Sunday Night Football this week is a battle between two of the top teams in the NFC: the 11-4 Chicago Bears versus the also 11-4 49ers. The NFC’s No. 1 seed could be at stake. Kickoff is at 8:20 p.m. EST on NBC.
As always, who are you rooting for? What are you watching for? And who do have in fantasy football?
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday setting up a winner-take-all matchup in Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens for the AFCNorth division championship. The winner is in the playoffs, the loser goes home.
It has an excellent chance of being the final game of the 2025 regular season on Sunday Night Football.
As of right now, the fourth seed would play the Houston Texans.
AFC North Standings
The Steelers could have clinched with a Ravens loss on Saturday or a Steelers win on Sunday. Niether of those happened.
In the AFC tiebreakers, Denver holds the better record in common games over the Patriots.
In the wild card tiebreaker, the Texans hold the edge with wins over both the Chargers and Bills. Then the Chargers take the record vs common opponents tiebreaker over Buffalo, with five wins to three.
1. Denver Broncos (13-3) 2. New England Patriots (13-3) 3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4) 4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) 5. Houston Texans (11-5) 6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5) 7. Buffalo Bills (11-5) 9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
The Indianapolis Colts are currently eighth in the playoff race but were eliminated when the Houston Texans won on Saturday night. The only playoff spot still up for grabs is the AFC North division winner.
Be sure to bookmark Behind the Steel Curtain for all the latest news, breakdowns, and more!
The Baltimore Ravens beat the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night despite missing Lamar Jackson. It means Baltimore stayed alive in the AFC postseason race for at least one more day. With the Pittsburgh Steelers loss on Sunday, the Ravens have set up a Week 18 winner-take-all game for the AFC North.
AFC North standings
The Steelers lost to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon when they could have secured the division championship with a win. We are on to Week 18.
Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
Baltimore Ravens 8-8
Cincinnati Bengals 6-10
Cleveland Browns 4-12
Updated AFC playoff picture
In the AFC tiebreakers, Denver holds the better record in common games over the Patriots.
In the wild card tiebreaker, the Texans hold the edge with wins over both the Chargers and Bills. Then the Chargers take the record vs common opponents tiebreaker over Buffalo, with five wins to three.
1. Denver Broncos (13-3) 2. New England Patriots (13-3) 3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4) 4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) 5. Houston Texans (11-5) 6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5) 7. Buffalo Bills (11-5) 9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
The Indianapolis Colts are currently eighth in the playoff race but were eliminated when the Houston Texans won on Saturday night. The only playoff spot still up for grabs is the AFC North division winner.
In a rainy affair, the Bills (11-5) did more of the same against the Eagles (11-5). Buffalo crawled and willed their way back into the game after trailing 13-0.
With that same score on the board heading into the fourth quarter, the Bills and quarterback Josh Allen willed their back, bringing the score to 13-12 in the final seconds. In the end, the chips did not fall their way in a defeat.
With that, here are Bills Wire’s takeaways from the Bills’ loss to the Eagles:
Starts still stale
It was not back-to-back touchdown efforts by the Eagles to start the game. Just one and two field goals.
However, the Bills did start this outing with 13-straight points allowed. It’s not as poor of a start to a game as recent weeks. Buffalo could still start a contest better… especially before the postseason.
Allen’s magic falls short
In the end, the usual magic from Bills quarterback Josh Allen was not there.
Not only did Buffalo’s two-point attempt fail at the end of this via a poor pass from Allen, the QB was stopped at the goal line earlier on in the second half on a fourth-down attempt.
Cook bottled up
Despite Bills running back James Cook putting up 74 rushing yards… the Eagles mostly bottled him him. Cook averaged 3.7 yards per carry and in the comeback effort, it all clearly fell on Allen’s shoulders and his injured foot.
Defense continues turnarounds
While the Bills did allow points early, the trend of tightening things up defensively continued in a big way.
The outcome
The Bills and the AFC East are no more. Buffalo’s streak of divisional titles will end of five-straight. The New England Patriots (13-3) will take that honor home in 2026.
New York Giants quarterback Jaxon Dart (6) celebrates in the endzone after scoring a touchdown during a NFL game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Giants, Sunday December 28, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nev.
LAS VEGAS — If you were among the announced crowd of 62,201 at Allegiant Stadium Sunday, you received a rally towel inscribed “Just Win Baby.”
Problem was, who were the fans that received the towels supposed to root for to win?
