NFL Black Friday grades for Week 13: Bears ace road test against Eagles, Bengals earn 'A' for shocking win
Here are the grades for every team that played on Thanksgiving and Black Friday
By
John Breech
•
7 min read
Welcome to the holiday edition of the Week 13 grades!
Black Friday is all about finding the best steals and deals while you shop, so it's fitting that the Bears were playing in the annual Black Friday game, because they might have found the biggest steal of the 2025 NFL Draft in Kyle Monangai. The seventh-round rookie teamed up with D'Andre Swift to help lead the Bears to a dominant 24-15 upset win over the Eagles on Friday.
The biggest surprise was how easy the Bears were able to run the ball. Monangai rushed for 130 yards and a TD while Swift added 125 yards and a TD of his own on a day where the Bears totaled 281 on the ground. It was the most yardage the Eagles have given up on the ground since 2015. Going into Week 12, no team had topped 175 yards rushing against the Eagles this season.
The win by the Bears capped a wild 48 hours for underdogs. There were three games on Thanksgiving and the underdog came out on top in each game with the Packers, Cowboys and Bengals all pulling off an upset. The Bengals, who closed as an 8-point underdog, pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend, but the Bears (+7) weren't too far behind.
With that in mind, let's get to our holiday grades.
Chicago 24-15 Philadelphia
| A- |  |
| It's not often you see a team go into Philadelphia and bully the Eagles, but that's exactly what happened. Ben Johnson's offense is at its best when the Bears can run the ball and their rushing attack steamrolled the Eagles. The Bears offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage, which allowed D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai to both top 120 yards on the ground. If the Bears can continue to run the ball like this, they'll be able to beat anyone left on their schedule. As good as the offense was, the defense might have been better: They shut down Saquon Barkley while holding Jalen Hurts to under 200 passing yards. At 9-3, the Bears have clinched their first winning record since 2018 and they just showed the rest of the NFL that they're going to be a serious contender down the stretch. | |
| D |  |
| It might not be panic time in Philadelphia, but it's getting close, at least on the offensive side of the ball. For the third time in the past four weeks, the Eagles were held to 16 points or less. Going into Week 13, the Bears were giving up the fifth-most rushing yards per game in the NFL, so this seemed like a possible breakout spot for Saquon Barkley, but instead, he got shut down, being held to just 56 yards. Even the Eagles bread-and-butter play failed them in this game with Jalen Hurts losing a fumble on a tush push. The Eagles defense has been bailing out the offense all season, but they couldn't stop the Bears from running the ball. Even Jake Elliott fell apart with two missed kicks. This was a total meltdown by Philly in all three phases of the game. In 2023, the Eagles started 10-1 before experiencing a total collapse that saw them lose their first playoff game and history could be repeating itself. Heading into Week 12, the Eagles were 8-2 and they looked like a lock to win the NFC East, but after two straight losses, their division lead is now down to just 1.5 games. If the Eagles don't right the ship soon, the Cowboys might sneak in and steal the division. | |
Green Bay 31-24 over Detroit
| A- |  |
| Packers coach Matt LaFleur showed off a new aggressive side and it paid off with a huge win. The Packers coach channeled his inner Dan Campbell with three fourth down attempts in this game and Green Bay converted them all. That was mostly thanks to Jordan Love, who came up absolutely clutch by going 3 of 3 for 40 yards and two touchdowns on the fourth down plays. The Packers offense had struggled over the past couple of weeks, but Love looked sharp and it's possible the offense has finally gotten over the hump of losing Tucker Kraft. Defensively, Micah Parsons took over in the fourth quarter with two big sacks. The Packers defense been playing well enough to win the division all year, and now, the offense might have finally caught up. With a national audience watching, the Packers (8-3-1) made a Thanksgiving statement in this game and that statement is that they might be the best team in the NFC North. | |
| B |  |
