Every week for the duration of the 2025 regular season, USA TODAY Sports will provide timely updates to the NFL’s ever-evolving playoff picture − typically starting Sunday afternoon and then moving forward for the remainder of the week (through Monday’s and Thursday’s games or Saturday’s, if applicable. And, when the holidays roll around, we’ll be watching then, too).

What just happened? What does it mean? What are the pertinent factors (and, perhaps, tiebreakers) prominently in play as each conference’s seven-team bracket begins to crystallize? All will be explained and analyzed up to the point when the postseason field is finalized on Sunday, Jan. 4.

Here’s where things stand with Week 13 underway:

AFC playoff picture

1. New England Patriots (10-2), AFC East leaders: Sunday’s narrow defeat of the Bengals gave the Pats the league’s best record, moving them past Denver and into the conference’s top spot. Good chance they hold onto it when they hit their off week. Remaining schedule: vs. Giants, BYE, vs. Bills, at Ravens, at Jets, vs. Dolphins

2. Denver Broncos (9-2), AFC West leaders: Being idle during Week 12 cost them first place in the conference, but you can bet the break was welcome − especially for a team that will need to be close to fully charged for a brutal four-game stretch at the end of its regular season. Remaining schedule: at Commanders, at Raiders, vs. Packers, vs. Jaguars, at Chiefs, vs. Chargers

3. Indianapolis Colts (8-3), AFC South leaders: They’ve dropped two of their past three to fall off the conference pace … and are now only one game ahead of Jacksonville and two better than Houston in the division. The next two intra-divisional matchups should be crucial. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, at Jaguars, at Seahawks, vs. 49ers, vs. Jaguars, at Texans

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5), AFC North leaders: Baltimore’s Thanksgiving loss restores them to first place. A win over Buffalo on Sunday would help a lot more. Remaining schedule: vs. Bills, at Ravens, vs. Dolphins, at Lions, at Browns, vs. Ravens

5. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4), wild card No. 1: They needed last week off … and Buffalo’s loss granted the battered Bolts improved positioning. Remaining schedule: vs. Raiders, vs. Eagles, at Chiefs, at Cowboys, vs. Texans, at Broncos

6. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-4), wild card No. 2: Wins over the Chiefs and Chargers could serve them well when it’s time to sort out tiebreakers. Despite beating the Bolts in Week 11, the Jags check in behind them because LA’s 6-2 record in AFC games gives it precedence in the current three-way wild-card tiebreaker. Remaining schedule: at Titans, vs. Colts, vs. Jets, at Broncos, vs. Colts, at Titans

7. Buffalo Bills (7-4), wild card No. 3: QB Josh Allen took a beating − as did the Bills’ hopes of catching the Patriots in the AFC East race in last week’s loss to Houston. Now 4-3 in conference games, Buffalo sits behind the Chargers and Jags in the wild-card seeding. Remaining schedule: at Steelers, vs. Bengals, at Patriots, at Browns, vs. Eagles, vs. Jets

8. Houston Texans (6-5), in the hunt: They’ve won four of five, including three in a row without injured QB C.J. Stroud. If they want to win the AFC South for a third straight year, the Texans likely need to sweep the Colts while continuing their surge … but the pieces are falling into place for a late charge to the top. Remaining schedule: at Colts, at Chiefs, vs. Cardinals, vs. Raiders, at Chargers, vs. Colts

9. Kansas City Chiefs (6-6), in the hunt: Not only will they almost certainly not win the AFC West for the first time since 2015, they could well miss the postseason for the first time since 2014 − Andy Reid’s second year in K.C. And don’t forget they’ve lost to the Broncos, Chargers, Bills and Jags, who are all ahead of them. Remaining schedule: vs. Texans, vs. Chargers, at Titans, vs. Broncos, at Raiders

10. Baltimore Ravens (6-6), in the hunt: A sloppy performance against the Bengals cost them first place in the AFC North and a slot in the projected playoff field. Unlike several other squads, the Ravens are also on the wrong side of a head-to-head tiebreaker with Kansas City. Remaining schedule: vs. Steelers, at Bengals, vs. Patriots, at Packers, at Steelers

NFC playoff picture

1. Los Angeles Rams (9-2), NFC West leaders: While Philly owns the head-to-head tiebreaker, it doesn’t matter now that the Rams have the better record in the aftermath of the Eagles’ demise in Week 12. Still, LA has scant breathing room between itself and the Seahawks plus 49ers in the division. Remaining schedule: at Panthers, at Cardinals, vs. Lions, at Seahawks, at Falcons, vs. Cardinals