The 2-13 Raiders and the 2-13 New York Giants are vying for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. To get there, one of them needed to lose this game, then lose the next week in order to have the worst record in the league.
If you were a fan of either team, you were hoping they’d find a way to deliver and come up short. For the fans, it’s about the future, not the present.
Welcome to the “Tank Bowl,” which the Raiders won by losing 34-10. Las Vegas, which has dropped 10 straight games, still has one hurdle left to stumble over, that being next Sunday at home against Patrick Mahomes-less Kansas City. Lose to the Chiefs and the Raiders will own the first pick and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza can start house-hunting in Henderson. I’m sure he can find something in the Seven Hills neighborhood near the Raiders’ headquarters.
“We haven’t found a way to win,” a dejected Pete Carroll said afterwards. “I had no place in my mind to see this.”
The Raiders tried to do their part prior to kickoff, putting Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers, their two best players, on ice for the remainder of the season, while also sitting safety Jeremy Chinn. The Giants also sat some of their regulars as well, including a couple of starting offensive linemen.
That left it up to those who did suit up to show they weren’t tanking. That includes the coaches, Carroll and Mike Kafka, both of whose futures remain uncertain.
“All those guys were hurt,” Carroll said. “We tried to pick it up for Max. Everyone tried. We knew we’d be different. We also knew there’d be a void there. There’s not much we can do to re-create that football player.
“Maxx was heartbroken he couldn’t play. I don’t blame him one bit for being upset. It breaks my heart that he can’t finish the season (on the field).”
So with the league office carefully observing every snap, the NFL’s two worst teams went at it. And with Raider fans cheering on the Giants and Giants fans pulling for the Raiders, it created as weird an atmosphere at a sporting event as you’ll ever see.
As for the players, they ignored it. After all, guys are playing for their futures and no team is going to want to keep someone who was accused of not trying and giving 100 percent.
Certainly the Giants weren’t taking a dive. Particularly their rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart, who played as if this were a playoff game and performed admirably in victory. Dart threw for 207 yards and ran for a pair of scores — a 12-yard touchdown in the second quarter and a 2-yard run in the fourth. It certainly didn’t hurt Dart in not having to deal with Crosby.
And after Tyler Lockett scored late in the third quarter, the special teams responded as Deonte Banks took the kickoff back 95 yards for a TD to answer the Lockett score.
As for his Raiders counterpart, Geno Smith had a typical performance, some good, some bad and not enough positive plays when he needed to make them. He was booed when introduced with the other offensive starters and he would finish with 176 yards, two interceptions and a TD on 20-of-28 passing before he got clobbered after throwing his second interception early in the fourth quarter and was helped off the field with an injured ankle. Kenny Pickett finished up as Smith went to the Raiders’ locker room.
Carroll said after the game that Smith has a high-ankle sprain. It’s possible we’ve seen the last of Geno in a Raiders uniform. And if that’s the case, it will be hailed as an epic failure on Carroll’s part believing he could turn back the clock to when his quarterback was successful while both were in Seattle. He is the NFL’s leader in interceptions thrown with 17 and quarterback sacks taken with 55.
So with things remaining in disarray, the Raiders get one last chance to try and cleanse themselves of the stench of losing. And while there’e no Mahomes to deal with, there’s still the Chiefs’ winning pedigree, a defense run by Steve Spagnulo which will be looking to make life difficult for whoever is playing quarterback for Las Vegas and a fan base that will be pulling for the visitors to do to the Raiders what the Giants did on Sunday.
As for Carroll, his fate may very well be sealed at this point. But he believes he still has ownership’s support.
Does he? We still haven’t heard a word from general manager John Spytek. Owner Mark Davis has been quiet as well. And the only talking Tom Brady is doing is on Fox’s NFL games that he works.
We’ll likely get some clarity on everything in a week when this disastrous season reaches its conclusion. In the meantime, we’re about to see the unimaginable happen, that being Raider Nation joining the Chiefs Kingdom for a day inside Allegiant Stadium next Sunday. But maybe pass on handing out those “Just Win Baby” towels.
The Los Angeles Chargers lost on Saturday to the Houston Texans and several outcomes cascaded. The Chargers can no longer win the AFC West and the Denver Broncos clinched the division in the biggest one. Secondly, the Chargers fell from fifth to seventh in the playoff race. They still have a playoff spot clinched.
