The NFL never ceases to surprise, but there are always times when the dust appears to settle and a degree of clarity emerges, causing onlookers to believe they know what happens next.

Then the chaos resumes.

Week 13 of the 2025 NFL season was no exception. Amidst all the Thanksgiving celebrations, the Carolina Panthers shocked the Los Angeles Rams; Ben Johnson took his shirt off; the AFC South suddenly became the most intriguing divisional race; and Mike Tomlin is officially on the hot seat in Pittsburgh.

Here’s the Week 13 roundup…

WEEK 13 SCORES

(to Tuesday 2nd December)

Thursday

(8-3-1) Green Bay Packers 31 @ 24 Detroit Lions (7-5)
(6-6) Kansas City Chiefs 28 @ 31 Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1)
(4-8) Cincinnati Bengals 32 @ 14 Baltimore Ravens (6-6)

Friday

(9-3) Chicago Bears 24 @ 15 Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)

Sunday:

(2-10) New Orleans Saints 17 @ 21 Miami Dolphins (5-7)
(7-5) Houston Texans 20 @ 16 Indianapolis Colts (8-4)
(4-8) Atlanta Falcons 24 @ 7 New York Jets (3-9)
(9-4) San Francisco 49ers 26 @ 8 Cleveland Browns (3-9)
(9-3) Los Angeles Rams 28 @ 31 Carolina Panthers (7-6)
(8-4) Jacksonville Jaguars 25 @ 3 Tennessee Titans (1-11)
(3-9) Arizona Cardinals 17 @ 20 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5)
(4-8) Minnesota Vikings 0 @ 26 Seattle Seahawks (9-3)
(8-4) Buffalo Bills 26 @ 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6)
(2-10) Las Vegas Raiders 14 @ 31 Los Angeles Chargers (8-4)
(10-2) Denver Broncos 27 @ 26 Washington Commanders (3-9) OT

Monday

(3-9) New York Giants 15 @ 33 New England Patriots (10-2)

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GAME OF THE WEEK

Los Angeles Rams 28 @ 31 Carolina Panthers

Who gave the Panthers a shot on Sunday? Not me, and certainly not the bookies.

Carolina was a double-digit underdog heading into their 31-28 upset win over the surging Los Angeles Rams. Given the streaky play of Bryce Young and an over-matched roster in almost every facet, the Panthers needed a virtuoso gameplan from their head coach Dave Canales and the rub of the green. They got both.

Canales doubled down on running the rock. Granted, it’s his team’s strength: the Panthers are eighth in the NFL in rushing yards per game behind Rico Dowdle’s breakout year. Their commitment to punishing offensive play had two benefits. It reduced Matthew Stafford’s opportunity to affect the game, while also taking the ball out of Young’s hands. The Rams had just three drives in the second half, while Carolina won the turnover battle 3-0.

But that only tells a part of the story. Young was outstanding on later downs, throwing for three scores and generating 162 of his 206 passing yards on third and fourth. Two of those scores came on fourth downs, including the game-winning toss to Tetairoa McMillan. That required an outstanding effort from every aspect of the Panthers’ passing attack: the offensive line kept L.A’s vaunted rushing attack at bay, while Canales schemed up a short passing attack that set up Young’s deeper scoring throws. His two completed passes of more than 20 passing yards resulted in six points.

Everything had to fall into place for the Panthers to best the Rams, but it was still a close run thing. Every Rams drive that did not end in an interception produced a touchdown. But, for this Panthers team to pull out a statement win in their pursuit of postseason play is a testament to Canales’ improvement in his second year as a head coach.

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MVP OF THE WEEK

Ben Johnson (HC, Chicago Bears)

It takes a lot for me to feel pumped up while sitting on my sofa on a cold Friday night in the middle of another torrid Berlin winter. Especially, when my Philadelphia Eagles have fallen to another chastening loss.

So, picture me, sitting on my sofa, scrolling my ‘phone in a state of morose torpor, when I happen upon a post-game video of Ben Johnson in the aftermath of the Chicago Bears’ 24-15 win over Philly on Black Friday.

I roll my eyes, but I watch on nonetheless.

Johnson takes centre stage among his charges. The rookie coach looks around, asks his boys if they are ‘hungry for more’, before taking off his top and tensing like prime Hulk Hogan. My juices are flowing. I watch the video three more times, safe in the knowledge the adrenaline pulsing through my body means I won’t get to bed for another half hour.

It’s probably a tenth of the feeling those Bears had at the time. This 9-3 (!) Chicago team authored a statement win against the Super Bowl champs on the road, by beating them at their own game. D’Andre Swift — dumped by Philly two offseasons ago — and Kyle Monangai ran the Eagles off the park; both men eclipsing 100 yards rushing on the day. The defense kept Saquon Barkley to just 56 yards on 13 carries and stopped a fourth-down tush push.

This side is winning despite patchy play from their quarterback, the element of their play Johnson was supposed to remedy from day one in the Windy City. Are they for real? Who knows at this point. But they have a coach that now has a reputation for Xs and Os, and jocular chest pounding that doesn’t feel forced or inauthentic. That’s something to celebrate for Bears fans that have had little to cheer about for far too long.

