Thanksgiving.
Next up: Vs Packers (Thanksgiving)
11. Buffalo Bills (7-4) Previous Week: 7
Any time it feels like the Bills are back to earning the benefit of the doubt, they lay an egg. That’s been the story of 2025, so far. Are they a good team? Absolutely. Could they challenge for a Super Bowl in January? I don’t see why not. Even so, they are just not playing consistently good football from week to week right now. Don’t get me wrong, the Texans have a great defense. That said, it doesn’t feel like the front office has done a good enough job of surrounding Josh Allen with skill position talent. They’re now well on the outside looking in when it comes to winning the AFC East.
Next up: At Steelers
12. Baltimore Ravens (6-5) Previous Week 15
Just like that, the Ravens are tied for first place with the Steelers, with both remaining head-to-head matchups still to come. Baltimore has started the last few weeks, and their offense still doesn’t seem to be clicking, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that the longer quarterback Lamar Jackson is back under center, the better the offense will get. On the plus side, the defense seems to have figured it out, which was a much bigger issue early in the year.
Next up: Vs Bengals (Thanksgiving)
13. Houston Texans (6-5) Previous Week: 17
All of a sudden, the Texans are playing some of their best football of the season, and it’s been behind a (3-0) stretch from backup quarterback Davis Mills. Does that mean he’s better than C.J. Stroud? Absolutely not. In fact, I would argue that if they continue to play the way they do once Stroud returns, this becomes an immediate Super Bowl contender. They’ve been stuck digging themselves out of a deep hole that they created, but a Wild Card spot is very much a reality with a strong run down the stretch. This isn’t a team anyone wants to see come playoff time, if they can find a way to make it in.
Next up: At Colts
14. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4) Previous Week: 14
Usually, when a highly-injured teams get into its bye week, it’s a needed break. For the Chargers, I’m not sure that’s the case. Sure, they should get back rookie running back Omarion Hampton, but they’ll be missing their two franchise tackles until the start of next season. No matter how good a team’s depth is, that’s almost impossible to overcome. The Chargers are a good team, but they are inconsistent. They are two games back of the Broncos, so their margin for error to win the division is shrinking by the week.
Next up: Vs Raiders
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5) Previous Week: 13
The Bucs are struggling, and there’s too much going wrong on both sides of the ball to point to one significant improvement that needs to be made. Defensively, they can’t stop a nosebleed. Offensively, quarterback Baker Mayfield has cooled off considerably and is now nursing a left shoulder injury. Health has been an issue all year for this offense, but now they’ve lost four out of their last five games, and the division lead is all but gone. It’s time for Tampa Bay to lock in and get this figured out.
Next up: Vs Cardinals
16. Kansas City Chiefs (6-5) Previous Week: 16
The Chiefs went into the fourth quarter trailing 20-9. It looked like their season was all but over, and the hot takes were flying all over social media. Out of nowhere, they realized they’d been to the Super Bowl three years straight and decided to start playing their brand of football. In the end, they were able to pull it out in overtime and keep their Wild Card hopes alive. There are still six games left in the season, which gives them more than enough time to get “hot”, but the “In The Hunt” portion of the AFC playoff picture is starting to get crowded. They’ll have a short week before heading to Dallas to face an all of a sudden hot Cowboys team who is fighting for their season. Two desperate teams enter, only one can leave. Who will it be?
Next up: At Cowboys (Thanksgiving)
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5) Previous Week: 10
For a second straight season (with a different quarterback under center), the Steelers have found a way to blow an early commanding lead in the AFC North and find themselves on the brink of not being in the playoff picture. Despite quarterback Aaron Rodgers reportedly pushing to play on Sunday, it was Mason Rudolph, and the passing offense didn’t look great against a heavily banged-up Bears defense. With six games remaining, the focus goes from coasting for a division title to surviving the wave and finding a way to get back into the playoffs.
Next up: Vs Bills
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4) Previous Week: 18
It might have been closer than expected, but the Jaguars got it done on the road in Arizona to improve to (7-4) on the year. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished the game with 256 passing yards, three touchdowns, and… three interceptions. The inconsistencies in which he continues to play with are shocking, considering head coach Liam Coen’s track record. Regardless, the Jags are within one game of first place and very much alive in the playoff race. Not bad considering how they finished last season.
Next up: At Titans
19. Dallas Cowboys (5-5-1) Previous Week: 20
Are the Cowboys back? If you had asked me in the first half, I would have laughed. They went down 21-0 and appeared to have no answers. In the second half, their defense tightened up, and they scored 24 unanswered points to beat the division-leading Eagles 24-21. I’m still not fully bought in on the Cowboys, but they’ve at least put themselves back into the playoff conversation with Sunday’s heroics. Considering their tie, they’ll still need to go at least (5-1) down the stretch to earn a playoff spot. We’ll see if they can continue it on Thanksgiving against the Chiefs.
Next up: Vs Chiefs (Thanksgiving)
20. Carolina Panthers (6-6) Previous Week: 19
The Panthers had a prime opportunity to take complete control of first place in the NFC South and laid an egg on the road in San Francisco. Following quarterback Bryce Young’s 400-plus yard performance in Week 11, it was a much different story on Monday night with two ugly interceptions. I’ve said it plenty of times before, but this team continues to make no sense from week to week. They’re firmly in the chase for the division, but this loss is one they’ll likely look back on in Week 17 or 18. No matter how it ends, this has been a pretty impressive Year 2 for head coach Dave Canales and company.
Next up: Vs Rams
21. Minnesota Vikings (4-7) Previous Week: 21
Nine! … And then 10. The nightmare season in Minnesota continued on Sunday afternoon. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s turnover and sack troubles continued against a dominant Packers defense that didn’t give up a touchdown on Sunday afternoon. Let’s be as blunt as possible- The season is over in Minnesota. They are in one of the more stacked divisions in football, and they aren’t going to be winning many (if any tie-breakers. At this point, they need to seriously evaluate if they have the right quarterback on the roster. Giving Max Brosmer a look might be on the docket soon.
Next up: At Seahawks
22. Atlanta Falcons (4-7) Previous Week: 22
Michael Penix’s partially torn ACL will shelve him well into training camp. Because of that, the Falcons will look to get some return on their original investment with Kirk Cousins starting the final seven games of the season. It would take a miracle for Atlanta to jump back into playoff contention, but it’s fair to wonder how much of this coaching staff is coaching for their jobs down the stretch. Cousins starting with a two-touchdown performance in a 24-10 win is a good way to start. We’ll see if they can continue that against an awful Jets team in Week 13.
Next up: At Jets
23. Miami Dolphins (4-7) Previous Week: 23
Don’t look now, but the Dolphins have won three out of their last four games. Barring an undefeated run down the stretch, their playoff hopes are likely on life support, but it’s becoming increasingly likely that head coach Mike McDaniel is going to be able to salvage his job with a new general manager. Miami has plenty of decisions to make in the offseason, but they’ll continue to ride out the string over the final six games of the season and hope for the best. No team on their schedule is going to want to see them the way they’re currently playing.
Next up: Vs Saints
24. Arizona Cardinals (3-8) Previous Week: 24
Disappointment in Arizona hit another level on Sunday evening after a crushing 27-24 loss in overtime to the Jaguars. While the game keeps Jacksonville firmly in the playoff chase, this one all but ends the Cardinals’ season, which, in many ways, has been a complete disaster. We’ll see what happens with Kyler Murray moving forward, but Jacoby Brissett is clearly not a long-term answer. There are far more questions than answers in Arizona, which is not a great spot to find yourself in three years into a rebuild. At this point, losing and getting the highest first-round pick possible feels like the best long-term play, especially since they’ll likely need a quarterback moving forward.
Next up: At Buccaneers
25. Cincinnati Bengals (3-8) Previous Week: 25
At this point, bringing back Joe Burrow makes absolutely zero sense. The Bengals are not a playoff contender, and significant changes are coming, but that might also be why Burrow is going to be forced back around Thanksgiving. The defense is a disaster, and there’s not nearly enough on the offensive line. In the end, there’s talent on this team, but it’s poorly built, and it lacks talent in key areas. I have no idea what they’ll do in the offseason, but a shakeup is needed. Burrow starting the final six games of the year does nothing to change that.
