Best NFL games of 2025 so far: Packers-Cowboys prime-time tie joins top 5 heading into Week 5 

• Week 1 | Sunday, Sept. 7 (SNF) | Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, N.Y.)
• FINAL SCORE: Bills 41, Ravens 40 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 1 (Weeks 1-3)

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, on the other hand, lost another opportunity to win a big game, sparking more questions about when they'll stop beating themselves in these moments. -- Jeffri Chadiha

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

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. -- Judy Battista

• Week 3 | Sunday, Sept. 21 | Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
• FINAL SCORE: Eagles 33, Rams 26 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 3 (Week 3)

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 their identity as the most balanced and talented team in the NFL. Hurts went on an absolute tear in the second half, injecting life into the Eagles offense by finally getting A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert involved, hitting each of them for a score. Philly obliterated the Rams' 19-point lead, cementing the comeback 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 to secure Philly's third consecutive win. -- Brooke Cersosimo

• Week 4 | Sunday, Sept. 28 (SNF) | AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
• FINAL SCORE: Packers 40, Cowboys 40, OT (Watch replay)

Who likes a tie? Well, what if the teams involved score a lot of points -- like, the second-most in a tie game in NFL history? What makes ties undeniably unsatisfying is the way they just ... end. But that was also kind of fitting for a night that was highlighted by a touchdown not being scored, with Micah Parsons chasing down Dak Prescott to prevent the QB from making a decisive dash into the end zone halfway through overtime. There was plenty of dramatic juice here leading up to kickoff: Would Parsons show up Jerry Jones under the lights? Would Prescott and Co. prove they could succeed without Parsons (or injured WR CeeDee Lamb)? In the end, "revenge" -- whatever that might have meant -- was denied of all parties. Green Bay's early 13-0 lead was quickly swallowed up by a flurry of explosive plays, with Josh Jacobs steamrolling defenders, Jordan Love spraying darts, Prescott tossing bombs and George Pickens making monster catches until neither side could go any further, subverting our narratively trite ideas about "winners" and "losers." -- Tom Blair

• Week 3 | Monday, Sept. 22 (MNF) | M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore)
• FINAL SCORE: Lions 38, Ravens 30 (Watch replay)
• Previously: No. 4 (Week 3)

A highly anticipated interconference showdown produced an extremely watchable evening of football under the bright lights of Monday night. Closing out a thrilling Week 3 slate with an inspired road victory, the Lions reminded everyone what they’re capable of by outlasting a game Ravens team in a hotly contested bout featuring a playoff feel. Having logged a franchise-record 15 wins in 2024, Detroit entered this season facing questions about the interior offensive line, edge rush and brain drain from the coaching staff. In Baltimore, the Lions ran for 224 yards and four touchdowns, sacked Lamar Jackson seven times and deftly implemented brilliant strategies on both sides of the ball. Detroit’s gutsy effort in a hostile environment included touchdown marches of 96 and 98 yards, but the Ravens just wouldn’t blink -- until Derrick Henry committed another costly, fourth-quarter fumble. Ultimately, Dan Campbell’s team put this one away in fitting fashion. Clinging to a seven-point lead at the two-minute warning, Detroit improved to 3-for-3 on fourth down with a beautifully executed play-action pass and then immediately gashed Baltimore for a 31-yard rushing score. -- Gennaro Filice