Los Angeles moved back up to sixth on Sunday when the Bills lost to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Current AFC standings
In the AFC tiebreakers, Denver holds the better record in common games over the Patriots.
In the wild card tiebreaker, the Texans hold the edge with wins over both the Chargers and Bills. Then the Chargers take the record vs common opponents tiebreaker over Buffalo, with five wins to three.
1. Denver Broncos (13-3) 2. New England Patriots (13-3) 3. Jacksonville Jaguars (12-4) 4. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7) 5. Houston Texans (11-5) 6. Los Angeles Chargers (11-5) 7. Buffalo Bills (11-5) 9. Baltimore Ravens (8-8)
The Indianapolis Colts are currently eighth in the playoff race but were eliminated when the Houston Texans won on Saturday night. The only playoff spot still up for grabs is the AFC North division winner.
The Philadelphia Eagles are 11-5 after beating the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on Sunday evening. Final score: 13 to 12.
It was the narrowest of wins for the Eagles, who were in position to blow a 13 to 0 lead with Buffalo opting to go for a two-point conversion after their touchdown with five seconds remaining in regulation. The Birds greatly benefited from Josh Allen missing a wide open target in the end zone to hang on for the win.
The Eagles’ defense, which mostly played a pretty awesome game, deserved that break. They came up with a takeaway and forced six punts while going up against one of the best quarterbacks and offenses in the NFL. Jalen Carter also came up with a huge blocked extra point right after the Bills’ first touchdown.
The Eagles’ offense did NOT deserve that break. They absolutely stunk in the second half, running 18 plays for just 16 yards for five punts against a Bills defense that ranks 25th in DVOA. Nick Sirianni’s all too conservative approach almost cost the Eagles a win in this spot. It’s been a common theme this season and it’s a very big concern entering the playoffs.
Speaking of the postseason, though, the Eagles are still currently alive for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture with this win. Now they need the San Francisco 49ers to beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday night to remain in the running for that No. 2 spot entering the final week of the regular season. If the Bears pull off the upset, the Eagles are locked into the No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed in the Wild Card round.
Next up for the Eagles: a Week 18 home game against the Washington Commanders. It remains to be seen if the Eagles will be resting starters or not. Dan Quinn will apparently be out to avenge Washington’s Week 16 loss either way.
Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage.
FIRST QUARTER
The Bills won the coin toss and deferred to put the Eagles on offense first. The Eagles got called for illegal formation on the opening kickoff return, which made them start at their own 28-yard line. Good to see them looking sharp from the jump! Jalen Hurts slightly overthrew Jahan Dotson downfield on the first play from scrimmage. Facing 3rd-and-10, Hurts completed a pass to A.J. Brown just shy of the marker. Three-and-out. Zero rushing attempts despite the Bills being one of the NFL’s worst run defenses.
The Bills took over at their own 10-yard line after a Braden Mann bounced for a total of 54 yards. Josh Allen hit Dawson Knox over the middle for a first down and more. Then James Cook ran for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-4 a little shy of midfield, Zack Baun sacked Allen but the stop was wiped out by a defensive holding penalty on Marcus Epps. Tacky call but Epps shouldn’t have given the ref any reason to throw that flag. Facing 3rd-and-7, a stunting Jalyx Hunt got to Allen for a sack! Nice effort to buckle down and force a punt after giving Buffalo a free first down.
The Eagles took over at their own 13-yard line. Saquon Barkley took his first carry for three yards. His second carry resulted in a first down. Facing 3rd-and-8 after Dallas Goedert couldn’t catch a ball away from his body in the heavy rain, Nick Sirianni brought the coward’s draw with Will Shipley back! How exciting to surrender. Shipley picked up four yards and the Eagles punted the ball. Disgusting lack of ambition.
3rd & 8 handoff to Will Shipley without any sort of deception attached to it is just loser shit there. Ands yes I know Buffalo has given up a lot of big runs in all kinds of situations.
The Bills took over at their own 26-yard line. Brandin Cooks got wide open downfield with Epps and Cooper DeJean trailing for a 50-yard completion. Then Allen scrambled and the ball popped out with Jaelan Phillips in his face for a Jihaad Campbell recovery (really good effort by the rookie to get possession)! There was some thought it was a pass and not a fumble … but the replay confirmed the call!
