Ranking the 5 best NFL games at midpoint of the 2025 season

• Week 1 | Sunday, Sept. 7 (SNF) | Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, N.Y.)
• FINAL SCORE: Bills 41, Ravens 40 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 1 (Weeks 1-9)

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 Ravens and Bills have gone through some bumps since then, but are now back on the upswing in the AFC race. The fact that this game continued to rule this list throughout speaks volumes about how thrilling it was as a lid-lifting prime-time showcase. 

-- Jeffri Chadiha

• Week 7 | Sunday, Oct. 20 | Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
• FINAL SCORE: Broncos 33, Giants 32 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 2 (Weeks 7-9)

The Giants absolutely bullied the Broncos for three quarters, to the point that, dare I say, there was zero to little belief from almost anyone that Denver could prevail. In fact, according to Next Gen Stats, the Broncos' win probability was as low as 0.7% with 6:38 left in the game, when they were facing fourth-and-2 while down 26-8, a deficit of 18 points. And NFL teams had won 1,608 consecutive games (!) when leading by 18 points or more with less than 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Until Sunday. It was then that the Broncos flipped a switch, ultimately ripping off 33 points. The final two minutes, which featured three lead changes, deserve their own flowers. Bo Nix's 18-yard TD run gave Denver a 30-26 advantage, its first lead of the day, with 1:51 remaining. Jaxson Dart answered with an end-zone dive of his own, putting Big Blue up 32-30 with 37 seconds left. However, Giants kicker Jude McAtamney missed the PAT (the second such blown kick of the day), leaving an opening for the Broncos to drive back down, whereupon Wil Lutz took the dagger and finished the job with a 39-yard field goal as time expired.

-- Brooke Cersosimo

• Week 9 | Sunday, Nov. 2 | Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati)
• FINAL SCORE: Bears 47, Bengals 42 (Watch replay)

At this point, the formula for cracking this list is almost becoming a cliché: pack as much chaos as possible into 60 minutes. Joe Flacco had a dream game, in that you could imagine him saying, "I dreamt that I was suddenly the starting quarterback in Cincinnati, and everyone else on the field was at least seven years younger than me, and my arm didn't really work, but I threw for more yards than I ever had before in my life because Tee Higgins just kept catching the ball, and we made up a 14-point deficit in the last 2 minutes -- oh, and we actually recovered an onside kick even though the ball didn't go far enough -- and then we still somehow lost?" Ding this matchup for the fringey status of both teams and the swinging-saloon-door defense that helped keep the party going if you want. Between the dramatic juice -- like Flacco's unlikely heroics and Caleb Williams adding another triumphant moment to his resume -- and giddy hijinks, this one definitely belongs here.

-- Tom Blair   

• Week 2 | Sunday, Sept. 14 | AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
• FINAL SCORE: Cowboys 40, Giants 37, OT (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 2 (Weeks 2-6), No. 3 (7-8)

The teams scored a combined 41 points in the fourth quarter, including an insane 17 points in the final 52 seconds of regulation. Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards and three touchdowns, with the 48-yard scoring pass to Malik Nabers with 25 seconds left standing as a beautiful pitch and catch. And Brandon Aubrey nonchalantly booted a 64-yard field goal with several yards to spare to extend the game before hitting the winner in OT. If you like defense, this was probably not the game for you. But the Cowboys and Giants were both desperate to avoid an 0-2 start, and it produced a thriller with one mind-boggling play after another -- a memorable installment in this classic rivalry. The matchup gets bonus points for giving us one more chance to watch Wilson at his best before being replaced by Jaxson Dart, plus a Nabers highlight reel for Giants fans to dream of while the receiver recovers from an ACL tear. 

-- Judy Battista

• Week 3 | Sunday, Sept. 21 | Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
• FINAL SCORE: Eagles 33, Rams 26 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 3 (Weeks 3-4), No. 4 (Weeks 5-6), No. 5 (Weeks 7-8)

With their most recent playoff exit top of mind, the Los Angeles Rams completely wrecked the Eagles for two quarters, holding the reigning Super Bowl 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 one of the most indelible images of the season: Davis, at 336 pounds, rumbling 61 yards on the return for a touchdown as time expired, punctuating a victory that could have playoff implications.

-- Brooke Cersosimo