NFL NationDec 21, 2025, 04:05 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.
play1:08Bears stun Packers in OT to grab NFC North leadChicago erases a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Packers in overtime and jump into first place in the NFC North.
play0:27Saquon Barkley stays on his feet for an Eagles TDSaquon Barkley powers into the end zone to pad the Eagles’ lead vs. the Commanders.
Chase Brown spins and dives for Bengals TD (0:18)Joe Burrow finds Chase Brown who fights his way into the endzone for a Bengals TD. (0:18)
Bears stun Packers in OT to grab NFC North leadChicago erases a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Packers in overtime and jump into first place in the NFC North.
Chicago erases a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Packers in overtime and jump into first place in the NFC North.
Saquon Barkley stays on his feet for an Eagles TDSaquon Barkley powers into the end zone to pad the Eagles’ lead vs. the Commanders.
Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season began with a Thursday night contest between the Rams and Seahawks that had major playoff implications. Seattle converted two 2-point conversions in an overtime win, ascending to the NFC’s No. 1 seed before the final two weeks of the season.
In the first game Saturday, the Eagles started slowly, then poured it on against the Commanders to win their second straight NFC East crown. Saturday’s nightcap featured one of the best comebacks of the season, as the Bears pulled out an OT win over the Packers, who suffered the loss of QB Jordan Love to a concussion.
In the early window Sunday, the Bengals bounced back from back-to-back losses with a dominant win over the Dolphins. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow threw four touchdown passes on 309 yards in the victory.
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: Cincinnati defensive end Myles Murphy continues his strong close to the season. The 2023 first-round pick had a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery against Miami. With defensive end Trey Hendrickson on IR (hip/pelvis), Murphy has received ample playing time. And he has made the most of it, playing with a lot of confidence as he approaches the end of his third NFL season. — Ben Baby
Most surprising performance: Miami’s defense was thoroughly beaten by quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals. Granted, Cincinnati benefited from short field position during its 21-0 run in the third quarter. But without safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, the Dolphins couldn’t contain Burrow and allowed a season highs in points and passing yards (309). To their credit, Sunday marked the first time that the Dolphins’ allowed a 300-yard passer this season. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Most surprising performance: Without receivers Rome Odunze (foot) and Luther Burden III (ankle), Walker was given an opportunity and proved how important it is to stay ready. Walker’s first career catch went for a first down, and it was his touchdown late in the fourth quarter that forced overtime. Walker is the only rookie undrafted free agent on the Bears’ 53-man roster. His performance highlights how vital the Bears’ depth is on offense.
Troubling trend: The Bears were their own worst enemy at times with 10 penalties for 105 yards. It was the first time since 2000 that the Bears had two roughing-the-passer penalties and two unnecessary roughness penalties in the same game, according to ESPN Research. Late in the fourth, Jaquan Brisker dove onto Malik Willis after the quarterback slid, giving the Packers 15 yards to move into Chicago territory for a field goal that made it 16-6 with 5:03 left. — Courtney Cronin
Turning point: Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean intercepted Josh Johnson’s pass late in the third quarter, setting up a Barkley touchdown run that pushed the lead to double digits. Johnson entered the game in the second half for an injured Marcus Mariota and made a critical miscue when he threw across the field on third-and-long. DeJean swooped in for the interception, and the Eagles reached the end zone seven plays later.
Stat to know: Dallas Goedert’s third-quarter score was his 10th receiving TD of the season, tying Pete Retzlaff (1965) for the most by a tight end in Eagles history. Goedert, who is scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the season, had never had more than five receiving TDs in a season. — Tim McManus
Saquon Barkley powers into the end zone to pad the Eagles’ lead vs. the Commanders.