2. Philadelphia Eagles (8-3), NFC East leaders: Last Sunday’s collapse likely won’t cost them the division. But it did drop them behind the Rams and served as another worrisome potential harbinger for the defending champs. Remaining schedule: vs. Bears, at Chargers, vs. Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, vs. Commanders

3. Chicago Bears (8-3), NFC North leaders: They’ve won eight of nine since an 0-2 start to stunningly take over first place in the division. An inferior record (5-2) in NFC games keeps Chicago behind the Eagles. But the winner of their Black Friday matchup will assume sole possession of second place in the conference. Remaining schedule: at Eagles, at Packers, vs. Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5), NFC South leaders: Their divisional lead over Carolina was (barely) restored Monday night, but it might not be worth much if injured QB Baker Mayfield is severely limited on the field. Remaining schedule: vs. Cardinals, vs. Saints, vs. Falcons, at Panthers, at Dolphins, vs. Panthers

5. Seattle Seahawks (8-3), wild card No. 1: All three of the ‘Hawks’ losses are against NFC opponents, including two in the division − defeats that won’t serve them well in the tiebreaker department. Remaining schedule: vs. Vikings, at Falcons, vs. Colts, vs. Rams, at Panthers, at 49ers

6. Green Bay Packers (8-3-1), wild card No. 2: They merely maintained their standing (for now) with their Thanksgiving win at Detroit, but a loss would have dropped them from the field entirely. A thin margin for the Pack to be sure … yet they’ll springboard into first place in the NFC North on Friday if the Bears lose at Philly. Remaining schedule: vs. Bears, at Broncos, at Bears, vs. Ravens, at Vikings

7. San Francisco 49ers (8-4), wild card No. 3: Not a pretty win Monday night, but the Niners will take it as they solidify their hold on the conference’s final playoff spot. Remaining schedule: at Browns, BYE, vs. Titans, at Colts, vs. Bears, vs. Seahawks

8. Detroit Lions (7-5), in the hunt: Getting swept by the Packers further entrenches Detroit, which could have moved into a wild-card slot with a Turkey Day win, on the outside of the field. Remaining schedule: vs. Cowboys, at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears

9. Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1), in the hunt: Three wins in a row further fuels playoff aspirations in Big D. Next week’s game in Detroit looms as massive − and potentially must-win − for the Cowboys and Lions. Remaining schedule: at Lions, vs. Vikings, vs. Chargers, at Commanders, at Giants

10. Carolina Panthers (6-6), in the hunt: The Panthers (still) only have one win against a team (Green Bay) currently above .500 after losing in Silicon Valley on Monday night. But Carolina has beaten the .500 Cowboys, who they’re otherwise virtually tied with. Remaining schedule: vs. Rams, BYE, at Saints, vs. Buccaneers, vs. Seahawks, at Buccaneers

NFL teams eliminated from playoff contention in 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals celebrated their 32-14 win Thanksgiving night against the Baltimore Ravens on the field at M&T Bank Stadium with NBC’s Melissa Stark, and they were hilariously awkward as they ate turkey legs and other holiday food.

The broadcast captured an especially funny reaction of long snapper Will Wagner biting into a crab leg and reacting.

‘What just happened?’ NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico joked.

Burrow was named Madden Thanksgiving MVP after lifting Cincinnati to a win in his first game back since suffering a turf-toeinjury during a Week 2 win against Jacksonville.

The broadcast also showed Bengals head coach Zac Taylor’s congratulatory locker-room speech, in which he urged players to ‘take a piece of chicken’ as they accepted game balls.

Tirico and analyst Jason Garrett mocked Taylor for calling it chicken, as the dish was actually turducken.

Social media reactions to the celebration at the end of NBC’s broadcast:

AI-assisted summary
• Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw for four touchdowns, a season high for him.
• Lions coach Dan Campbell’s team fell further behind in the NFC playoff picture after being swept by Green Bay.
• Detroit receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown left the game early with an ankle injury.

The NFL’s Thanksgiving schedule has seen far more questionable appetizers than the one served up early Thursday afternoon.

For a long time, the Detroit Lions’ appearance on the holiday was treated something like a distant relative’s casserole brought to a family meal: something to be tolerated at best before the tastier options became available. But the Lions’ resurgence has changed the dynamic on Thanksgiving, with the organization now actually having legitimate national appeal. And the 23rd Thanksgiving meeting between Detroit and the Green Bay Packers – the highest total for any two teams on the holiday – had plenty of intriguing subplots given a tight NFC North race.

The Packers’ firepower proved too much for the Lions, as Green Bay prevailed with a 31-24 win. Here’s a closer look at the fallout from the game, with a breakdown of the biggest winners and losers:

Winners

Jordan Love

The consistency still isn’t all there for the Packers’ aerial attack. But it’s hard to pin much of that on Love, who yet again lifted the passing game by blending precision with boldness. He set a season high with four touchdown passes and had 234 passing yards, his most since Week 9. The highlight came on a 51-yard moon ball to Christian Watson to open the third quarter, helping to pad Green Bay’s lead and deflate the home crowd coming out of halftime. But he also closed the door with a 16-yard strike on fourth down to seal the win.

Matt LaFleur

Criticized for a lack of aggressiveness in a few recent stumbles by Green Bay, the coach took a bit more of a backyard football approach into the holiday. LaFleur went for it twice on fourth down in the second quarter and was rewarded with touchdowns on both plays. He also could have punted late but took another page from the Dan Campbell playbook to close the game out with another fourth-down conversion. The running game got going early, but the coach was wise to stick with what was working by letting Love dice the defense.

Dontayvion Wicks

Drops – including nine last season – have derailed the receiver’s bid to become a bigger part of the Packers’ offense. Early on Thursday, however, he managed to get both feet in on a difficult 22-yard touchdown strike from Jordan Love. His hands didn’t let him down on his second score, either, as he managed to reel in a 1-yard grab after breaking free at the goal line. And when Love needed to wrap things up, he once again lofted it up to Wicks, who secured a 16-yard grab on fourth down to deny any shot at a comeback. In all, he led Packers receivers with six catches for 94 yards.

Jameson Williams

The speedy wide receiver was largely overlooked in the first half of the Lions’ season, to the point that coordinator John Morton accepted blame for not getting him more involved. With Dan Campbell taking over play-calling duties, however, he’s enjoyed a re-emergence in the passing attack. That trend continued Thursday. With Amon-Ra St. Brown sidelined early by an ankle injury and almost nothing else working for Detroit offensively in the first half, Williams kept the Lions in the game with three catches for 69 yards and a touchdown before halftime. He did plenty of the work himself, like when he eluded Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine on a quick screen and sprinted into the end zone to cut the second-quarter deficit to 3 points. A fourth-quarter drop on fourth down, however, marred a day in which Williams recorded seven catches for 144 yards.

Micah Parsons

After turning up the heat on the first two possessions, the Packers’ pass rush had trouble getting home and forcing Goff off his spot. Parsons, however, helped Green Bay close strong with two sacks on a late fourth-quarter drive, including one that would force Detroit to settle for a field goal. With 2 ½ sacks on the day, he becomes the only player in NFL history to notch at least 12 sacks in each of his first five seasons. Now just 1 ½ off his single-season high, it seems likely Parsons will set a career best in his new setting. And with his 8 ½ sacks on Thanksgiving tied for the most of any player in history, no one feasts on the holiday quite like him.

Jared Goff

It sure seemed like the Lions quarterback was in for another long day when he went the entire first quarter without a completion. But Goff prevented the game from getting out of hand, playing largely efficient football and throwing two touchdown passes. He managed to do so despite limited contributions from the ground game, with the quarterback’s 24-yard run the longest of the day for the Lions.

Jack White and Eminem

At least we should be able to get past one halftime show without a controversy or culture war. White probably would have been enough of a crowd-pleaser even without Eminem’s cameo, but the rapper’s appearance put the performance over the top for Detroit fans with a healthy appreciation for their homegrown stars.

A classic uniform matchup

Thanksgiving is a time for aesthetic delights, and both the Lions and Packers delivered with their threads. Detroit dusted off their streamlined design of yore: blue jerseys with gray pants and helmets with no logo. Green Bay’s traditional road uniforms completed the timeless feel to the tilt. At a time of year when we’ll see some sartorial showstoppers – including the Ravens’ ‘Purple Rising’ get-ups on Thursday night – it was nice to start the day off with something a little more understated.

