NFL NationDec 14, 2025, 05:40 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.
play0:27Trevor Lawrence throws career-high 5th TDTrevor Lawrence has his first five touchdown game with a 45-yard pass to Travis Etienne Jr.
play0:35Williams capitalizes on Shedeur’s INT with TD pass to MooreShedeur Sanders’ pass is deflected and picked off, leading to Caleb Williams throwing a nice touchdown pass to DJ Moore.
play0:27C.J. Stroud finds Nico Collins for his 2nd TDC.J. Stroud connects with Nico Collins in the back of the end zone to extend the Texans’ lead.
play0:26Jacory Croskey-Merritt bursts through for a TDJacory Croskey-Merritt scores a 16-yard touchdown to give the Commanders a 10-0 lead over the Giants.
play0:19James Cook’s 3rd TD put Bills back on topJames Cook takes the handoff and finds the end zone to give the Bills a late lead.
play0:47Joe Burrow throws a pick-6Kyle Van Noy picks off Joe Burrow and passes the ball back to Alohi Gilman, who returns it for a touchdown.
play0:23Dallas Goedert high steps in for his 2nd TDJalen Hurts hits Dallas Goedert with a shovel pass to extend the Eagles’ lead.
Derwin James Jr. ends Chiefs’ playoff hopes with an INT (0:29)Gardner Minshew is picked off by Derwin James Jr. to seal the Chargers’ win over the Chiefs. (0:29)
Trevor Lawrence throws career-high 5th TDTrevor Lawrence has his first five touchdown game with a 45-yard pass to Travis Etienne Jr.
Williams capitalizes on Shedeur’s INT with TD pass to MooreShedeur Sanders’ pass is deflected and picked off, leading to Caleb Williams throwing a nice touchdown pass to DJ Moore.
Shedeur Sanders’ pass is deflected and picked off, leading to Caleb Williams throwing a nice touchdown pass to DJ Moore.
C.J. Stroud finds Nico Collins for his 2nd TDC.J. Stroud connects with Nico Collins in the back of the end zone to extend the Texans’ lead.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt bursts through for a TDJacory Croskey-Merritt scores a 16-yard touchdown to give the Commanders a 10-0 lead over the Giants.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scores a 16-yard touchdown to give the Commanders a 10-0 lead over the Giants.
James Cook’s 3rd TD put Bills back on topJames Cook takes the handoff and finds the end zone to give the Bills a late lead.
Joe Burrow throws a pick-6Kyle Van Noy picks off Joe Burrow and passes the ball back to Alohi Gilman, who returns it for a touchdown.
Kyle Van Noy picks off Joe Burrow and passes the ball back to Alohi Gilman, who returns it for a touchdown.
Dallas Goedert high steps in for his 2nd TDJalen Hurts hits Dallas Goedert with a shovel pass to extend the Eagles’ lead.
Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season began with an NFC South game between the Falcons and Buccaneers on Thursday night. Led by three touchdowns from tight end Kyle Pitts Sr., the Falcons won thanks to a field goal from kicker Zane Gonzalez as time expired.
In the AFC East, the Bills denied the Patriots a chance to clinch the division title. And in the NFC East, the Commanders ended an eight-game losing streak with a win against the Giants. The Texans and Jaguars also scored 40-plus points in dominant victories. Meanwhile, the Bears easily handled the Browns, marking the team’s first 10-win season since 2018.
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: Sunday was Justin Herbert’s fourth straight game with an interception, his longest such streak since 2022. He continues to be uncharacteristically careless with the football this season. After throwing the fewest interceptions in the NFL last season, he has already thrown 12, which is the second-highest total of his career. As the Chargers look to win the AFC West and jockey for better seeding, his turnovers could be an issue. — Kris Rhim
Trevor Lawrence has his first five touchdown game with a 45-yard pass to Travis Etienne Jr.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Another awful performance by the defense, raising the heat on embattled defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. The Jets had no answers for Lawrence, who threw four touchdowns with linebacker Quincy Williams as the nearest defender. This was the most points allowed by the Jets since 2021. Adding insult to insult, they went interception-less for the 14th straight game, tying an NFL mark for futility. — Rich Cimini
Most surprising performance: It wasn’t hard to predict a bounce-back performance by wide receiver DJ Moore one week after he logged one catch for minus-4 yards. Moore and Williams connected for two scores, sparking Chicago’s aerial attack against the league’s No. 1 pass defense. When Williams and Moore are on the same page, special plays like their third quarter scramble-drill touchdown can happen. This offense is better when these two are clicking.