QB performance: Washington couldn’t muster any offense once Mariota exited, with the result still in doubt. Josh Johnson, who hasn’t played since August, threw an interception that changed the game, passing across the field off his back foot with no zip. In his first three series, Washington gained one first down. If Mariota can’t play on a short week, Washington will need to either elevate Sam Bradford off the practice squad or sign another quarterback — or both. — John Keim
Best quote from the locker room: In addition to a lousy day by their defense, the Seahawks overcame two interceptions by Sam Darnold, who then threw a pair of touchdown passes late in the win. “Just shows a true competitor,” Jaxon Smith-Njigba said of the quarterback. “A lot of guys would get down on themselves and give up, lay down, but that’s not what we do, that’s not what he is. That goes around to the whole team. Excited to have a leader in Sam.” — Brady Henderson
Trend to watch: Puka Nacua has 573 receiving yards in his past three games. It’s the most in a three-game span since Josh Gordon had 649 for the Browns in 2013. With Davante Adams injured, Matthew Stafford relied even more on Nacua, whose 225 receiving yards are the most by a Rams player since Isaac Bruce in 1997. — Sarah Barshop
How did rookie Quinn Ewers look in his first NFL start? He was efficient in the first half, completing 10 of 12 passes for 109 yards. His play didn’t jump off the stat sheet, but he was calm and composed. Ewers took a few risks in the second half and was intercepted on a pair of impressive plays by the Bengals’ defensive backs — but it never looked like the game was too big for him. Obviously, there have been better games by rookie quarterbacks, but Miami’s signal-callers outside of Tua Tagovailoa have largely struggled in coach Mike McDaniel’s system. Ewers’ day was far from the worst performance we’ve seen here. He should get another start next week.
What did the Bears prove with the win? If the Bears have proven one thing this season, it’s that they’re a resilient group. The Bears have six wins after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, the most such wins in a season since the 1970 merger. Saturday’s win gives them a 96% chance to make the postseason for the first time in five years. Josh Blackwell recovered an onside kick after the Bears made it a one-score affair ahead of the two-minute warning, and that gave Chicago one last opportunity for its offense to come alive after a stagnant three quarters. Undrafted rookie Jahdae Walker came through in the biggest moment of the game with a late touchdown to send the game into overtime, and that’s where Caleb Williams finished it with a 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore.
How deflating was this loss for the Packers? Not only did the Packers lose a game they controlled until the final minutes of the fourth quarter, they don’t know if they’ll have starting quarterback Jordan Love for the all-important final two games of the regular season. Love left in the first half because of a concussion, and his status going forward is unknown. While Willis filled in admirably for Love — until a fumbled snap in overtime — it wasn’t enough as the Packers melted down in the late stages of the fourth quarter. At 9-5-1, the Packers trail the Bears (11-4) in the NFC North, and the season series ends in a split.
Turning point: If Warren Brinson got a clean sack on Williams with 3:11 left in regulation, the game might have been over. It was third-and-20 from the Packers’ 46-yard line when the rookie defensive lineman sacked Williams. But he grabbed the quarterback’s facemask and the ensuing penalty gave the Bears a fresh set of downs, which led to a field goal that cut the Packers’ lead to 16-9 with 1:59 to play. The Bears then recovered the ensuing onside kick and scored a tying touchdown to force overtime, where they finished the game.
Most surprising performance: Only six teams were better at scoring touchdowns from inside the red zone than the Packers entering Week 16. Their touchdown percentage inside the 20 was at 64.7%. Yet they failed on all five trips inside the Bears’ 20-yard line Saturday. The first four of them were inside the Bears’ 9-yard line. The Packers managed a pair of field goals sandwiched around a turnover on downs on a failed fourth-and-1 from the Bears’ 7 and Josh Jacobs’ fumble on first-and-goal from the 4. — Rob Demovsky
What are the playoff implications of the Seahawks’ win? They secured their postseason berth. Now, it’s a matter of whether they can hang on to their one-game lead in the NFC West and the conference’s No. 1 seed, which they’d be assured of by winning their final two games at Carolina and San Francisco. The first NFC team to 12 wins, Seattle still has to hold off the Rams and 49ers to win the division. Los Angeles finishes with winnable games against the Falcons and Cardinals, and the 49ers already have one win over Seattle. This could come down to the season finale at Levi’s Stadium.
What does the loss to the Seahawks mean for the Rams’ NFC West chances? The Rams entered the game with a 62% chance to win the NFC West, but those odds dropped to 25% after the OT loss (independent of other games), according to ESPN Analytics. The 10-4 Rams fell to the No. 5 seed in the NFC, and they could drop to No. 6 if the 49ers win Monday night. The Rams had a win probability of 97% in the fourth quarter, and had they won, ESPN Analytics would have given them a 91% chance to win the NFC West. Instead, the Rams no longer control their own destiny in the division race.