NFL NationOct 19, 2025, 08:20 PM ETCloseNFL Nation is made up of 32 team-specific reporters who cover the NFL year-round across ESPN.com, ESPN television shows, ESPN Radio, ESPN+ and social media platforms. It was established ahead of the 2013 season.
play0:36Wil Lutz drills 39-yard FG to seal Broncos’ comeback winWil Lutz kicks the winning field goal for the Broncos as time expires.
play0:31Josh Jacobs muscles in for Packers go-ahead TDJosh Jacobs scores his second rushing touchdown to put the Packers up 27-23.
play0:19Dak Prescott links up with Jake Ferguson for Cowboys TDDak Prescott throws a dart to Jake Ferguson for a Cowboys touchdown vs. the Commanders.
play0:19Jaycee Horn picks off Tyrod Taylor for a 2nd timeJaycee Horn gets in front of a Jets receiver and comes down with the interception for the Panthers.
play0:35DeVonta Smith catches longest pass of his career for 79-yard TDDeVonta Smith gets open downfield and Jalen Hurts finds him for a 79-yard touchdown.
play0:19Quinshon Judkins runs in his 2nd TD of the gameQuinshon Judkins almost loses a direct snap, but he spins his way through the defense for his second touchdown of the game.
play0:30Drake Maye drops in an absolute dime to Kayshon Boutte for a Pats TDDrake Maye airs one out to Kayshon Boutte for a 39-yard Patriots touchdown vs. the Titans.
49ers defense forces another turnover on downs to seal win (0:27)The 49ers step up again to force another Falcons’ incompletion on fourth down late in the game. (0:27)
Wil Lutz drills 39-yard FG to seal Broncos’ comeback winWil Lutz kicks the winning field goal for the Broncos as time expires.
Josh Jacobs muscles in for Packers go-ahead TDJosh Jacobs scores his second rushing touchdown to put the Packers up 27-23.
Dak Prescott links up with Jake Ferguson for Cowboys TDDak Prescott throws a dart to Jake Ferguson for a Cowboys touchdown vs. the Commanders.
Jaycee Horn picks off Tyrod Taylor for a 2nd timeJaycee Horn gets in front of a Jets receiver and comes down with the interception for the Panthers.
DeVonta Smith catches longest pass of his career for 79-yard TDDeVonta Smith gets open downfield and Jalen Hurts finds him for a 79-yard touchdown.
Quinshon Judkins runs in his 2nd TD of the gameQuinshon Judkins almost loses a direct snap, but he spins his way through the defense for his second touchdown of the game.
Quinshon Judkins almost loses a direct snap, but he spins his way through the defense for his second touchdown of the game.
Drake Maye drops in an absolute dime to Kayshon Boutte for a Pats TDDrake Maye airs one out to Kayshon Boutte for a 39-yard Patriots touchdown vs. the Titans.
Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season kicked off Thursday with a battle between two 40-something quarterbacks in the Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers and the Bengals’ Joe Flacco. The latter won the night after leading a game-winning drive that was capped by a 36-yard field goal from Evan McPherson with seven seconds left in regulation.
Sunday’s action began in London for the second straight week, with the Rams defeating the Jaguars. Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford set an international series record with five touchdowns. In the United States, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye led his team to its fourth straight win, defeating the Titans. And the Chiefs shut out the Raiders in wide receiver Rashee Rice’s season debut after a six-game suspension.
In the late window, the Colts easily handled their matchup with the Chargers, while the Cowboys’ offense fired on all cylinders in a blowout win over the Commanders. The Broncos also pulled off one of the wildest comebacks of the season, scoring all 33 of their points in the fourth quarter.
Wrapping up action Sunday, the 49ers’ defense showed no ill effect from losing Fred Warner to injury, as Christian McCaffrey did it all in a win over the Falcons.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and detailing everything else you need to know for every team. Let’s get to it.
Jump to: NYG-DEN | GB-ARI | WSH-DAL IND-LAC | CAR-NYJ | PHI-MIN NO-CHI | MIA-CLE | LV-KC NE-TEN | JAX-LAR | PIT-CIN | ATL-SF
Biggest hole in the game plan: The Falcons have been great on defense, but if they had one hole, it was against the run. Enter McCaffrey. The 49ers’ superstar running back had 97 yards and a TD rushing up the middle Sunday, his most yards up the middle while with San Francisco. The Falcons were hurt by the loss of linebacker Divine Deablo (forearm) in the first half. — Marc Raimondi
Wil Lutz drills 39-yard FG to seal Broncos’ comeback win
Wil Lutz kicks the winning field goal for the Broncos as time expires.