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Winners: AFC South fans…

… apart from the Titans — obviously.

The AFC South has long been the ugly stepchild of the league’s division setup. It houses few genuine rivalries, a by-product of hosting two of the NFL’s youngest franchises and the gerrymandering of the league office following the 2002 expansion.

But… This division title race is hotting up nicely. The 8-4 Jacksonville Jaguars currently hold the lead. The 8-4 Indianapolis Colts were on pace for a historic offensive season just a month ago. The 7-5 Texans boast one of the league’s most complete defenses.

This Sunday’s matchup between Indy and Houston promised a best-on-best contest with major playoff implications on the line. The Texans defense came out on top in a hard-fought 20-16 win, and the Colts look like a team on the slide. Jonathan Taylor totalled 85 yards on 21 rushes, a respectable return, but far from the game-breaking pace he set in the first half of the year. The fifth-year back failed to break a single 15-yard rush on the day. In the first 10 games of the 2025 season, he had 15 such plays. Daniel Jones, meanwhile, looks compromised by his leg fracture, allowing defenses to sell out in stopping the run.

C.J. Stroud returned to the Texans lineup, delivering a steady performance to quiet any suggestion that Davis Mills will be the signal caller going forward. Following a shaky start, the third-year quarterback averaged 7.3 yards per dropback. In a volatile division race, Stroud’s steady hand and a vaunted defense could give the Texans the edge despite being a game behind their ‘rivals’.

Loser: Mike Tomlin

As the seconds ticked away on the Steelers 26-7 home loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh faithful let their feeling be known. Despite a Lombardi Trophy and countless winning seasons, it seems the tide is turning on Mike Tomlin. Loud ‘Fire Tomlin’ chants rained down from the stands at Accrisure Field.

The Steelers first half performance was poor. Their second half was putrid.

In the five or so minutes after the break, Aaron Rodgers coughed up the ball on a sack, allowing Christian Benford to return it to the house. Bloodied and bruised, Rodgers was absent for the next series, allowing Mason Rudolph just enough time to log a lame pass directly into Benford’s chest. A Josh Allen touchdown pass shortly after brought on the boo birds; the mood by the Three Rivers steadily unravelled from there.

There was little for the Steelers to hang their hat on post game. Rodgers completed just 48 percent of his passes. The Bills — without their two starting tackles — bullied the Pittsburgh rush defense, as James Cook ran for 144 yards on 32 carries and Allen went for 38 on his four designed runs.

The biggest indignity? The Bills ran the same run concept, ‘Duo’, 19 times. That’s right. They ran the same play 19 times, thanks to a 58 percent success rate.

The Steelers looked over-matched physically, under-cooked mentally and completely out-coached. For a coach that prides himself on getting the basics right, this was a total dereliction of principles. This felt like the beginning of the end for Tomlin.

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THE ROUND UP

Have you ever been more grateful to see the yellow flag graphic? The Bucs thought they had scored twice before Tristan Wirfs finally caught a touchdown toss from Baker Mayfield in their 20-17 win over the Cardinals. Nothing is more healing than a big-man touchdown and, at 320lbs, you’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger man than Wirfs.

Charlie Smyth, welcome to the NFL! The International Player Pathway Programme graduate took his first chance in a real NFL game with aplomb, nailing a 56-yard field goal and producing a recovered onside kick. Granted, the Saints still fell 21-17 to the Dolphins, but we’re here for any success from Northern Ireland’s new kicking superstar.

More special teams! DaVon Hamilton subbed in at long snapper in the Jaguars 25-3 win against the Titans. Hamilton produced perfectly acceptable snaps on a field goal, extra point and three punts in relief of the injured Ross Matiscik. The defensive tackle said his moonlighting was ‘very exciting’. Expect long snappers everywhere to worry that his performance might make cold-blooded GMs think they can do without a specialist.

A quick Thanksgiving round-up! The Packers are thankful for Jordan Love’s four-touchdown display on the road in Detroit; while the Lions are far from glad with Amon-Ra St. Brown’s injury scare. Dallas will be counting their lucky star(s) that they poached George Pickens from the moribund Steelers, while the Chiefs are looking forward to their first Christmas on the verge of the playoff picture. The entire football world is thankful for Joe Burrow’s return. We’d rather not talk about the Ravens.

We’ve somehow got to the very end of this article without talking about the Broncos 27-26 overtime win against the Commanders. This pulsating game ended with Nik Bonitto swatting away Marcus Mariota’s two-point conversion attempt. The 10-2 Broncos have delivered so many memorable moments in nut-crunching time in 2025, but are we any the wiser as to whether Bo Nix can put together a full 60 minute performance?

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STAT OF THE WEEK

• The Bears are the #1 seed in the NFC in spite of their quarterback. A tale as old as time. If the season ended today, Chicago would be the first side since 2006 to win their conference with the league’s least accurate quarterback. The last team to achieve that ‘feat’? The Chicago Bears of course! Rex Grossman completed just 54.6 percent of his throws that term, while Caleb Williams ‘boasts’ a 58.1 percent completion rate so far in 2025. 

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