The 2025 NFL season is quickly winding down, and Week 17 will answer many questions as the playoffs approach. Two key matchups on Sunday afternoon include the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the Cleveland Browns in a divisional clash, and later in the day, the Philadelphia Eagles traveling to Buffalo to face the Bills.
Of the nine afternoon games this week, six have postseason implications. In each conference, only one playoff spot remains undecided, as Houston and Indianapolis compete for the final wild-card position. In the NFC, it comes down to the Panthers and Buccaneers, each vying for the NFC South title.
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Carolina and Tampa Bay are on a collision course in the NFC South, potentially culminating in a winner-take-all matchup in Week 18. The No. 1 seed in the NFC is up for grabs among multiple teams, with San Francisco only needing to win out to secure it. Denver and New England are the frontrunners for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, with the Broncos holding a slight edge.
Pittsburgh can clinch the AFC North with a win or tie this week. Playing division rival Cleveland should be enough motivation. The Browns have three wins, and outside of the Shedeur Sanders saga, the only thing keeping Cleveland relevant is Myles Garrett chasing the single-season sack record, needing just one more to claim it. If the Steelers handle their business in Week 17, they’ll also eliminate Baltimore from the AFC North race.
All times listed are ET*
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Seahawks vs. Panthers, 1 p.m. on CBS
Cardinals vs. Bengals, 1 p.m. on Fox
Steelers vs. Browns, 1 p.m. on CBS
Jaguars vs. Colts, 1 p.m. on Fox
Buccaneers vs. Dolphins, 1 p.m. on Fox
Patriots vs. Jets, 1 p.m. on Fox
Saints vs. Titans, 1 p.m. on CBS
Giants vs. Raiders, 4:05 p.m. on CBS
Eagles vs. Bills, 4:25 p.m. on Fox
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more from Week 17’s early and afternoon Sunday game slates:
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Criss Partee
Bengals running back Chase Brown finds his way into the end zone for the second time against the Cardinals. Brown has 101 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Cincy leads 37-7.
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Tarohn Finley
The Carolina Panthers are still alive after a Bryce Young rushing touchdown. Young is 13-23 for 49 yards and an interception.
The Seahawks lead the Panthers 17-10 early in the fourth quarter. If the Panthers win and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the Miami Dolphins, Carolina wins the NFC South for the first time since 2015. The Buccaneers trail the Dolphins 20-10 in the fourth quarter.
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Tarohn Finley
Cam Little’s field goal ties the game at the end of the third fquarter or the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Criss Partee
Drake Maye appears to be done for the day after tossing five touchdown passes and 256 yards on 19 of 21. The Patriots are routing the Jets 42-3 heading into the fourth quarter.
Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs has taken over for Maye. Dobbs spent the last couple of years playing for San Francisco, Minnesota, and Arizona. He has a career completion percentage of 62.6, coming in with 17 touchdowns to 15 interceptions.
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Kate Magdziuk
The Steelers have the edge in the turnover department, having picked off rookie Shedeur Sanders for his second interception of the game in the fourth quarter. This time, it was a pick from safety Kyle Dugger, whom the Patriots traded to Pittsburgh ahead of the NFL trade deadline.
Despite a turnover earlier in the game, the Steelers were unable to manage any points. This time, they’ll get the ball at their own 34-yard line, down four points with under 12 minutes to go in the game.
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Tarohn Finley
Philip Rivers’ first touchdown of the day helped the Indianapolis Colts retake the lead. Rivers is 13-23 for 107 yards and a touchdown.
The Colts lead the Jaguars 17-14 late in the third quarter. The Colts have yet to win a game with Rivers as the starter and are on a five-game losing streak.
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Tarohn Finley
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver and kick returner Rashid Shaheed is questionable to return after going down late in the first quarter. Shaheed is being evaluated for a concussion.
Shaheed had one catch for eight yards. The Seahawks lead the Panthers 17-3 late in the third quarter.
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Kate Magdziuk
Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks is officially questionable to return in Week 17 with a hamstring injury, the team announced. Brooks was seen on the bike on the sideline after exiting.
He entered the week leading the NFL with 169 combined tackles and 93 solo tackles, while leading the team with 12 tackles for loss, adding 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to what’s been a solid year for the 28-year-old linebacker.