The Eagles took over at the plus 45-yard line. Hurts hit Darius Cooper (!) for a short gain and then Brown for a 27-yard gain into the red zone. Facing 3rd-and-1 after Hurts hit Brown on a bubble screen, Barkley took a carry up the gut for a first down at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Hurts went under-center play-action and found an open Goedert in the end zone. Strong 7-play, 45-yard touchdown drive to take advantage of good field position after the takeaway. EAGLES 7, BILLS 0.
#Eagles have gotten on the ball fast and gone no huddle on both drives that they got the initial first down. No huddle has gone well for most of the year. https://t.co/kjf2qVAzxk
The Bills took over at their own 20-yard line after Jake Elliott’s kickoff bounced in the landing zone and into the end zone.
SECOND QUARTER
Facing 3rd-and-3, Allen took off running for a 17-yard gain. Good effort by Jalyx Hunt to make the shoestring tackle to prevent even more damage. The Bills picked up another first down with a Cook run but the Bills got called for holding (Dion Dawkins on Jalyx Hunt) to knock their offense back. Allen made up for it with a first down completion over the middle to Josh Palmer. Quinyon Mitchell was beat downfield by Brandin Cooks but Allen threw to the wide receiver’s wrong shoulder for an incompletion. Facing 3rd-and-8, Allen broke out of a Zack Baun sack and threw to Palmer for a would-be first down but Adoree’ Jackson helped to break it up. Jaelan Phillips was injured after the third down stop.
Brown got pissed after the gunner took him down on that punt coverage, so he tripped him. The only problem? It caused the defender’s helmet to land on Covey’s knee. Brown already took Mukuba out earlier this year. Im not trying to unfairly crush the guy. But like Barnett, he’s…
A Bills player tripped over Sydney Brown and into Britain Covey for a 15-yard fair catch inference penalty to have the Eagles take over at their own 23-yard line. Covey took a big hit to the leg and was hurt on the play. Hurts threw too short of an open DeVonta Smith to bring up third down. Facing 3rd-and-4, Sirianni called a timeout to talk over the third down play. Facing 3rd-and-4 for real, Hurts ripped a pass to DeVonta in a tight window for a first down. Great throw. Barkley took a carry for a loss and got banged up. Facing 3rd-and-10, Hurts danced away from pressure and hit Brown for a first down. Wowza. Another really good third down throw. The Eagles went with a Will Shipley run (why not Tank Bigbsy?!) for a loss. Then Hurts was pressured into a throwaway. Facing 3rd-and-12, Hurts took off running and took a shot along the sideline but there no was flag for that hit. How?! Happened right in front of the refs. There was a flag on the Bills for defensive holding to give the Eagles a first down. Brown dropped a one-handed catch attempt on a dime by Hurts … Brown couldn’t get his second hand on the ball due to pass interference that wasn’t called. Facing 3rd-and-9, Hurts checked down to Goedert. The Eagles brought Jake Elliott in for the 47-yard field goal attempt … and Elliott drilled it. Nice bounce back kick to take a two-possession lead. Bills fortunate they got away with some big penalties on that drive. EAGLES 10, BILLS 0.
The Bills took over at their own 32-yard line with 4:57 on the clock. Epps flew in for a big tackle where it looked like Cook originally fumbled for a DeJean recovery but it was ruled that his forearm was down. Jalen Carter destroyed the Bills’ right guard to put a big hit on Allen for a sack. Facing 3rd-and-19, Reed Blankenship put a big hit on the checkdown option to bring up a Bills punt. Bunch of heat-seeking missles out there! Great stand by Vic Fangio’s defense. Three plays, -2 yards, punt.
It doesn’t count as a fumble recovery, but this was one hell of a heads up play by DeJean. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a defender do this going for a loose ball. pic.twitter.com/voWC4MoiVK
The Eagles took over at their own 29-yard line with 2:49 on the clock. They picked up a first down into Bills territory with two Barkley runs to reach the two-minute warning at 1:58. Hurts got hit as he threw but still managed to complete a pass to Brown for another first down. Hurts hit DeVonta for another first down to the 15-yard line. The Eagles called their second timeout with 0:23 left. The Bills then took their first timeout with the play clock running down on the Eagles. Facing 3rd-and-8, the Eagles went with a bubble screen to Goedert instead of trying to throw into the end zone. This end of second quarter drive was better than a lot of Sirianni’s give up attempts but still would’ve liked a better effort of getting into the end zone at the end. Elliott made the 28-yard field goal attempt to cap off a 10-play, 61-yard drive that took 2:41 off the clock. EAGLES 13, BILLS 0.
A.J. Brown has produced his franchise-record fourth consecutive season with 1,000+ receiving yards.
Brown is currently one of four NFL players with 1,000+ receiving yards every year since 2022, joining Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
Not the worst end of half of the year (high bar), but Sirianni again let the clock run too much early in the drive and was limited in play-calling because of the clock in the red zone.
Sydney Brown got flagged in off-setting unnecessary roughness penalties as the Bills took over at their own 25-yard line and Allen took a knee to end the first half.
Eagles up on the Bills at halftime, 13 to 0.
Worth noting that Buffalo leads the NFL in second half points scored per game (16.3). They’ve also allowed the fifth-fewest second half points per game (9.1).
Great first half for the Eagles defense. The Bills only have 6 first downs.
Offense just good enough. Don’t love the 3rd and 9 Shipley run or the quick screen to Goedert in the RZ, but the run game has been effective and A.J. Brown is getting open.
The Bills took over at their own 20-yard line after a 37-yard kick return was wiped out by a special teams holding penalty drawn by Cameron Latu. Facing 3rd-and-1, Khalil Shakir dropped a would-be first down on a bubble screen. Sean McDermott sent out the punt team instead of going for it on his own 29-yard line. Sirianni called a timeout to prevent a 12-men on the field penalty. The Bills ended up punting and not faking. Excluding the Bills’ end of half kneel, three straight Buffalo punts forced by Fangio’s defense.
#Eagles had an issue getting the right 11 on the field on that punt.
It was a “defense stay” call to protect against a fake, so it’s supposed to be basically the defense all staying with 1-2 guys coming off to get the PR and maybe one extra jammer on the field.
The Eagles took over at their own 22-yard line. Barkley ran twice for a first down. A Hurts throw to the sideline was put into harm’s way but not caught by Bills linebacker Matt Milano. Facing 3rd-and-12 after Pro Bowler Cam Jurgens got beat for a Barkley TFL, Hurts was pressured into a throwaway. Five-and-out.
The Bills almost had to take over at their 1-yard line but Latu touched the ball as he stepped onto the goal line for a touchback instead. Brutal mistake. No need to even touch the motionless ball! The Bills instead took over at their own 20-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-9 after picking up two first downs, Allen hit Knox right ahead of the marker for a third first down with Blankenship trailing. Moro Ojomo got to Allen in a collapsed pocket for a sack of 8 yards. Allen was shown wincing after the play but he remained in the game. Facing 3rd-and-15, Nolan Smith helped to pressure Allen into an incompletion. Fourth straight punt for the Bills.
I keep thinking one day Jalen Carter will get a call and it keeps not happening. Maybe it never will. pic.twitter.com/Cs8mdPJhVG
The Eagles took over at their own 16-yard line. DeVonta made an awesome leaping catch on a ball thrown behind him in the rain. DeVonta got banged up after landing on the ball and the Bills challenged the catch, which DeVonta bobbled but replay did not show conclusive evidence that it was incomplete. And yet the ruling on the field was overturned. Absolute garbage. Facing 3rd-and-10, Hurts threw the ball away. Three-and-out after some bullshit officiating.
The Bills took over at their own 32-yard line after Mann’s 62-yard punt was returned for 10 yards. Facing 3rd-and-10 after Campbell helped to break up a second down pass, Allen aired it out to Palmer incomplete … but Quinyon Mitchell was flagged for DPI. Wasn’t nearly as egregious as what Tre’Davious White got away with on A.J. Brown earlier in the game. Tyrell Shavers made an insane leaping and bobbling catch against tight coverage by Mitchell for 32 yards into the goal-to-go. Looked like it may have not been a catch but Sirianni didn’t get a challenge flag in as the Bills hurried up to run another play. Facing 3rd-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Epps flew in for a TFL on Cook. Great run fit there. Facing 4th-and-goal, Allen took off running and came up JUST short of the goal line for a turnover on downs. WOW. Incredible stop by the defense. Credit to Baun for helping to get Allen down.
The Eagles took over at their 1-yard line and went Tush Push to gain some breathing room. Then Barkley ran for a short gain. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts avoided taking a sack for a safety and ran for a loss. Three-and-out. Would’ve liked trying to actually pick up the first down.
