2025 NFL Game of the Year: Ranking the top five contenders (so far)

• 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 might have determined nothing less than the path to the Super Bowl. The game had everything. A stellar performance by leading MVP candidate Matthew Stafford. A wobbly start and redemptive effort by Sam Darnold. A furious comeback by the Seahawks, who were dominated by the Rams for most of the game and overcame a 16-point deficit in the final 9 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 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 this season. Whew. We're still trying to process it all, but the bottom line is this: the Seahawks clinched a playoff berth with the win, and the rest of us got the game of the year. 

-- Judy Battista

• Week 1 | Sunday, Sept. 7 (SNF) | Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, N.Y.)
• FINAL SCORE: Bills 41, Ravens 40 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 1 (Weeks 1-15)

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 Ravens falling to the fringes of the playoff picture while the Bills ended up in a divisional fight with the Patriots. But this was still an unforgettable way to kick off Sunday Night Football and a fitting ruler of this list for most of the season.

-- Jeffri Chadiha

• 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 (5-6, 9-15), No. 5 (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 a truly indelible image: Davis, at 336 pounds, rumbling 61 yards on the return for a touchdown as time expired. The Rams have morphed into one of the league's more dominant teams -- so it's somewhat ironic that they've made this list twice for being on the wrong side of epic comebacks.

-- Brooke Cersosimo

• Week 7 | Sunday, Oct. 20 | Empower Field at Mile High (Denver)
• FINAL SCORE: Broncos 33, Giants 32 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 2 (Weeks 7-15)

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 this day. 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 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 standing, 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