The twelfth week of the 2025 National Football League season is now in the books. Here are the seven teams that won games that were not expected to win.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers were the first team on Thanksgiving Day to deliver an upset. They beat the Detroit Lions 31-24. Heading into the game, the Packers were a 2.5 point underdog. It was an exceptional performance by Packers quarterback Jordan Love of Bakersfield, California, as he was the top winning quarterback of the week with four touchdown passes and an impressive quarterback rating of 124.2. With the win, the Packers improved to a record of 8-3-1.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys beat the reigning AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs 31-28 in the middle game of the Thanksgiving Day Trifecta. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott of Sulphur, Louisiana had 320 yards passing, and Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb of Opelousas, Louisiana had 112 yards receiving. Dallas has now won three straight games and are above .500 at 6-5-1. The Chiefs were the 3.5 point favourite, but struggled defensively as the Cowboys had 457 total yards.
Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati welcomed back Joe Burrow of Ames, Iowa, who simply performed admirably in a 32-14 win over the Baltimore Ravens as a seven point underdog. Burrow had 261 passing yards, of which 110 yards went to his top receiver, Ja’Marr Chase of Harvey, Louisiana. It was also a great night for the Bengals defense as they forced four Baltimore fumbles, and Bengals kicker Evan McPherson, who had six field goals.
Chicago Bears
The Bears are the current leaders in the NFC North at nine wins and three losses. In fact, they are tied with the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams for the best record in the NFC. Despite their great season, they went into Philadelphia as a seven point underdog. Chicago not only covered the spread, but beat the Eagles 24-15 in their own backyard on Black Friday. It was the Bears running game that was exceptional. Bears rookie running back Kyle Monangai of Roseland, New Jersey had 130 yards rushing, and D’Andre Swift of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had 125 yards rushing.
New York Jets
The Jets won only their third game of the season on Sunday as they upset the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 as a three point underdog. It was a strong game for Jets wide receiver Adonai Mitchell of Missouri City, Texas, who had 102 yards receiving and a touchdown, and kicker Nick Folk of Los Angeles, California, who had the game-winning field goal of 56 yards on the final play of the game to break a 24-24 tie.
Carolina Panthers
In the biggest upset of the week, the Carolina Panthers beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-28 as a 10 point underdog. The Panthers won the game on a 43 yard touchdown pass from Bryce Young of Wynnewood, Pennsylvania to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan of Waimanalo, Hawaii with six minutes and 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring. Carolina is now 7-6, and are half a game back of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for first place in the NFC South.
Houston Texans
The Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts 20-16 as a 3.5 point underdog on Sunday. The Texans have now won four straight games, and at 7-5 are in the thick of things in the AFC South.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