The Bills took over at the Eagles’ 42-yard line. Allen completed a short pass to end the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
Facing 3rd-and-8 after Baun was in good position to prevent an Allen completion to Cook on the wheel route, Allen was coverage sacked by Jalyx Hunt for a 19-yard loss (!) out of field goal range after trying to scramble around. Ended up being a five play drive for the Bills that resulted in -5 yards and a punt! Fangio is so good.
The Eagles took over at their own 20-yard line. Two Barkley runs set up third down. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts scrambled away from a sack and threw the ball away. Third straight three-and-out. Fourth straight punt.
Eagles offense has run 14 plays for 19 yards in the second half.
(Note: They did get screwed by a DeVonta Smith first down catch being overturned.)
I go from cloud nine watching the Eagles defense shut down a Bills offense that ranks 6th in DVOA to having serious concerns again watching the Eagles offense do absolutely nothing against a Bills defense that ranks 25th in DVOA
The Bills took over at their own 46-yard line. They slowly but surely moved into field goal range. Then into the red zone. Then down to the 3-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-1, the Bills went Tush Push for the touchdown. Reminder that coward Sean McDermott tried to ban the Tush Push last offseason. Hypocrite. Carter got up high to block the Bills’ extra point attempt to limit the Bills to just six points! Big block to keep it a seven-point game. EAGLES 13, BILLS 6.
The Eagles took over at their own 30-yard line. Barkley was tackled for a loss. Barkley gained a yard. Facing 3rd-and-12, Hurts threw downfield to DeVonta and the ball went right through the receiver’s hands. Not an easy catch to make but he has to make it. The throw is there. Yet another three-and-out.
Nick Sirianni makes the Eagles worse by insisting on being so conservative.
The offense has run 17 plays for 17 yards in the second half.
The Bills took at their own 17-yard line with 3:21 on the clock. Facing 3rd-and-9, Cooper DeJean blew up a bubble screen. He didn’t make the tackle but he disrupted the play to allow the rest of the defense to rally for the TFL. Facing 4th-and-10, Allen completed a pas s short of the sticks and the Bills went hook-and-ladder for a first down into Eagles territory. Great play-call and execution by Buffalo. Cooks somewhat recreated the David Tyree helmet catch to move the Bills to goal-to-go. Two plays later, Allen hit Knox for the touchdown. Or not! Replay showed Knox’s forearm was down with the ball just short of the goal line. The Bills took their final timeout at 0:08. The Bills went Tush Push again for the touchdown. Then the Bills lined up for the two-point conversion to try to win the game … and Allen’s pass was INCOMPLETE. Wide of his wide open target. Insane miss with the game on the line. Eagles so fortunate to get that break.
The Bills went with an onside kick that was easily recovered by Goedert. Victory formation to win the game.
FINAL SCORE: EAGLES 13, BILLS 12
EAGLES LINEUP NOTES
Will Shipley was on kickoff return duty despite his struggles in Week 16.
EAGLES INJURY NEWS
Jaelan Phillips got banged up early in the second quarter. He limped off the field and into the medical tent. Phillips exited the tent with his helmet in hand. He returned to the game.
Britain Covey got banged up early in the second quarter. He returned to the game in time for the Eagles’ next punt return.
Saquon Barkley got banged up midway through the second quarter. He returned to the field on the same drive.
Fred Johnson got banged up early in the third quarter. He got his ankled taped on the sideline.
Jalyx Hunt was being evaluated for trainers near the middle of the third quarter.
DeVonta Smith got banged up after landing on the ball in the third quarter.
Jalen Carter visited the medical tent in the fourth quarter. He returned to the game.
Cooper DeJean appeared a little banged up (holding his groin) later in the fourth quarter.
The 2025 regular season is coming to a close. Week 17 is here, with teams only having two games left to try to make a bid for postseason contention.
Entering the week, 10 of the 14 total playoff spots up for grabs across the AFC and NFC were clinched. That list grew larger on Christmas, with the Packers landing a spot in the postseason after the Lions were eliminated following their shock defeat to the Vikings. The Houston Texans also beat the Los Angeles Chargers which clinched a playoff berth for the Texans and eliminated the Indianapolis Colts.
The top four seeds in each conference go to the division winners, regardless of their record compared to non-division winners. The overall No. 1 seed in both the AFC and NFC will earn a first-round bye in the playoffs and will not play until the Divisional round. That team will also hold home-field advantage until the Super Bowl, assuming it does not lose before then.
