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          New England Patriots

          The fastest, longest, most improbable NFL plays of 2025

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          • DJ Bien-AimeJan 7, 2026, 11:00 AM
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              DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets for the New York Daily News. He's a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show "Talkin' Texans."
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          The 2025 NFL regular season was packed with eye-popping plays and memorable moments that captivated sports fans down to the very last play.

          With the Pittsburgh Steelers leading 26-24 with two seconds left Sunday night, Baltimore Ravens kicker Tyler Loop lined up for a 44-yard field goal attempt. It was an opportunity to send Baltimore to the playoffs after an injury-riddled season.

          According to Next Gen Stats, the Ravens had a 79% chance to win when Loop lined up the potential winning field goal. But his attempt went wide right, eliminating Baltimore from the playoffs and giving the AFC North title to the Steelers.

          It would be the last play of John Harbaugh's tenure with the Ravens, who parted ways with their long-time coach Monday.

          NFL Next Gen Stats tracks players' speed through sensors in their uniforms and on the field, and it provides advanced metrics that reveal storylines beyond the box score.

          Here are some of the more memorable plays and moments as defined by Next Gen, from big-man touchdowns to impossible comebacks to blazing ball carriers.

          Most improbable comebacks

          The Chicago Bears host the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round of the playoffs Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, Prime), and if it's half as exciting as their Week 11 matchup, it will be must-see TV.

          The Bears had a 3% chance of winning when the Packers' field goal made it 16-6 with 5:03 left, according to Next Gen.

          But the Bears have established an identity as kings of the comeback. And that was enhanced when Caleb Williams hit DJ Moore with a winning pass that traveled 56.9 air yards, the most for any walk-off TD this season and the second most in the past 10 seasons. Williams was on the sideline for the longest when Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels threw a Hail Mary in the 2024 season that traveled 65.9 yards to beat the Bears.

          Another amazing comeback happened in Week 7 with the Denver Broncos scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants in a 33-32 win. The Giants lead 26-8 with 10 minutes left in the fourth, and the Broncos had a 1.5% win probability, according to Next Gen Stats.

          Even when the Broncos cut the lead to 26-23 with four minutes left, the Giants' win probability was 77%.

          The Tennessee Titans' first win of the season came against the Arizona Cardinals when they came back from a 21-3 hole. The play that sparked the comeback was a massive blunder from Cardinals running back Emari Demercado, who released the ball right before he crossed the goal line in the third quarter. The win probability went from plus-5.78 points over expected to minus-2.29.

          Throughout the game, the Titans had a 12.1% average win probability, marking the lowest average win probability of any winning team in any game in at least the past 10 seasons.

          Big-man speed

          The fastest big-man touchdown came from New York Jets defensive end Will McDonald IV in Week 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McDonald reached 19 mph after blocking a kick by Chase McLaughlin and recovering a fumble. He tapped into his 4.69-second 40-yard dash speed on his way to the end zone to put the Jets up 27-26.

          The Buccaneers still went onto win 29-27.

          Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis reached 18.59 mph on his game-sealing blocked field goal return in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams. Davis' play swung the Eagles win probability from 21.4% to 100%. More importantly, his speed was the fastest of any 300-or-more pound ball carrier in the past 10 years. He weighs 336 pounds.

          That play secured the Eagles' largest comeback of the season after Philadelphia trailed 26-7 in the third quarter.

          Meanwhile, Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons had the fastest sack of the season in Week 4. Simmons sacked Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in 2.09 seconds. It wasn't surprising for Simmons as he led all defensive tackles in pressures (60), quick pressures (26) and sacks (11) this season.

          Speed thrills

          It was a breakout season for Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who was tied with Packers running back Josh Jacobs for fourth in rushing touchdowns with 13, Gibbs finished seventh in rushing yards (1,223), and it's easy to see how he did it when looking at the Next Gen Stats list of fastest ball carriers:

          There were other moments when high-end speed was on display. In the Patriots' loss to the Bills in Week 15, quarterback Drake Maye hit 20.58 mph on Henderson's second touchdown, when the running back hit 21.25 mph. Both were rolling as Maye's time was the second-fastest speed of the season for a quarterback.

          First?

          It was Williams, who hit 21.01 mph late in the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in the Bears' Week 17 loss. Williams recorded five of the seven fastest quarterback speeds as ball carriers.

          Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn't top 20 mph, but he did turn in his fastest speed in four years when he hit 16.45 on his scramble touchdown in Week 14 against the Ravens.

          The Steelers host the Texans on Monday night (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN), and part of the reason they're in the playoffs is because linebacker Payton Wilson turned in the fastest speed for a linebacker in the Next Gen era (since 2016) when he hit 22.48 mph to catch Minnesota Vikings receiver Jordan Addison in Week 4 and save a touchdown. Wilson's tackle ran 61 seconds off the clock and secured the Steelers' win.

          The fastest overall speed regardless of if they had the ball or not belonged to Vikings cornerback Isaiah Rodgers. He hit 23.32 mph trying to chase Steelers wideout DK Metcalf on his 80-yard touchdown reception in a Week 4 Vikings loss. Rodgers was the only player to go over 23 mph in 2025.

          From way downtown

          Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little made two field goals with less than 5% make probability this season. His record-breaking 68-yard field goal in Week 9 against the Las Vegas Raiders had just a 4.3% chance of splitting the uprights, and his outdoor record 67-yard field goal in Week 18 against the Titans had just a 4.4% chance.