Most surprising performance: Cardinals tight end Trey McBride had the first two-touchdown game of his career Sunday. The scores gave him a career-high four receiving touchdowns this season. In 2024, McBride was one of six tight ends who led his team in receiving yards, which was only the second time in NFL history in which six or more tight ends led their teams in receiving, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. — Josh Weinfuss
Josh Jacobs scores his second rushing touchdown to put the Packers up 27-23.
Biggest hole in the game plan: A lot of teams can’t hang with Dallas’ receivers, but Washington traded for cornerback Marshon Lattimore last year, in part, to compete more with talent like this. But Lattimore was flagged for two pass interference penalties for a combined 55 yards, and he gave up a 44-yard pass to Pickens on a second-and-17 late in the first half. — John Keim
Most surprising performance: Wide receiver Alec Pierce. He had a great performance in the absence of Josh Downs (concussion), taking the lead receiving role despite the presence of Michael Pittman Jr. and tight end Tyler Warren. Pierce was clutch on contested throws, including a third-down 13-yard reception with 2:25 left that converted a first down and iced the win. — Stephen Holder
Trend to watch: Quarterback Justin Herbert has thrown an interception in four of the past five games, with a total of six interceptions over that span. He threw two interceptions Sunday, and many passes were nearly intercepted due to poor ball placement. At his best, Herbert is one of the league’s best quarterbacks — but his inconsistencies have hurt the Chargers. — Kris Rhim
Trend to watch: The first attempt at rotating running backs Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle for every series in Hubbard’s return was a mild success. But Dowdle, who had 473 scrimmage yards the past two weeks, still appeared to be the more dominant back. He had 79 rushing yards on 17 carries to Hubbard’s 31 yards on 14 carries. Stay tuned.
Dak Prescott links up with Jake Ferguson for Cowboys TD
Dak Prescott throws a dart to Jake Ferguson for a Cowboys touchdown vs. the Commanders.
Stat to know: Hurts’ 215 pass yards on throws of at least 20 yards downfield are his career high. A good chunk came on his 79-yard touchdown throw to Smith midway through the third quarter. It marked the longest reception of Smith’s career, surpassing a 63-yard catch which also came against Minnesota (2023, Week 2). He has five receptions of 50-plus yards in his career, and three have come against Minnesota. — Tim McManus
Jaycee Horn gets in front of a Jets receiver and comes down with the interception for the Panthers.
Most surprising performance: The Vikings were determined not to get beat by the Eagles’ rushing game, which netted only 55 yards on 21 carries. But their pass defense, which entered the game holding opponents to the NFL’s second-lowest QBR (46.8), couldn’t keep up. Brown and Smith combined for 310 receiving yards and three touchdowns for the Eagles, and Hurts finished with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. — Kevin Seifert
Trend to watch: Kicker Blake Grupe’s inconsistency. Grupe came into the game leading the NFL with 19 field goal attempts and ranked second in field goals made (14). But he has been inconsistent all season. A failed attempt against the Bears put his misses at six, and he has now missed at least one field goal in five games. With the Saints’ overall offensive struggles, they can’t afford to have kicking issues as well. — Katherine Terrell
Is this win fool’s gold or something to build on? In ending a three-game losing streak and stopping a trend of 11 straight games without exceeding 17 points, the Browns were able to beat one of the few teams that may be struggling more than they are. But Cleveland was able to run effectively against one of the worst rush defenses in the NFL and limit mistakes with zero turnovers, which is its formula for success. Next Sunday’s game should provide more clarity.
Stat to know: Running back Quinshon Judkins is the first Browns player with two rushing touchdowns in the first half of a game since Nick Chubb in Week 5 of 2022 against the Chargers. Judkins is the first Browns rookie with three scrimmage touchdowns in a game since Travis Prentice rushed for the same number on Oct. 8, 2000 at the Cardinals.
Best quote from the locker room: “One win is one thing, but we’ve got to turn this into a habit,” defensive end Myles Garrett said on the Browns, who haven’t won consecutive games since Week 17 of the 2023 season. — Daniel Oyefusi
DeVonta Smith catches longest pass of his career for 79-yard TD
DeVonta Smith gets open downfield and Jalen Hurts finds him for a 79-yard touchdown.
Best quote from the locker room: “There’s a lot of guys that will have an important work week,” McDaniel said. “I mean, if you are negatively affecting the football team routinely, I don’t have a choice but to assess a different player and I have to coach a lot better as well. So we’re going to find out who and what we’re made of.” — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Most surprising performance: Rookie receiver Chimere Dike had already established himself as a big-time player in the return game, as shown by his league-leading 732 return yards entering this week. But on offense, Dike had only nine receptions for 26 yards in six games. Dike eclipsed that number in the first half with four receptions for 70 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown.