NFL NationDec 7, 2025, 05:25 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.
play0:25Christian Benford’s 63-yard pick-6 gives the Bills a late leadJoe Burrow is picked off by Christian Benford, who takes it to the house for a touchdown.
play0:34Saints capitalize on Mayfield INT with a Shough TDAlontae Taylor picks off Baker Mayfield’s pass, which later leads to Tyler Shough breaking off for a 34-yard Saints rushing touchdown vs. the Buccaneers.
play0:25Trevor Lawrence evades pressure, throws TD pass to Tim PatrickTrevor Lawrence finds Tim Patrick for a touchdown to extend the Jaguars’ lead vs. the Colts.
play0:19Jaylen Wright finds the end zone for the DolphinsJaylen Wright powers up the middle for a touchdown to extend the Dolphins’ lead.
play0:56Rashid Shaheed returns kickoff 100 yards for TDRashid Shaheed avoids several tackles and takes it 100 yards for a Seahawks touchdown.
play0:19J.J. McCarthy hits a wide-open Josh Oliver for 2nd TD connection of gameJ.J. McCarthy scans the field and finds a wide-open Josh Oliver to give the Vikings a 24-0 lead.
Christian Benford’s 63-yard pick-6 gives the Bills a late leadJoe Burrow is picked off by Christian Benford, who takes it to the house for a touchdown.
Saints capitalize on Mayfield INT with a Shough TDAlontae Taylor picks off Baker Mayfield’s pass, which later leads to Tyler Shough breaking off for a 34-yard Saints rushing touchdown vs. the Buccaneers.
Alontae Taylor picks off Baker Mayfield’s pass, which later leads to Tyler Shough breaking off for a 34-yard Saints rushing touchdown vs. the Buccaneers.
Trevor Lawrence evades pressure, throws TD pass to Tim PatrickTrevor Lawrence finds Tim Patrick for a touchdown to extend the Jaguars’ lead vs. the Colts.
Jaylen Wright finds the end zone for the DolphinsJaylen Wright powers up the middle for a touchdown to extend the Dolphins’ lead.
Rashid Shaheed returns kickoff 100 yards for TDRashid Shaheed avoids several tackles and takes it 100 yards for a Seahawks touchdown.
J.J. McCarthy hits a wide-open Josh Oliver for 2nd TD connection of gameJ.J. McCarthy scans the field and finds a wide-open Josh Oliver to give the Vikings a 24-0 lead.
Steelers sack Lamar on final play to secure AFC North-leading win over Ravens (0:24)Steelers sack Lamar on final play to secure AFC North-leading win over Ravens (0:24)
Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season began with an offensive shootout between the Cowboys and Lions. Detroit ended Thursday night on top, led by three touchdowns from running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
In the early window Sunday, multiple starting quarterbacks exited early due to injuries. Indianapolis quarterback Daniel Jones left the team’s loss to the Jaguars in the first quarter with an Achilles injury, while Washington’s Jayden Daniels exited in the third quarter of a shutout loss to the Vikings with an elbow injury.
Down in Atlanta, the Seahawks kept the Falcons out of the end zone in a dominant win. The Dolphins easily handled the Jets, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, while the Saints stunned the Bucs. In Buffalo, the Bills made big defensive plays in the fourth quarter to come back against the Bengals. And the Steelers took sole possession of the AFC North lead with a close win over the Ravens.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and detailing everything you need to know for every team. Let’s get to it.
Trend to watch: Giving up big pass plays. The Ravens allowed Rodgers to go 4-of-4 on throws that went at least 20 yards in the air. Baltimore entered Sunday’s division matchup by holding teams to a 26.9% completion rate on such throws, which ranked sixth in the NFL. Now the Ravens face strong-armed QBs Joe Burrow, Drake Maye and Jordan Love over the next three weeks. — Jamison Hensley
Trend to watch: James Cook’s fumbling woes. Cook had two fumbles on the day, and the one he lost was critical, as the ball fell out of his hands as he approached the end zone. A score would have given the Bills their first lead of the day. The fourth-year back now has six fumbles on the season and three lost, a career high. — Alaina Getzenberg
Christian Benford’s 63-yard pick-6 gives the Bills a late lead
Joe Burrow is picked off by Christian Benford, who takes it to the house for a touchdown.
Did the Bengals ruin their playoff chances? It might be a wrap. Cincinnati needed to win out in order to have a shot at winning the AFC North. But a disastrous sequence in the fourth quarter — a Josh Allen rushing TD and back-to-back interceptions by Joe Burrow — foiled Cincinnati’s hopes of a hot streak to finish the year. And the Bengals will lament their missed chances, especially considering how the team looked last week against the Ravens and for the majority of Sunday’s loss.
What to make of the QB performance: Burrow made some spectacular plays that put the Bengals in a position to win. But he’ll surely want one throw back — the swing pass that wasn’t lofted high enough and led to a pick-six by Benford. His next pass was a batted ball that was also picked off. It spoiled what started off as a great performance for Burrow in his second game back from injury. — Ben Baby
Trend to watch: Protection issues have been a constant factor for the past three games — a combination of a rookie quarterback and an offensive line that is missing right tackle Taliese Fuaga and center Erik McCoy. The Saints have now allowed 12 sacks in the past three games and gave up three sacks against Tampa Bay. — Katherine Terrell
Turning point: The Bucs went for it on fourth-and-2 from New Orleans’ 46-yard line with the game tied at 17 with 12:56 to go. Quarterback Baker Mayfield found wide receiver Chris Godwin Jr. on an out route, but officials ruled he was out of bounds, resulting in a turnover on downs. Nine plays later, defensive end Logan Hall dove and missed a tackle a Shough, who found the end zone on a 13-yard scramble to grab a 24-17 lead with 8:34 to go. — Jenna Laine
Most surprising performance: Wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. had issues with drops early in the season (and an ankle injury), but he has been solid since he returned two weeks ago. Against the Colts, he had three catches for 87 yards, with Lawrence taking downfield shots when Thomas had one-on-one coverage. The Jaguars needed Thomas to step up with Parker Washington inactive (hip), and he did, notching his first game with multiple 30-plus-yard catches. — Mike DiRocco
Trevor Lawrence evades pressure, throws TD pass to Tim Patrick
Trevor Lawrence finds Tim Patrick for a touchdown to extend the Jaguars’ lead vs. the Colts.
Trend to watch: The Colts have now lost 11 straight road games to the Jaguars, a streak dating back to 2015, when Matt Hasselbeck was starting at quarterback in place of Andrew Luck. The Colts have lost in every possible way in Jacksonville (and one “road” game in London), including a 6-0 loss in 2018 and a 51-16 defeat in 2015 that started the streak. — Stephen Holder
Trend to watch: For a career-high fourth straight game, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished with less than 200 passing yards. Granted, he didn’t need to do much through the air after Miami opened a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, but as opposing defenses key in on the run, the Dolphins need to be able to throw the ball effectively. Wright and Tagovailoa will have to spend time getting on the same page in the passing game after failing to connect against the Jets. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Jaylen Wright powers up the middle for a touchdown to extend the Dolphins’ lead.
Biggest hole in the game plan: The Jets, who started three rookies on defense, were completely fooled by the Dolphins’ pre-snap motion and misdirection. Result: Gaping holes in the defense and wide-open receivers. The Jets allowed touchdowns on the first three series, surrendering 153 rushing yards in the first half. This was a big step backward for a unit that displayed modest signs of improvement in recent weeks. — Rich Cimini
Rashid Shaheed avoids several tackles and takes it 100 yards for a Seahawks touchdown.
Trend to watch: For the second straight week, the special teams play was a disaster. Zane Gonzalez had a field goal attempt blocked, and the Seahawks’ Rashid Shaheed returned the kickoff to open the second half for a touchdown, breaking a 6-6 tie. Last week, it was a long return and a muffed punt that led to scores for the Jets in a three-point loss. — Marc Raimondi
J.J. McCarthy hits a wide-open Josh Oliver for 2nd TD connection of game
J.J. McCarthy scans the field and finds a wide-open Josh Oliver to give the Vikings a 24-0 lead.
Biggest hole in the game plan: The Commanders’ pass coverage was horrendous and allowed McCarthy to gain momentum early. The Vikings quarterback has had more issues versus man coverage but faced heavy zone from the Commanders — mostly out of necessity without enough good man corners. That allowed for a lot of open targets, especially since Washington’s pass rush couldn’t threaten him. They allowed three touchdown passes to McCarthy and a 98-yard touchdown drive. — John Keim
How can the Lions end the regular season strong? Once again, the Lions took care of business after their Thanksgiving loss to Green Bay. Detroit has now won 15 consecutive games following a loss, but Dallas did get within three points in the fourth quarter before Detroit pulled away with its strong rushing attack. Running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for four rushing touchdowns, and success on the ground could prove to be a major key entering this final stretch.
Stat to know: Gibbs has scored 47 career touchdowns, tying Hall of Famer Barry Sanders for the most touchdowns in a player’s first three NFL seasons. Gibbs delivered a hat trick against Dallas. He now has three games this season with three touchdowns, the most by a Lions player since Cloyce Box in 1952, per ESPN Research. — Eric Woodyard