Losers

Dan Campbell

Hard to fault the Lions head coach much for this one, as he navigated a tricky play-calling setup amid mounting offensive injuries and an unfavorable matchup. But things are looking really tough for a Detroit team that fell further behind in the NFC playoff picture after getting swept by Green Bay. The next three weeks will bring meetings with the Cowboys, Rams and Steelers. He’ll need some solutions in short order if the Lions hope to even salvage a wild-card berth, with holding onto the NFC North crown looking increasingly unlikely.

Jahmyr Gibbs

One week after posting a career-high 264 yards from scrimmage, the speedy back couldn’t seem to find much of a runway against the Packers. Gibbs had 20 carries for 68 yards and was essentially a non-factor in the passing game. This was the second time this year he was neutralized by Green Bay, a team that’s kept the dynamic all-purpose threat boxed in throughout his career.

Amon-Ra St. Brown

The two-time All-Pro hadn’t let his recent bout of drops get him down. But the ankle injury he suffered Thursday knocked him out of the game. With a showdown against the Cowboys next Thursday, St. Brown won’t get the typical extended recovery time conferred by a mid-week matchup. ‘Campbell said after the game was not ‘long-, long-term,’ but despite how Detroit’s offense fared without him, the Lions can’t be comfortable with the prospect of trying to reproduce these results with their season hanging in the balance.

No. 4 Texas knocked off two of the top five teams in women’s college basketball to win the Players Era Women’s Championship on Thursday, Nov. 27 in Las Vegas.

Rori Harmon made the winning jumper with one second left on the clock as the Longhorns defeated No. 2 South Carolina, 66-64, in the tournament final. Texas beat No. 3 UCLA, 76-65, in the semifinal on Wednesday, Nov. 26.

‘You invest in your craft, that’s why, in moment (Harmon)’s able to make that shot,’ Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. ‘She’s made it in her mind, she’s actually made it in games.

‘When it comes time for the last shot, it’s always going to be in her hands.’

Harmon, who had six points and nine assists, was named tournament MVP. Madison Booker added 16 points and nine rebounds while Jordan Lee had 19 points for the Longhorns (7-0).

South Carolina (7-1) had four starters in double figures led by Joyce Edwards and Ta’Niya Latson with 16 each.

Texas had 17 points of the bench compared to two points for South Carolina.

What time is South Carolina vs. Texas women’s basketball?

No. 2 South Carolina (6-0) faces No. 4 Texas (7-0) in the Players Era Women’s Championship at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 27, at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

South Carolina vs. Texas: TV, streaming

• Date: Thursday, Nov. 27
• Time: 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)
• Location: Michelob ULTRA Arena (Las Vegas)
• TV: truTV
• Stream: Fubo

Lil Jon closed out the NFL’s slate of Thanksgiving halftime entertainment by performing at Thursday night’s Baltimore Ravens vs. Cincinnati Bengals game.

Viewers watching the game at home were only able to catch a handful of seconds of the 54-year-old rapper’s performance.

Rather than broadcast Lil John’s halftime show during the Ravens vs. Bengals game, NBC opted to show a feature about John Madden’s coaching legacy. The feature was narrated by Andy Reid and also included interviews with Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs, and former Raiders players Art Shell, Gus Otto and Phil Villapiano, among others.

After the feature wrapped, NBC cut to commercial. Upon returning, they showed what was roughly a 15-second clip of Lil Jon’s performance before airing more ads and preparing to return to play.

The decision not to air Lil Jon’s halftime show irked NFL fans and entertainment afficionados who were expecting to see the rapper’s full performance, especially after seeing Fox and CBS air the entirety of Jack White and Post Malone’s performances, respectively. Those fans took to social media to express their displeasure with NBC’s decision:

Though viewers were upset, NBC’s strategy was nothing new. It aligns with the network’s other Thanksgiving halftime presentations since it became a staple in the NFL’s holiday rotation in 2013. Each year, NBC has presented an in-depth, human-interest feature during the halftime show, which is then followed by a brief clip of the in-stadium performance.

In 2024, there was similar uproar about the network’s decision not to show violinist-slash-dancer Lindsey Stirling’s performance at the Green Bay Packers vs. Miami Dolphins game. The network also showed just a clip of Steve Aoki’s performance during the 2023 San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks game.

The Ravens halftime show marked the end of a busy day for Lil Jon. He also performed his hit ‘Turn Down for What’ on the Toys ‘R Us float at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York earlier on the holiday.