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Tarohn Finley
Seahawks Sam Darnold touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner pays off Julian Love’s interception. The Seahawks have 14 points off turnovers in the last 3:13.
The Seahawks lead 17-3 late in the third quarter.
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Criss Partee
Saints’ quarterback Tyler Shough hits Chris Olave for a touchdown to get New Orleans back in the game. Shough now has eight touchdown passes this season, and this was Olave’s ninth touchdown reception of the season. Titans lead 23-17.
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Criss Partee
Drake Maye is having a huge day for New England with his fifth touchdown pass of the game here to rookie wide receiver Efton Chism III. This was Chism’s first career touchdow
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Tarohn Finley
It has been an eventful third quarter for the Seattle Seahawks. Sam Darnold threw an interception in the end zone before the Seahawks got the ball back a few plays later after a Panthers fumble.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet pays off Seattle’s second chance with a rushing touchdown. Charbonnet has 10 carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. The Seahawks lead the Panthers 10-3 in the third quarter.
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Tarohn Finley
The Jacksonville Jaguars take the lead after quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s second rushing touchdown. Lawrence is 16-23 for 191 yards and an interception.
It was Lawrence’s ninth rushing touchdown of the season, which tops his combined total from his previous two years. Only Josh Allen and Jalen Hurts have run the ball more in the red zone than Lawrence.
The Colts lead the Jaguars 14-10 in the third quarter.
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Kate Magdziuk
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Criss Partee
Cincinnati running back Chase Brown gets in on the scoring party on this six-yard touchdown run. Brown now has a touchdown and 90 rushing yards in the game. Bengals lead 30-7 over the Cardinals.
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Yahoo Sports Staff
With less than 90 minutes remaining until the first games in the afternoon slate kick off, inactives are starting to roll in.
Here’s a full look at the Week 17 inactives for the afternoon games, to be updated as teams around the league make their announcements:
Giants inactives: QB Russell Wilson (Emergency 3rd QB), WR Jalin Hyatt, RB Dante Miller, CB Cor’Dale Flott, OLB Caleb Murphy, TE Theo Johnson, DL Rakeem Nuñez-Roches Sr.
Raiders inactives: QB Aidan O’Connell (Emergency 3rd QB), WR Phillip Dorsett II, WR Jack Bech, S Terrell Edmunds, RB Raheem Mostert, RB Chris Collier, DT Brodric MartinEagles inactives: QB Sam Howell (Emergency 3rd QB), RB A.J. Dillon, CB Michael Carter II, OT Lane Johnson, LB Joshua Uche, LB Nakobe Dean
Bills inactives: WR Keon Coleman, K Matt Prater, S Jordan Poyer, DT Jordan Phillips, OT Tylan Grable, TE Dalton Kincaid, DT DaQuan Jones -
Criss Partee
Tennessee up 20-10 at halftime behind two Cam Ward touchdown passes and 146 passing yards. Tony Pollard rushed for 35 yards in the first half. Chig Okonkwo and Elic Ayomanor caught the two Ward TD passes.
Tyler Shough for the Saints was efficient, completing 10 of 11 passes for 82 yards. New Orleans’ only touchdown came on defense when Chase Young sacked Ward, stripped the ball away and returned it for a touchdown.
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Tarohn Finley
It seems like no one told the Indianapolis Colts that they were eliminated from the playoffs yesterday, because their defense is playing with something to prove.
Colts linebacker Germaine Pratt’s interception in the end zone perfectly summed up the first half for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars’ long drives have ended in turnovers, and they’ve now committed two, including a fumble on a hook-and-ladder play that killed their first red-zone possession.
Despite quarterback Trevor Lawrence completing 14-17 passes for 137 yards, the Jaguars only have seven points to show for it. Lawrence has just one touchdown in the first half after throwing 10 combined touchdowns in the last two games.
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Criss Partee
It was all New England in the first half with four Drake Maye touchdowns, spreading it around, hitting Stefon Diggs, Rhamondre Stevenson, Hunter Henry, and Austin Hooper for scores. Stevenson also had a rushing touchdown.
For the Jets, Brady Cook passed for 39 yards and Breece Hall rushed for 30.
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Criss Partee
The Patriots are demolishing the Jets, and Drake Maye is leading the charge with 4 touchdown passes in the first half. Maye finds Hunter Henry on this one to take a 35-3 lead before halftime.






