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Now that the 2025 NFL schedule has been released in its entirety, now is the time to dissect the details from every angle imaginable.
All 32 teams knew who their home and away opponents would be as soon the 2024 season ended, but now that they’ve got exact dates attached to those matchups, we can see which teams may have caught a break — and which drew the short end of the straw — when it comes to things like bye weeks, road trips, Thursday night games and other potential plot twists.
The prime-time factor isn’t really as big as it used to be. In the 1970s and ‘80s, being selected to play on Monday Night Football was an honor, a feather in the cap for players and teams to circle on the calendar. With the advent of Sunday night games and a limited Thursday night package in the ‘90s, Monday night lost a bit of luster. And now that the Thursday night games are a season-long package, the narrative is that those games present a short week of preparation — and a mini-bye before the next game.
With the recent addition of the Christmas games, the Black Friday game and the Week 1 Friday night game in Brazil. There will be 56 games this season either in prime time or on a short week (and this doesn’t even include the Saturday games late in the season).
Here are five key takeaways from the schedule release:
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden DanielsMatt Kartozian/Imagn Images
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, is clearly this year’s model. After taking the Commanders to the brink of Super Bowl LIX last season, Daniels and his teammates will be making five prime-time appearances in 2025 — and they’ll get two more national spotlights with a Week 11 game against the Dolphins in Madrid and a Week 17 Christmas Day special against the Cowboys.
It's clear the league still looks at Patrick Mahomes as its No. 1 star, given the Kansas City Chiefs’ boatload of night games. But it’s also evident the NFL sees Daniels as one of its biggest ambassadors. And in an era in which the league is not afraid to schedule tough games early in the season, Washington has a pretty favorable quirk: The Commanders’ toughest opponent is certainly the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, and their two games against Philly are in Weeks 16 and 18. Considering only one of these teams can win the division, there’s a decent chance these teams can be Wild Card opponents, which would mean three matchups in four weeks.
For the first time in NFL history, a team will play back-to-back games in two different international matchups. They’ll face the Steelers in Dublin in Week 4 and the Browns in London in Week 5. Okay, that’s not much different than the Jaguars playing back-to-back games in London last season. Or when an East Coach team has back-to-back games on the West Coast and stays out West for two weeks.
But here’s the rub: After going 14-3 last season, the Vikings are breaking in a young, inexperienced quarterback in J. J. McCarthy. Hard enough for a kid to get his feet wet as a first-year starter and having to play his fourth and fifth career games abroad.
To make matters worse: Even though they get a bye after that European stint, the Vikings then play home against the Eagles, followed by a quick trip to the Chargers on a Thursday, then at the Lions and home for the Ravens. There’s a good chance the Vikings have twice as many losses by Week 10 than they had all of last season.
Any judgments about easy or tough schedules based on last year’s records are never foolproof. At this time last year, you would have been perfectly happy having the Washington Commanders on your team’s schedule. Anyway, even if expectations are met, outside circumstances factor into it.
On paper, the Buffalo Bills’ Week 15 game at New England should be a break. But they play the Patriots after a four-game stretch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at the Houston Texans (on a Thursday night), at the Pittsburgh Steelers and home for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills will likely be favored in those four games. No matter how they fare, though, Mike Vrabel will have the Patriots in upset mode. And by the way, while the Bills will be coming off that shootout with Joe Burrow and Bengals, New England will be coming off a bye. Upset alert.
Three teams have a stretch of three straight road games on the their schedule. The aforementioned Patriots are at the Bills, Saints and Titans in Weeks 5-7. The Tennessee Titans are at the Texans, Cardinals and Raiders in Weeks 4-6.
The Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl hopefuls, are the only one of these teams to have their three-game road trip after their bye week. The only caveat is that they’ll have a few days to relax after a Week 9 Thursday night game at Miami. That’s followed by road games at the Vikings and Browns. Even after they return home to host the Jets in Week 12, the Ravens have a short week before hosting the rival Bengals on Thanksgiving night. Ouch.
After a few more rounds of golf, don’t be surprised to see Aaron Rodgers with the Steelers.© Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
On paper right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not a scary playoff contender. So why are they on prime time three times in a four-week span (Weeks 7, 8 and 10)? Is it possibly because league officials know that Aaron Rodgers has a handshake agreement to sign with the Steelers? Or just wishful thinking?
Either way, the second of those three prime-timers is a Sunday night Week 8 game vs. the Packers — which could be Rodgers’ first-ever game against Green Bay.
Just sayin’.