Division winners will also host a wild-card game, which can provide a significant advantage over a road team forced to travel. While it may feel like only one or two major games remain, there is enough variability in the seeding that nearly every game in Week 17 played a role in a team’s clinching scenario.
Here is more on the teams that have clinched a playoff berth inWeek 17.
Heading into Week 17, 10 of the 14 playoff spots across both conferences had been clinched, and each conference was in the exact same scenario. The Houston Texans were the second team to clinch during Week 17, punching their ticket with a win over the Chargers on Saturday.
The Packers booked their trip to the playoffs despite a Week 17 defeat at the hands of Baltimore, benefiting from Detroit’s Christmas Day loss to Minnesota.
Both the Carolina Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers had the chance to clinch in Week 17, but both teams lost and will be playing for the division in Week 18.
There are also other playoff implications in play, with some teams able to clinch their division and lock in a top-four seed.
Projected NFL playoff bracket 2025
Below is a look at the NFL’s projected playoff bracket as it stands in Week 17.
AFC
1. Denver Broncos (BYE) 2. New England Patriots vs. 7. Buffalo Bills 3. Jacksonville Jaguars vs. 6. Los Angeles Chargers 4. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. 5. Houston Texans
NFC
1. Seattle Seahawks (BYE) 2. Chicago Bears vs. 7. Green Bay Packers 3. Philadelphia Eagles vs. 6. Los Angeles Rams 4. Carolina Panthers vs. 5. San Francisco 49ers
Updated NFL playoff picture
Here’s how the standings in both conferences break down in Week 17, along with the other teams that are still in the playoff hunt.
“I’m excited for the opportunity,” safety Jakobe Thomas said. “Love the environment, but, you know, here to be 1-0 taking everything day by day and just ready to go out.”
Said offensive lineman Anez Cooper: “We’re excited. … We’re looking at it as a playoff game. We’re not really like focused on being a bowl game, but we’re prepared. We’re excited. We’re ready to compete.”
They’re definitely a talented group,” said Thomas, who played Ohio State in the playoffs last year when he was with Tennessee. “I’m excited. The opportunity to play them again. They’ve got a lot of talent from depth —starters, guys that on bench — all through the depth.”
Miami has two practices before Wednesday night’s game where they will have a chance to get accustomed to AT&T Field, which is the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Despite the intense atmosphere and NFL environment, Thomas said the Hurricanes have not prepared any differently this week.
“It’s been the same,” Thomas said. “We’re the same team every week, no matter who we play, where we playing, and we’re going to prepare the same way and be the same team we’ve been all year.”
Scottie Barnes went off for the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon.
Barnes dropped a monster triple-double to lead the Raptors to a 141-127 overtime win against the Golden State Warriors at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday. He had the triple-double secured before overtime began, and had a career-high 25 rebounds in the win — which is the most recorded by a player in a single game anywhere in the league so far this season. It also matched the Raptors’ franchise record set by Bismack Biyombo in 2016.
Barnes had 23 points and 10 assists to go with his rebounds. It marked the seventh triple-double of his career, and the first ever 20-20 triple-double in Raptors history. Barnes is now just the second player since 1980 to record a 20-25-10 game anywhere in the league, along with Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić.
The Warriors seemed well on pace to grab the win in Canada on Sunday afternoon, and held a four-point lead entering the fourth quarter. But Toronto ended regulation on a 9-2 burst and forced overtime after Barnes tipped in a rebound to tie the game up with about 23 seconds left. Brandon Ingram had a look to win it at the end, but he was off the mark.
Scottie Barnes sent it to overtime with the putback bucket 😤
By then, the Warriors were done. The Raptors opened the extra period on a 10-0 run and ended up out-scoring Golden State 19-5 in overtime to cruise to the 14-point win.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 39 points, 14 of which came in the third quarter alone. He didn’t score once in overtime, however, and went 4-of-11 from behind the arc. Draymond Green added 21 points and seven assists, and Jimmy Butler finished with 19 points.
The loss snapped a three-game win streak for Golden State, which now sits at 16-16 on the season. They’ll take on the Brooklyn Nets in New York on Monday night in the second game of a three-game road trip.
Immanuel Quickley had 27 points and seven assists to go with Barnes’ triple-double. Brandon Ingram added 26 points. They shot 51% from the field as a team and scored 35 points off of the Warriors’ 21 turnovers.
Barnes and the Raptors now hold a 19-14 record after the win, which was their second in their last three games. They’ll host the Orlando Magic next on Monday night.
