The BEST episodes of Friday Night Lights
Every episode of Friday Night Lights ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Friday Night Lights!
Friday Night Lights follows the intense world of high school football in the small town of Dillon, Texas, where the game is everything. As Coach Eric Taylor leads the Dillon Panthers through victories and defeats, players and families grapple with pressure, ambition, and personal struggles. In Dillon, football isn’t just a sport—it’s a way of life, and every Friday night feels like a battle.
#1 - Always
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/9/2011
The Taylors face several decisions that could change their lives forever.
#2 - State
Season 1 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/11/2007
The rumors about Coach Taylor leaving the team at the end of the season get a boost when an inside source decides to speak up. Meanwhile, the Panthers are preparing themselves for the state championship.
#3 - Thanksgiving
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/10/2010
The Taylors host Thanksgiving dinner; Coach tells Vince he has to be more selfish; Tami must make an apology; Julie and Landry are surprised by a visitor from their past; Tim makes a difficult decision; East Dillon rallies around the Lions.
#4 - The March
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/26/2011
Coach Taylor feels threatened as East Dillon faces serious budget cuts; Tami is flown to Pennsylvania for the opportunity of a lifetime; The Lions begin their quest for state; Vince becomes the man of the house again.
#5 - Keep Looking
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/17/2010
Coach is forced to play mediator as tensions erupt in the locker room. Luke gets recruited. Buddy deals with the trials and tribulations of fatherhood. Tami deals with a troubled student. The Lions welcome a new player.
#6 - Black Eyes & Broken Hearts
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/14/2007
Due to racial comments from Coach Mac, the black players on the team refuse to play unless he is sacked.Julie is sucked deeper into the vortex as her friendship with Tyra develops. Matt tries to win Julie back.
#7 - The Right Hand of the Father
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/10/2010
Someone from Vince's past resurfaces. Julie connects with a faculty member. Eric tries to instill discipline in the team. Buddy is troubled after learning something about his son.
#8 - Texas Whatever
Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/2/2011
Coach Taylor is offered a deal he can’t refuse; Tim assesses his future plans when an old flame returns to Dillon; The fate of East Dillon’s football program is decided.
#9 - Mud Bowl
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/28/2007
A chemical spill near Dillon High School forces Coach Taylor and the Panthers to seek another facility in which to play the crucial State Semi-Final game.
#10 - Leave No One Behind
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/1/2008
Matt Saracen reaches at his lowest point. Meanwhile, Tami Taylor’s relationship continues to blossom with Tyra. Julie becomes envious. Landry has an admirer. Elsewhere, Smash seeks advice from Coach Taylor.
#11 - Expectations
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/27/2010
Coach tempers high expectations for East Dillon's impending season; Vince and Luke work to recruit a new player for the Lions' squad; Dillon bids farewell to two alumni as they prepare to leave for college.
#12 - Pilot
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/3/2006
A newcomer coach Eric Taylor finds himself helming a promising high school football team, the Dillon Panthers, that has a real chance to make it to the top.
#13 - Kingdom
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/1/2010
Coach discusses recruitment regulations. The Lions take a road trip. East Dillon's four stars make a pact. Julie's relationship becomes more complicated.
#14 - Humble Pie
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/25/2008
Coach Taylor hires Tami as the girls volleyball coach and enlists the help of Tyra. Smash has a confrontation at a movie theater and is faced with a dilemma.
#15 - New York, New York
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/2008
Tim is worried when Jason talks about leaving Dillon. Money troubles cause a riff between Tami and Eric. Tyra leans on Cash when things get tough, while Julie talks to her dad about Matt's idea.
#16 - Best Laid Plans
Season 1 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/4/2007
Coach Taylor buckles under the pressure from Texas Methodist University. The news of his decision is not taken lightly by his family. Riggins faces the impending consequences of his relationship. Landry wonders whether he should tell someone about Tyra's situation.
#17 - Laboring
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/3/2010
Tensions in town run high as the Panthers/Lions game approaches; Coach tells Luke he won't be playing; Tami attempts to placate her detractors; developments both good and bad shake up the Riggins boys; Vince teams up with Kennard to seek revenge.
#18 - Hello, Goodbye
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/22/2008
Tami embarrasses herself with the superintendent. Tyra breaks with Landry to take up with Cash, the new bad boy in town. Julie advises Matt who is upset with his mother who has come to help with grandma. Smash has an emotional goodbye with Coach.
#19 - Jumping the Gun
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/11/2008
Brian "Smash" Williams takes heat from the major colleges that want a verbal commitment to their program. Meanwhile tension is still high between Coach Taylor and Tim Riggins regarding the situation with Julie. Tim doesn't know where to turn. And all eyes are on Coach Taylor as he prepares the Panthers to play Laribee High School in the season's biggest game.
#20 - It's Different for Girls
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/12/2006
The cheerleaders prepare for Championship Classic. Lyla is picked on when people find out about her and Riggins. Coach Taylor tries to keep Matt and Julie apart. Jason goes home after being released from rehab.
#21 - There Goes the Neighborhood
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/4/2008
Dillon County is hit by a tornado with Laribee High School affected by the damage forcing both rivals to share Dillon's resources. Julie and Tami adjust to Tim Riggins' living in their house, and tension builds between Landry and Tyra.
#22 - Don't Go
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 1/19/2011
An elite college football program attempts to lure Coach away from East Dillon. Vince vows to earn his spot back. Friends and family speak at Tim's parole hearing. East Dillon holds a Fall Sports Banquet.
#23 - Fracture
Season 5 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/5/2011
Coach fears he's beginning to lose his grip on the team. Tami worries that one of her students is being neglected. Vince alienates his teammates. Becky enters a beauty pageant.
#24 - The Son
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/2/2009
Julie, Landry, Coach, and Tami rally around Matt in a time of crisis; Vince endangers his rising star as a football player by engaging in criminal activity in order to support his family; Becky and Tim grow closer.
#25 - East of Dillon
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/28/2009
Coach Taylor wonders how low his fortunes can sink as he struggles to pull the East Dillon Lions together while Tami navigates the new politics at West Dillon. Meanwhile, Matt gets a taste of life as a townie and Tim is inspired by a college lecture on "the hero's journey."