Top 10 NFL games of the 2025 season: Which NFC thriller ranked No. 1?

• Wild Card Round | Sunday, Jan. 11 | EverBank Stadium (Jacksonville, Fla.)
• FINAL SCORE: Bills 27, Jaguars 24 (Watch replay)

Jacksonville entered this showdown with an eight-game winning streak, a more well-rounded roster and home-field advantage, but Buffalo held the ultimate trump card: Josh Allen. While the Jaguars bottled up NFL rushing champ James Cook, they couldn't stop the one-man army in the No. 17 jersey. Facing a takeaway-happy Jags D that had yielded a league-low 14.5 points per game over the final eight weeks of the regular season, Allen played a clean, lethal brand of football, completing 80 percent of his passes for 273 yards and a touchdown while adding two more scores with his legs. In an AFC playoff field that was largely defined by a shortage of elite quarterbacks, the reigning MVP demonstrated the outsized impact of the position, battling through myriad injuries (and multiple trips to the blue tent) to notch Buffalo's first road playoff win since the 1992 AFC Championship Game. And this contest wasn't just great because of Allen's individual excellence -- it was a classic elimination game full of twists, turns and emotional swings. After throwing jabs back and forth during the first three quarters, the teams exchanged haymakers in the closing period, with four lead-changing touchdowns in the final 13 minutes. Yes, Trevor Lawrence's last-minute interception made the ending a little anticlimactic, but it also felt appropriate, in a sense, as one last jolt of whiplash in the fourth-quarter roller coaster.

-- Gennaro Filice

• Week 17 | Sunday, Dec. 28 (SNF) | Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, Calif.)
• FINAL SCORE: 49ers 42, Bears 38 (Watch replay)

Bears-49ers probably would have made this list regardless of when it appeared on the schedule, just for being one of the better examples of an "Oops! All highlights!" game, stuffed end to end with endorphin-goosing big plays. But this wasn't merely a major leap forward for Caleb Williams and the Bears, or another reminder that the Niners were Still Very Good, Actually, after their 6-4 start to the year. It was also a tantalizing appetizer for the playoffs, delivering a hit of postseason-tinged now or never drama one week before the final field was set. OK, so now we know neither of these teams were going to keep up with the Seahawks in the race for the NFC's No. 1 seed, and that the Bears (No. 2) would ultimately settle above the Niners (No. 6) in the final standings despite falling short here. Postseason positioning still imparted extra gravity to this back-and-forth scoring battle in the moment; favorable placement in that chase was up for grabs until the very final seconds, when Williams' last-gasp scramble and end-zone heave fell just on the wrong side of miraculous. The Niners walked away with what proved to be the second-highest-scoring one-possession victory of the year, playoffs included -- behind only the Bears' 47-42 win over the Bengals in Week 9 (which earned a few votes of its own).

-- Tom Blair

• Week 3 | Sunday, Sept. 21 | Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
• FINAL SCORE: Eagles 33, Rams 26 (Watch replay)

With their exit from the 2024 playoffs at the hands of the Eagles top of mind, the Rams completely wrecked Philly for two quarters, holding the Super Bowl LIX champions to a putrid 33 total yards. The destruction continued early in the third, with the Los Angeles offense capitalizing on the extremely short field created by a Jared Verse strip-sack of Jalen Hurts to build a 26-7 lead. As my colleague and Rams radio color analyst Maurice Jones-Drew described the scene to me later, "The Linc was shook." Then, little by little, it was like the Eagles remembered they were supposed to be one of the most balanced and talented teams in the NFL. Hurts went on an absolute tear in the second half to obliterate the Rams' 19-point lead. The comeback was cemented with a pair of field-goal blocks, one by Jalen Carter and the second by Jordan Davis, setting up a truly indelible image: Davis, at 336 pounds, rumbling 61 yards on the return for a touchdown as time expired. Ultimately, the Rams' early dominance proved more prophetic than the Eagles' late escape, with L.A. battling its way to the NFC title game. Then again, this was the first of a handful of inexplicable losses that helped make the Rams' path just a little bit harder than the top-seeded Seahawks'.

-- Brooke Cersosimo

• Divisional Round | Sunday, Jan. 18 | Soldier Field (Chicago)
• FINAL SCORE: Rams 20, Bears 17 (OT) (Watch replay)

The Rams and Bears specialized in thrillers this year, which explains why they appear on this list four teams each, more than any other team. In retrospect, the only truly shocking outcome of this late-window postseason face-off would have been a snoozy, easy win for either side. This contest wound up being more tense than explosive, which was fitting for a brutally cold sudden-death fight, with the two sides keeping each other in reach until -- of course -- the ball ended up in Caleb Williams' hands with less than two minutes on the clock and the Bears down a TD. Of course Williams pulled off a jaw-dropping fourth-down fadeaway toss to Cole Kmet in the end zone to force overtime. And of course Williams pushed Chicago into Rams territory with a chance to win the game in the extra period -- when miscommunication on a deep shot led to a crushing pick, setting L.A. up to escape with a field goal. Though an upset didn't materialize and the Bears ran out of magic, it was plenty entertaining to see Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford pushed to their limits in an utterly hostile environment, only for Stafford to ultimately respond with the kind of grizzled resilience that helped pave the way to his first career MVP.

-- Tom Blair

• Week 16 | Saturday, Dec. 20 | Soldier Field (Chicago)
• FINAL SCORE: Bears 22, Packers 16 (OT) (Watch replay)

As a Bears fan, I am biased. There’s no way around that. But this one had everything you could want: a historic rivalry, prime-time billing, lead changes, onside kick recoveries, gritty off-the-bench performances, toe-tapping touchdown catches, overtime theatrics, playoff implications. Even beyond the NFC North race and the conference standings, this heavyweight battle had real rivalry-altering stakes: Chicago had lost 20 of its previous 23 matchups with Green Bay, including six consecutive at home and a heartbreaker just two weeks earlier. So when the Bears, down seven points with 1:59 remaining on the clock, set up for an onside attempt, Chicago fans could feel the weight of years’ worth of head-to-head losses pressing down on their hopes. Then the improbable happened: Josh Blackwell recovered Cairo Santos’ kick, giving the Bears one final chance to tie the game. And with their backs up against the wall, on fourth-and-4 with under 30 seconds to play, they were lifted by a stunning moment: Undrafted rookie Jahdae Walker hauled in the game-tying touchdown (on his second career catch) in the back corner of the end zone. When Chicago took possession of the ball in overtime, facing a sudden-death situation, belief among Bears fans was palpable. This time was going to be different. And it was. On a play that was added to the game plan just days earlier, Caleb Williams ripped a 46-yard dime that cut through the frigid, spiraling air at Soldier Field and landed in DJ Moore’s welcoming arms. One of the best throws of the season. One of the best Bears games of my lifetime. How could this one not make the list? 

-- Ali Bhanpuri

• Divisional Round | Saturday, Jan. 17 | Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
• FINAL SCORE: Broncos 33, Bills 30 (OT) (Watch replay)

It wasn't always easy to know which way was up in the topsy-turvy AFC, but by the time this game came around, the stakes were clear. Would Josh Allen finally make the Super Bowl run that has eluded him throughout the Bills' current tenure as an NFL power? Or would Bo Nix secure a crowning moment for himself and the up-and-coming Broncos, proving their worth as the top-seeded playoff team in the conference? A pair of Allen fumbles -- one shortly before halftime, one shortly after -- allowed Denver to open up a 13-point lead following a tight first half, but the QB muscled Buffalo back into it for an electric fourth quarter, with the Broncos and Bills trading splash plays to force overtime. That's when Buffalo coughed up one turnover too many; Allen lofted a deep pass to Brandin Cooks that would have pushed the Bills into range for a game-winning field goal, but Ja'Quan McMillian ripped the ball away, and Denver never gave it back. Adding some extra depth to this one was a heavy dose of postgame pathos, in the form of Allen's raw sorrow, the shocking revelation of Nix's season-ending ankle injury and, eventually, Sean McDermott's firing after nine seasons running the Bills. In the end, this was, arguably, as good as it would get for the Broncos in 2025, and it marked the last time we'd see Buffalo in its current form.

-- Tom Blair

• Week 1 | Sunday, Sept. 7 (SNF) | Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, N.Y.)
• FINAL SCORE: Bills 41, Ravens 40 (Watch replay)

This game was supposed to be a heavyweight fight, and it didn't disappoint. The Ravens scored 40 points in only 25 minutes of possession. Bills quarterback Josh Allen showed why he won last year's MVP award by passing for 394 yards and scoring four total touchdowns. Baltimore actually dominated this contest with Lamar Jackson's passing and the running of Derrick Henry (169 yards and two touchdowns), but a late Henry fumble helped Buffalo rally from a 15-point deficit with a little more than four minutes to go. In the end, Allen put his team in position with timely runs and devastating throws. The season-long battle for AFC supremacy promised by this contest didn't materialize, with the Bills settling for a wild-card berth and the Ravens falling out of the playoff race completely in Week 18. But this was still an unforgettable way to kick off Sunday Night Football and a deserving ruler of our running top-five list for most of the season.

-- Jeffri Chadiha

• NFC Championship | Saturday, Jan. 25 | Lumen Field (Seattle)
• FINAL SCORE: Seahawks 31, Rams 27 (Watch replay)

As with Parts I and II, Part III of Rams-Seahawks delivered fireworks -- much-needed after the snowy AFC title game clunker. The offenses combined for nearly 900 total yards, with both Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold giving exceptional performances with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. It was a tight first half, with Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Njigba posting 115 yards on seven catches (nine targets) with a touchdown that gave Seattle a 17-13 halftime lead. The biggest game-altering play occurred early in the third quarter by way of the Rams' special teams, a unit that plagued them all season long. Rams returner Xavier Smith tripped over his feet and muffed the ball, opening the door for the Seahawks to potentially take their first two-score lead of the game. And they did. On the very next snap, Darnold connected with Jake Bobo on a 17-yard TD pass, forcing Stafford and Co. to play catch-up. The Rams certainly had their chances, but the Seahawks' defense was menacing and showed up in key spots, holding the Rams to 1-of-8 on third down. It was a complete performance from the Seahawks in the biggest game of the season up until that point.  

-- Brooke Cersosimo

• Wild Card Round | Saturday, Jan. 10 | Soldier Field (Chicago)
• FINAL SCORE: Bears 31, Packers 27 (Watch replay)

Packers-Bears 1.0 at Lambeau Field was great. The second meeting, in Chicago, was good enough to crack our top 10 (see above). But the third matchup of the longtime rivals in the Wild Card Round back at Soldier Field upped the ante to another level. As was the case in the first two contests, the Packers took early control, gaining a 21-3 edge and leading, 21-6, entering the fourth quarter. Caleb Williams' two red-zone picks earlier in the game appeared to kill Chicago's chances, but in keeping with the Bears' 2025 season, they found a way to scratch and claw back. They trailed by 11 points with just over six minutes remaining, but Brandon McManus' missed extra-point try and two missed field-goal attempts proved to be fatal. If McManus made any of those three tries, the Packers probably would have won. The final miss was critical, falling in between consecutive TD drives from the Bears, with Williams converting a few miracle plays. Williams' fourth-and-8 throw to Rome Odunze on the first of those drives might have been the most improbable conversion of a season for any other team, but it almost seemed preordained for Chicago after a campaign full of wild plays. Williams hit DJ Moore for the go-ahead score, capping the Bears' 25-point fourth quarter (the third-most points ever scored in a postseason fourth quarter). They had to survive one more fourth-down heave into the end zone before cementing the shocking and historic comeback, which will go down as one of the best games in the teams' century-long rivalry.

-- Eric Edholm

• Week 16 | Thursday, Dec. 18 (TNF) | Lumen Field (Seattle)
• FINAL SCORE: Seahawks 38, Rams 37 (OT) (Watch replay)

Do you like complete mayhem with extremely high stakes? This was the game for you, an instant classic that determined nothing less than the path to the Super Bowl. The game had everything. A stellar performance by eventual MVP Matthew Stafford. A wobbly start and redemptive effort by Sam Darnold. A furious comeback by the Seahawks, who were dominated by the Rams most of the way but overcame a 16-point deficit in the final nine minutes of regulation, which included a punt return for a touchdown and an impromptu deep dive into the rule book to dissect an insane two-point conversion, in which Darnold's backward pass bounced off Jared Verse's helmet only to be recovered in the end zone. Finally, there was a come-from-behind touchdown in overtime, followed by the Seahawks' third successful two-point conversion of the game -- thrown to a player who had just two previous catches on the season. Whew! The Seahawks clinched a playoff berth with the win, moving them closer to claiming the Lombardi Trophy -- and the rest of us got the game of the year. 

-- Judy Battista