Best quote from the locker room: “I would say 99% of the quarterbacks, you tell them don’t even waste your time looking back there and trying to make that throw,” coach Ben Johnson said of Williams’ second touchdown to Moore. “There’s usually bad things that happen, and yet he’s got the ability to make that throw and DJ made a heck of a play there right on the back line as well. That was one of those highlight moments there.” — Courtney Cronin
Williams capitalizes on Shedeur’s INT with TD pass to Moore
Stat to know: Defensive end Myles Garrett recorded 1.5 sacks against the Bears, increasing his season total to 21.5. He is one sack away from tying the NFL’s single-season record shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. — Daniel Oyefusi
Most surprising performance: Sunday’s game marked the first in which Jordan received a carry in his two-year pro career. The 26-year-old, who was a sixth-round pick out of Louisville in 2024, has been cut multiple times by the Texans and placed on the practice squad. Despite the adversity he has faced, Jordan stepped up and became the Texans’ first 100-yard rusher of the season. — DJ Bien-Aime
C.J. Stroud connects with Nico Collins in the back of the end zone to extend the Texans’ lead.
Most surprising performance: Washington had an all-around strong day on special teams, a big key in its victory. Returner Jaylin Lane returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown, kicker Jake Moody made all three field goals and punter Tress Way averaged 45.8 yards on four punts (three landed inside the 20-yard line). The lone blemish: Moody missed an extra point. — John Keim
Stat to know: Rookie outside linebacker Abdul Carter came into the contest with more benchings (two) than tackles for loss (one) over the first 13 games of the season. He had three tackles for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles against the Commanders. — Jordan Raanan
Stat to know: With the four rushing touchdowns allowed against the Patriots, the Bills have given up 23 this season. That’s the most in a season under coach Sean McDermott (hired in 2017) with three games still to go, per ESPN Research. — Alaina Getzenberg
James Cook takes the handoff and finds the end zone to give the Bills a late lead.
Stat to know: Henderson’s 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and his 65-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter were the Patriots’ third and fourth rushing touchdowns of 50-plus yards this season. They had two such touchdowns over the previous 15 seasons, according to ESPN Research. — Mike Reiss
Stat to know: Gilman’s 84-yard touchdown off an interception was the Ravens’ longest defensive score since 2019. Baltimore preserved its shutout when outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy picked off Joe Burrow and then handed the ball to Gilman, who raced to the end zone. This was Baltimore’s first touchdown off an interception since last season’s finale. — Jamison Hensley
What to make of the QB performance: Burrow didn’t get a lot of help. Cincinnati’s receivers took turns being unable to make catches in critical spots. The offensive line had considerable issues, a problem made worse when right tackle Amarius Mims left the game in the fourth quarter with a right knee injury. However, Burrow didn’t have his best showing either. He was 25-of-39 passing for 225 yards and two interceptions, including a pick-six thrown under pressure. — Ben Baby
Most surprising performance: Brandon Graham, who came out of retirement earlier this season, led the team with two sacks against Las Vegas. At 37 years, 255 days old, he is the oldest player in Eagles history to record a sack. — Tim McManus
Jalen Hurts hits Dallas Goedert with a shovel pass to extend the Eagles’ lead.
What to make of the QB performance: Carroll said this week that health will be the main factor when determining whether Geno Smith remains the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. And that should still be the case. Pickett started in place of Smith, who was out with a shoulder/back injury, and didn’t add much of a spark despite being more mobile in the pocket. Pickett completed 15 of 25 passes for 64 yards and an interception. — Ryan McFadden
Trend to watch: Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. had two sacks, extending his streak of at least one sack to six games. That’s tied for the second-longest streak for a rookie since sacks became official in 1982, per ESPN Research. Pearce already owns the rookie franchise record for most in a season since 1982. — Marc Raimondi
Are the Chargers Super Bowl contenders? The Chargers are riding a three-game winning streak, capped by back-to-back victories over last season’s Super Bowl teams, the Eagles and Chiefs. With injuries decimating the offense, the Chargers have leaned on their defense, which sealed Sunday’s win with a late interception, just as it did a week ago. This time, it was safety Derwin James Jr. who picked off Chiefs backup quarterback Gardner Minshew. If the defense continues to play at this level, the Chargers have a legitimate chance to make a run at the title.