The 2025 Regular Season provided us with some of the best NFL games in recent memory, as well as plenty of upsets throughout the year. While the best part of the NFL year is still to come in the form of the playoffs, now is a chance to look back on one of the most unpredictable regular seasons in NFL history before the drama of the postseason takes over. Here are the top three games from the 2025 NFL regular season.
Number One – Seattle Seahawks 38-37 Los Angeles Rams 37 – After Overtime (Week 16)
Given that going into this Thursday Night Football game, everyone knew it would likely decide the NFC West Champion as well as the NFC’s number one seed, it was always going to be hard for this matchup to live up to the hype, but not only did it meet the hype, this shootout exceeded it. With the Rams in complete control with just under ten minutes left in the game, a punt return touchdown from Rashid Shaheed sparked Seattle’s 16-point comeback, which they completed in just one minute and 40 seconds. The final two points in that comeback came with one of the craziest plays of the season as an incomplete pass was reviewed and ruled a fumble, with Zach Charbonnet, who picked up what he thought was a dead ball in the endzone, actually tying the game up at 30-30.
Matthew Stafford had an amazing night, throwing for 457 yards and three touchdowns, with Puka Nacua having a career game, catching 12 of those passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score in overtime. But that was followed by Sam Darnold driving his team down the field, with a throw to Cooper Kupp, one of the best by any quarterback all season, taking Seattle into the redzone. After a Jaxon Smith-Njigba touchdown, the Seahawks won the game with the first successful overtime two point conversion in NFL history. The man with the game-winning score? Eric Saubert, who had caught two passes all season, and had still officially only caught two after that play, as a two-point conversion isn’t registered in the box score for players.
This game had it all. Incredible atmosphere, elite quarterback play, special teams plays, defensive takeaways, controversial moments, and an epic comeback, all with the stakes at their highest. Rams at Seahawks was one of the best games of the last decade, and certainly the best of 2025.
Number Two – Pittsburgh Steelers 26-24 Baltimore Ravens (Week 1)
In the final game of the 2025 regular season, the matchup dubbed as the ‘AFC North Championship’ delivered one of the most dramatic final few minutes you will ever see. The first three quarters were tense but weren’t filled with the drama of the fourth, as the Steelers entered the final quarter with a 13-10 lead, having scored 13 unanswered points. After Pittsburgh’s drive stalled to start the fourth quarter, the game exploded into life. On 3rd and 4 with less than nine minutes left in the game, Lamar Jackson escaped two Steelers defenders who had him dead to rights, and delivered a perfect throw to Zay Flowers for a 50-yard touchdown. 17-13 Ravens, 8:42 remaining. But, Pittsburgh answered with a 60-yard touchdown drive, ignited by a 31-yard catch by Pat Freiermuth on 3rd down, and finished off by a two-yard touchdown run from Kenneth Gainwell. 20-17 Steelers, 3:49 remaining.
A stop from Pittsburgh’s defense and the game was likely over. On 3rd and 1 they overcommitted to a fake run to Derrick Henry, and Zay Flowers had his second touchdown in just over six minutes, being left as wide open as you will ever see an NFL receiver, as he ran into the endzone for a 64-yard score. 2:20 remaining, 24-20 Ravens. But Aaron Rodgers had one more vintage moment in him, leaidng his team down the field again and finding Calvin Austin III for a 26-yard go-ahead touchdown. 27-24 Steelers. No, 26-24 Steelers, because Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh’s kicker who had missed one extra point in the last four years, missed the most important one of the season, leaving the Ravens needing just a field goal to win the AFC North. With 55 seconds remaining to start the final drive, Jackson’s biggest play of the night was a 4th and 7 at midfield with 21 seconds left. As TJ Watt was bearing down on Baltimore’s quarterback, the two-time MVP delivered a perfect throw to Isaiah Likely downfield, who somehow brought the ball down with Jalen Ramsey coming in behind him, to gain 26 yards. That set up a 44-yard field goal. Rookie kicker Tyler Loop had the whole NFL world watching as he looked to send his team to the playoffs. But he sliced the ball wide right, sending Acrisure Stadium into bedlam as the ball sailed outside of the upright.
An explosion of points in the final nine minutes saw a back and forth ending to this game, which was capped off by two missed kicks, with a dramatic drive and an incredible 4th down play in between them. Tyler Loop’s kick for the Ravens as time expired was the first time in NFL history that the regular season has ended on a kick which decided the playoff fate of both teams on the field, and it occured in a game where the stakes could not have been higher. It wasn’t just a division title and a playoff spot on the line, but the job of John Harbaugh, evidenced by the fact that he parted ways with the Ravens just two days later. Along with that, there will be many who say Mike Tomlin may have had his last game with the Steelers had Loops’ kick gone through the uprights. Aaron Rodgers also may have played his last game in the NFL if the ball sailed between the posts. But instead, with Harbaugh now looking for a new team, Tomlin and Rodgers continue preparation for a home playoff game against the Houston Texans.
Number Three – Buffalo Bills 41-40 Baltimore Ravens (Week 1)
Sorry Ravens fans, but another crushing loss for your team makes the list. If the stakes were higher, this would have been top two, but a week one game will always struggle to outperform late season matchups with heavy playoff implications in terms of drama, ecstasy, and heartache.
Nonetheless, this game was probably as good as you’ll get in week one, hence why it beats out other late-season games for a top three spot. The Bills reduced a 15-point deficit to two points in less than two minutes in this one, with the first touchdown to start the comeback coming on 4th down. The second touchdown came after a Derrick Henry fumble, despite Baltimore’s running back dominating the Bills all night long. Four plays after Henry’s fumble, Allen found the endzone with a leap and reach over the line of scrimmagge from less than a yard out. But that was only after he had delivered a 29-yard strike to his third string tight end, Jackson Hawes. But with now just under two minutes remaining, the Bills had to go for two to tie the game at 40-40. They were unsuccessful on that attempt as Allen’s throw to Keon Coleman was broken up by Nate Wiggins. The Ravens had surely survived as they led 40-38 with under two minutes on the clock. But poor playcalling cost Baltimore. They went three and out on the following drive, forcing the Bills to use all three timeouts, as they opted to punt on 4th and 3 with a chance to win the game with a first down. With a minute and 26 seconds left, and no timeouts, Allen took his team down the field and set up a 32-yard field goal for Matt Prater, who made it 41-40 as time expired.
This game wasn’t just great in the 4th quarter, though. Throughout the night we saw elite offensive play, particularly from the Ravens for the majority of the game, with Henry humiliating Buffalo’s defense before his costly fumble. Jackson and Allen were also at the top of their games as the 2023 and 2024 NFL MVPs put on a show in a game where an impossible comeback was made possible. In what was a rematch of the 2024 Divisional Round matchup, these two teams put up a scorefest to deliver an instant classic.
Honourable Mentions:
San Francisco 49ers 42-38 Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears 22-16 Green Bay Packers
Philadelphia Eagles 33-26 Los Angeles Rams
Dallas Cowboys 40-40 Green Bay Packers