Next up: At Ravens
26. Washington Commanders (3-8) Previous Week: 26
2025 has been a complete disaster in Washington, and at this point, I would fully assume they are ready to hit the fast-forward button into the offseason. They came into the season as the oldest roster in the league by a wide margin, but the injuries to some of their younger core players have been a much bigger issue. 2026 will be a “prove it” year for showing what type of team they are. At this point, I wouldn’t rush quarterback Jayden Daniels back this season. It’s a lost year, and there’s little to be gained from it. Getting as high a draft pick as possible should outweigh the risk of further injury to key players.
Next up: Vs Broncos (Sunday Night Football)
27. Cleveland Browns (3-8) Previous Week: 30
A dominant win for the Browns, starting a rookie quarterback? Yup! You read that right. Fifth-round rookie Shadeur Sanders becomes the first quarterback in franchise history, since their reinstatement to the league (17 players), to win their first NFL start. Oh, and Myles Garrett needs just five sacks in six games to break the single-season NFL sack record. The Browns have plenty of good young talent, but their offensive production has been their Achilles’ heel all season. On Sunday, they got a bit of both and dominated the Raiders on the road.
Next up: Vs 49ers
28. New Orleans Saints (2-9) Previous Week: 27
The NFC South has turned into a two-team race, and neither of the two teams that played in New Orleans is part of that picture. The Saints have plenty of issues, but they have found a way to stay competitive in most games. Despite trailing for most of Sunday against a severely depleted Falcons team without two of their top offensive players, the Saints couldn’t keep it overly close. On the plus side, rookie quarterback Tyler Shough didn’t look too bad and didn’t turn the ball over. So, there’s that.
Next up: At Dolphins
29. New York Giants (2-10) Previous Week: 28
How many times can a team blow a fourth-quarter lead? Last year, it felt like everyone was asking that question about the Bears; this year, it’s the Giants. With rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart remaining in concussion protocol, it was Jameis Winston once again. Although there were plenty of fun moments, he couldn’t get it done in the end. That’s not a knock on Winston whatsoever, because the reality is that the defense continues to let them down. There’s plenty of young core pieces to like moving forward, but getting through the final five games is going to be a slog.
Next up: At Patriots (Monday Night Football)
30. New York Jets (2-9) Previous Week: 29
The good news is that Tyrod Taylor got the start and eclipsed 200 yards through the air. The bad news is that no matter who is under center, the offense is a disaster. All in all, the defense did well to hold the Ravens to 23 total points, but bad teams tend to find ways to lose games no matter which units play well. There are plenty of questions moving forward, but, similar to most of the teams at the bottom of this list, January and the offseason can’t come soon enough.
Next up: Vs Falcons
31. Las Vegas Raiders (2-9) Previous Week 31
There are levels to this game, and after Sunday, it became clear that the Raiders are levels below the Browns among teams with bad records. I’ll be honest, I expected much from Pete Carroll, and now I’m stuck wondering whether or not he’ll get a second year in Las Vegas. The history of third-time head coaches in the NFL has not been kind, and Carroll is trending toward disaster. It seems like the Raiders can never make the right decisions, and it’s borderline mind-blowing. It’s clear Geno Smith is not an answer to anything, which begs the question: Will they draft a quarterback early in April? It might be time, especially if they keep losing.
Next up: At Chargers
32. Tennessee Titans (1-10) Previous Week: 32
Let’s be honest here, the Titans never really stood a chance on Sunday against the Seahawks, did they? For the majority of the game, that’s exactly what it looked like, but once the fourth quarter hit, they were able to mount a comeback. In the end, they lost, but it was an impressive charge led by an understaffed team with a rookie quarterback who had no stability. When all was said and done, Cam Ward finished with 256 passing yards, one touchdown, and most importantly, no turnovers. At this point, simply surviving the season is the only remaining goal.
Next up: Vs Jaguars
