Five Wide: 2025 Week Eleven
By Thomas Willoughby
Gonna open this week with a thought for Dillon Gabriel. The Browns QB1 took a hit in their game over the Ravens, and ultimately had to leave the game. As he was doing so, the debut of Shedeur Sanders began, the Cleveland crowd was raucous. Gabriel, sat there concussed, while 65,000 people cheer wildly. Horrible for that man.
A surprisingly straightforward week of NFL football this week, with seldom few major upsets to speak of. So I, an Englishman, am going to feed into the Americans stereotypes about us, and talk about kicking a ball for a bit.
'ave it
I don’t want to undo all the hard work we’ve put into shedding the “Brits only care about kicking” trope that EVEN NOW gets brought up on European game broadcasts. But, Ethan Evans, you, my friend, have set the movement back 15 years. Get a load of this boot, man
GREATEST PUNT EVER!? 😱
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 17, 2025
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/HkljYrBGGU
That’s an absolute BEAUT. Pure textbook. And it won the Rams the game. The Seahawks, who’d huffed and puffed all evening, managed to engine themselves into something resembling field goal range…but not really. Myer stepped up for a 61-yard game-winning attempt, and pushed it well wide. Special teams matters, people. Kudos to you, Mr Evans.
Jacoby Big Arm
History in the NFL again this weekend! And in the States, too, no less. Jacoby Brissett, a 32 year old journeyman on his sixth unique team since 2016, decided to write himself into the history books (for now at least). In their 41-22 defeat to the 49ers, Brissett went 47-57 for 452 yards, setting the record for most completed passes in an NFL game. That’s an absolutely mental number of throws, to be fair.
The Cardinals are very bad, aren’t they. They’ve clearly decided that Kyler Murray isn’t going to be their QB moving forward, so it’s all hands to just being competitive until they inevitably move on from Jonathan Gannon at the end of the season. This sort of thing is fun, though. A ray of sunshine in torrential downpour. Good for Jacoby, I’ve always thought he was fine. It’ll be a long time yet until that record is taken from him. That’s exactly the sort of thing that can and will make a team looking for a steady back up take notice next season.
Falcons in hell
More history! The Atlanta Falcons have done an extremely Atlanta Falcons thing this week, and created the sort of history that doesn’t result in them winning games. Take a look at this nonsense.
https://twitter.com/tori_mcelhaney/status/1990197440956510235
Do you know how long I’ve waited for this sort of sack efficiency, by the way. I can count the amount of decent pass rushes the Falcons have had in my time following them on one hand, and have fingers left to spare. The Falcons sit second in the sacks list, trailing only the Broncos. And all they’ve got to show for it is a 3-7 record and a season that’s dead before Thanksgiving. Nasty work.
I’m going to have plenty more to say about the Falcons in the coming weeks, but, rest assured, this is not the end for them. I see a double digit sack game on the horizon. One they’ll lose 16-13.
Kitwatch 2025: Part VII
Thursday night gave us a return to the “Rivalries” series, with the New England Patriots debuting their “Nor’easter” uniform in a 27-14 win over the Jets. These jerseys are probably my favourites thus far. That slight fading on the blue feels a bit stonewash. That, with the alternate colour arm stripes, make them a lovely foil to the Patriots current jerseys. They look like if the current home colours were shot and developed on a disposable camera in strange lighting. Good job those guys.
The Los Angeles Rams gave us their Rivalries effort during a 21-19 win over the Seattle Seahawks. This is “Midnight Mode”, which claims to be midnight navy, but just looks black to me. And I’m not fully on board with these. I count four different colours in the detailing, making it look a bit slapped together. The Rams yellow against that dark of a blue doesn’t work for me. A swing and a miss, as far as I’m concerned.
The New York Giants gave us their “vintage white” uniforms for the second week in a row. No Kitwatch last week, so this’ll be our first mention of them. I like them! Both the legacy blue and the vintage white are a nice pairing. And I think I definitely prefer this to the Giants current white jersey. The blue and red detailing over just red works a lot nicer, for me.
Sticking with throwbacks, the Bills brought their old-timey uniforms for the second time this season. More thoughts on them from the last time they wore them here. The Broncos, too pulled Orange Crush from out the back of their wardrobe for another run out. And the Arizona Cardinals went all black for the second time this season (somehow I missed the first time), and I dare say these might be the most underrated uniforms in the league. The shoulder details feel very 60s/70s, the numbering is clean and straight forward, and there’s just not too much going on. What a gem.
*A single tear streaks down my face while I wave*
And it’s goodbye to the NFL international games for another season! Seven weeks, five different countries, some decent enough ties across them. Sunday in Madrid was hardly a classic (what business did EITHER coach have going for it in 4th and goal three times between them?), but that Bernabeu is some setting for it. Even if the exterior looks like a warehouse.
Where to next? Sky Sports floated the prospect of nine games overseas next season, which has led me to plant my flag early. The Touchdown can EXCLUSIVELY speculate that next seasons international games will be played in: Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, Dublin, London, London, London (Jaguars Wembley), Munich, Madrid, Mexico City. IN THAT ORDER. Tell your friends, book your hotels. I promise you those cities might happen.
Features Image Credit: Steve Luciano – AP Photo
Thomas Willoughby
NFL ANALYST
THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER