The week-to-week nature of the NFL lends itself quite naturally to missing the forest for the trees. You see a team one week, notice something about it, watch that same team a week or so later and notice the same thing again. And then you just figure that thing to be true -- that it's part of what defines that team.
The NFC West sent three teams to the playoffs, with the Los Angeles Rams visiting the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers -- whom they lost to in Week 14 -- and the San Francisco 49ers visiting NFC East champions Philadelphia Eagles. The NFC North's Green Bay Packers and division champion Chicago Bears will face off in an intra-division showdown.
It was Week 7, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were taking on the Detroit Lions during "Monday Night Football" when it happened. Wide receiver Mike Evans, the franchise's all-time leading scorer, was lying motionless on the turf at Ford Field after a vicious collision with cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. Everyone knew it, and soon so did Evans when he regained consciousness and felt the searing impact of a fractured collarbone, his eyes welling with tears.
Hopefully I get to shadow JSN, Lenoir said Sunday night after a 42-38 win over the Bears. I'm ready for this. I hope he's ready. Man to man coverage. Me and him. That's what I want. It's what the Seahawks want as well, given Smith-Njigba's season which has him in the running to be the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year.
Two more NFL teams officially made the postseason during Week 17 of the 2025 NFL regular season, and three division titles were clinched. On Christmas Day, a loss for the Lions meant the Packers clinched a playoff spot. But Green Bay's loss to the Ravens on Saturday night allowed the Bears to secure the NFC North title. On Saturday afternoon, the Texans made the playoffs with a win over the Chargers, which also helped the Broncos clinch the AFC West title.
The NFL playoffs will begin Saturday, Jan. 10 with the first two wild-card round games. But before we get there, we still have to finalize the 14-team field and seedings. Heading into Week 18, there are two open spots (one in each conference), uncertainty for both the AFC and NFC 1-seeds, and a few division titles out there for the taking.
Derrick Henry rushed for a season-high 216 yards and matched a career high with four touchdown runs as the Baltimore Ravens kept their playoff hopes alive by defeating the Green Bay Packers 41-24 on Saturday night. Henry had three touchdown runs in the first half and then scored again on a 25-yard run with 1:56 left in the game. His seventh career 200-yard rushing performance moved him ahead of Adrian Peterson and OJ Simpson for the most in NFL history.
That meant they could be down a long list of starters in their next matchup with the Jets this week, or even longer, especially since three players were in concussion protocol. One of them was running back TreVeyon Henderson, who has become an integral part of their offensive success over the past month, and was seen at practice in a red non-contact jersey.
Things are getting real in the 2025 NFL season. Playoff races are heating up with two weeks left, teams are starting to think about the future, and fantasy league championships are upon us. So with all that in mind, insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have been calling sources around the NFL for the latest news and buzz on key situations heading into Week 17.
Eight more NFL teams punched their ticket into the postseason during Week 16 of the 2025 NFL regular season, which is the most in a single week through a non-strike season in league history, per ESPN Research. That means 10 of 14 teams have qualified for the playoffs with two weeks to go. The Seahawks got in after beating the Rams on Thursday night, while the Eagles made it with a victory on Saturday.
Brock Purdy delivered a masterclass - and a sign of his growing maturity in high pressure situations - as the San Francisco 49ers cruised past the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football. Purdy finished 25-of-34 for 295 yards with five touchdowns and an interception as the Niners won 48-27 at Lucas Oil Stadium to improve to 11-4 for the season.
Seven weeks ago, the Jaguars were still that team: loose, entertaining, unreliable. The kind that could light up a quarter and then spend the next three undoing it. Now, they're a wagon. After beating the Broncos on Sunday, the Jaguars have ripped off six straight wins. They've won 11 regular-season games for the first time since 2007. And with two winnable games to close the season, they have a solid path to the No 1 seed, with the AFC potentially running through Jacksonville. It's some turnaround.
With two weeks -- plus one exciting Week 16 "Monday Night Football" game -- left in the season, there are still seven playoff spots (five in the AFC, two in the NFC) and seven division titles there for the taking.