| The Lions played well enough to win, but they lost this game because they fell apart on fourth down on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they went 0-for-2 on fourth down and the most painful miss was a fourth-and-3 drop by Jameson Williams that came at Green Bay's 21-yard line in the fourth quarter. Defensively, they let the Packers convert all three of their fourth down attempts, including a fourth-and-3 conversion with under two minutes to play that allowed Green Bay to ice the game. Basically, the Lions needed to make some clutch plays and they couldn't get it done on either side of the ball, which has been the story of their season. After finishing 15-2 last season, this year's version of the Lions (7-5) is now in serious danger of missing the playoffs. | |
Dallas 31-28 over Kansas City
| B |  |
| After seven straight years of reaching at least the AFC title game with Patrick Mahomes, this might have been the dagger that finally ends Kansas City's playoff streak. This loss epitomized the Chiefs' entire season: The team that always finds a way to win close games lost another close game. After going 12-0 in one-score games last year, the Chiefs are 1-6 this year. The defense couldn't get a single stop in the fourth quarter and they failed to stop the Cowboys' on almost every key third down that came up. On the offensive side of the ball, Patrick Mahomes was impressive, but the offense also disappeared at times. The unit punted on four straight possessions during a span that ran from the second quarter to the third quarter. There were also some ugly drops and two questionable punts in the second half that came on fourth-and-5 or shorter in Cowboys territory. It's been a nightmare season for the Chiefs (6-6), and at this point, they only shot they're going to have of making the playoffs is if they win out, and even then, it won't be guaranteed. | |
| A- |  |
| Since coming out of their Week 10 bye, the Cowboys have looked like one of the best teams in the NFL and they showed America just how good they are right now. Dak Prescott, who's quietly having one of the best seasons of his career, out-dueled Patrick Mahomes in a shootout win. Prescott threw an interception with his second pass of the game, but after that, he torched the Chiefs defense for 320 yards and two touchdowns. The Cowboys decision to trade for George Pickens during the offseason continues to look like a brilliant one. The Chiefs have no idea how to stop the 1-2 punch of Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, who combined for 200 receiving yards. The main reason the Cowboys have been better over the past few weeks is because their biggest weakness (the defense) is no longer a big weakness. The unit kept Mahomes flustered with constant pressure that ended with three sacks. At this point, the Cowboys (6-5-1) are a long shot for the playoffs, but after beating both teams from last year's Super Bowl in a span of five days, there's no reason this team can't run the table and make the postseason. | |
Cincinnati 32-14 over Baltimore
| A |  |
| Joe Burrow is back and he could make things interesting in the AFC North. In his first game in more than two months, Burrow shined, throwing for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Burrow did look a little rusty in the red zone, but otherwise, his performance was nearly perfect. He completed at least one pass to nine different receivers, including his old buddy Ja'Marr Chase, who continued to torment the Ravens (He caught seven passes for 110 yards). Most importantly for the Bengals, the return of Burrow appeared to inspire their defense. The Bengals had their best defensive performance of the season: They sacked Lamar Jackson three times while forcing five turnovers. At 4-8, the Bengals playoff hopes are on life support right now, but Burrow just might be able to revive them. The Bengals were 4-8 after 13 weeks last season before running off five straight wins and if Burrow can do that again, the Bengals will have a legitimate chance to win the AFC North. | |
| D |  |
| The Ravens offense looks broken and that's mostly because Lamar Jackson doesn't look like Lamar Jackson. Over the past few weeks, the Ravens QB has been hesitant to run and he's been inaccurate with his passes and both of those issues were on display against the Bengals. Jackson also got sloppy by committing three of Baltimore's FIVE turnovers (The ugliest turnover came from Isaiah Likely, who fumbled a ball out of the end zone when he was just one yard away from scoring a TD). Jackson now has five turnovers and zero touchdown passes in his past three games. At 6-6, the Ravens are still in the driver's seat to win the AFC North, but based on how the offense is playing, there's definitely no guarantee that's going to happen. | |