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All 32 teams knew who their home and away opponents would be as soon the 2024 season ended, but now that they’ve got exact dates attached to those matchups, we can see which teams may have caught a break — and which drew the short end of the straw — when it comes to things like bye weeks, road trips, Thursday night games and other potential plot twists.
The prime-time factor isn’t really as big as it used to be. In the 1970s and ‘80s, being selected to play on Monday Night Football was an honor, a feather in the cap for players and teams to circle on the calendar. With the advent of Sunday night games and a limited Thursday night package in the ‘90s, Monday night lost a bit of luster. And now that the Thursday night games are a season-long package, the narrative is that those games present a short week of preparation — and a mini-bye before the next game.
With the recent addition of the Christmas games, the Black Friday game and the Week 1 Friday night game in Brazil. There will be 56 games this season either in prime time or on a short week (and this doesn’t even include the Saturday games late in the season).
Here are five key takeaways from the schedule release:
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Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden DanielsMatt Kartozian/Imagn Images
America’s new sweetheart
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, is clearly this year’s model. After taking the Commanders to the brink of Super Bowl LIX last season, Daniels and his teammates will be making five prime-time appearances in 2025 — and they’ll get two more national spotlights with a Week 11 game against the Dolphins in Madrid and a Week 17 Christmas Day special against the Cowboys.
It's clear the league still looks at Patrick Mahomes as its No. 1 star, given the Kansas City Chiefs’ boatload of night games. But it’s also evident the NFL sees Daniels as one of its biggest ambassadors. And in an era in which the league is not afraid to schedule tough games early in the season, Washington has a pretty favorable quirk: The Commanders’ toughest opponent is certainly the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles, and their two games against Philly are in Weeks 16 and 18. Considering only one of these teams can win the division, there’s a decent chance these teams can be Wild Card opponents, which would mean three matchups in four weeks.
Vikings’ European vacation
For the first time in NFL history, a team will play back-to-back games in two different international matchups. They’ll face the Steelers in Dublin in Week 4 and the Browns in London in Week 5. Okay, that’s not much different than the Jaguars playing back-to-back games in London last season. Or when an East Coach team has back-to-back games on the West Coast and stays out West for two weeks.
But here’s the rub: After going 14-3 last season, the Vikings are breaking in a young, inexperienced quarterback in J. J. McCarthy. Hard enough for a kid to get his feet wet as a first-year starter and having to play his fourth and fifth career games abroad.
To make matters worse: Even though they get a bye after that European stint, the Vikings then play home against the Eagles, followed by a quick trip to the Chargers on a Thursday, then at the Lions and home for the Ravens. There’s a good chance the Vikings have twice as many losses by Week 10 than they had all of last season.
Beware the trap games
Any judgments about easy or tough schedules based on last year’s records are never foolproof. At this time last year, you would have been perfectly happy having the Washington Commanders on your team’s schedule. Anyway, even if expectations are met, outside circumstances factor into it.
On paper, the Buffalo Bills’ Week 15 game at New England should be a break. But they play the Patriots after a four-game stretch against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at the Houston Texans (on a Thursday night), at the Pittsburgh Steelers and home for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills will likely be favored in those four games. No matter how they fare, though, Mike Vrabel will have the Patriots in upset mode. And by the way, while the Bills will be coming off that shootout with Joe Burrow and Bengals, New England will be coming off a bye. Upset alert.
Three for the road
Three teams have a stretch of three straight road games on the their schedule. The aforementioned Patriots are at the Bills, Saints and Titans in Weeks 5-7. The Tennessee Titans are at the Texans, Cardinals and Raiders in Weeks 4-6.
The Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl hopefuls, are the only one of these teams to have their three-game road trip after their bye week. The only caveat is that they’ll have a few days to relax after a Week 9 Thursday night game at Miami. That’s followed by road games at the Vikings and Browns. Even after they return home to host the Jets in Week 12, the Ravens have a short week before hosting the rival Bengals on Thanksgiving night. Ouch.
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After a few more rounds of golf, don’t be surprised to see Aaron Rodgers with the Steelers.© Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Does the NFL know something we don’t?
On paper right now, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not a scary playoff contender. So why are they on prime time three times in a four-week span (Weeks 7, 8 and 10)? Is it possibly because league officials know that Aaron Rodgers has a handshake agreement to sign with the Steelers? Or just wishful thinking?
Either way, the second of those three prime-timers is a Sunday night Week 8 game vs. the Packers — which could be Rodgers’ first-ever game against Green Bay.
Just sayin’.
Related: NFL Team Schedule Release Videos, From Best To Worst
Related: 10 Games the NFL Needs to Put on the 2025 Prime-Time Schedule
Related: 10 Games the NFL Needs to Put on the 2025 Prime-Time Schedule
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