Quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes will get together again in Week 2 of the 2025 season as the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs meet in a Super Bowl rematch. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
The NFL released its schedule for the 2025 season.
Some prominent games, such as the season opener and the slate of international games, already had been announced. But now the entire picture is clear.
There are Friday games in Week 1 and on the day after Thanksgiving. There are three Christmas games on a Thursday. There are late-season Saturday games. An 18-game regular season could be coming within the next few years. For now, it remains a 17-game season over 18 weeks.
Here’s a look at the can’t-miss games on the schedule that was released Wednesday night:
The Sports Moment newsletter
(The Washington Post)
Reporter Ava Wallace takes you through the buzziest, most engaging sports stories of the week. Sign up for the weekly newsletter
End of carousel
Cowboys at Eagles, Sept. 4: The Philadelphia Eagles, as the defending Super Bowl champions, host the NFL’s season-opening game on a Thursday night. They suffered offseason attrition with the free agent departures of key players such as defensive tackle Milton Williams, pass rusher Josh Sweat and guard Mekhi Becton. The traded safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore left for a head coaching job with the New Orleans Saints. Even their trademark tush push short-yardage play could be banned next week by NFL team owners. But the nucleus of their championship team remains in place. For the Dallas Cowboys, it’s the NFL head coaching debut of Brian Schottenheimer and wide receiver George Pickens’s first game with the team.
Chiefs-Chargers in São Paulo, Sept. 5: The NFL plays a game in Brazil on the Friday night of Week 1 for a second straight season. This time, it’s an attractive matchup of AFC West foes that will be streamed exclusively by YouTube. The Los Angeles Chargers begin Year 2 under Coach Jim Harbaugh after reaching the playoffs last season. The Kansas City Chiefs seek a rebound from their lopsided Super Bowl defeat to the Eagles.
Steelers at Jets, Sept. 7: The third chapter of Aaron Rodgers’s NFL career begins as he faces one of his former teams in his first game for the Pittsburgh Steelers — if Rodgers actually signs with the Steelers, of course — in a matchup with his New York Jets successor, Justin Fields. For now, Rodgers remains available as a free agent after being released in March by the Jets. If he indeed lands in Pittsburgh, he will attempt to put the disappointment of his two seasons with the Jets behind him and recapture a sliver of his glory days with the Green Bay Packers. Fields signed with the Jets as a free agent after spending last season with the Steelers.
Raiders at Patriots, Sept. 7: Mike Vrabel makes his Patriots head coaching debut. He has the luxury of being the successor to Bill Belichick’s successor, as the New England Patriots fired Jerod Mayo after only one season. They and their fans hope better times are ahead with Vrabel taking over and with quarterback Drake Maye entering his second NFL season. The Los Angeles Raiders get going with their new coach, Pete Carroll, and their new quarterback, Geno Smith, while rookie tailback Ashton Jeanty makes his debut.
Panthers at Jaguars, Sept. 7: Travis Hunter makes his NFL debut, probably at both wide receiver and cornerback. The Jacksonville Jaguars made the biggest move of the NFL draft by trading up for the No. 2 overall pick to take the dual-threat standout and Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado.
Vikings at Bears, Sept. 8: Second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy presumably makes his debut as the Minnesota Vikings’ starter in the season’s first Monday night game. The first-round draft choice from last year missed his rookie season because of a knee injury suffered during the preseason. He inherits a team that went 14-3 during the regular season but lost the finale to the Detroit Lions with the NFC North title and the NFC’s top playoff seed at stake, then was ousted in the opening round of the postseason by the Los Angeles Rams. The Vikings allowed last season’s starter, Sam Darnold, to leave in free agency. The new-look Chicago Bears have their regular season unveiling. Ben Johnson makes his debut as an NFL head coach and begins his attempt to turn second-year quarterback Caleb Williams into a star.
Eagles at Chiefs, Sept. 14: The Chiefs seek a measure of revenge, albeit with the stakes far reduced in a regular season game, as the Super Bowl rematch comes in Week 2.
Vikings-Steelers in Dublin, Sept. 28: The Steelers are the designated host team as the NFL goes to Dublin for its first game in Ireland. The Vikings play the first of two consecutive international games as the designated road team, a week ahead of facing the Cleveland Browns in London. Playing two of their scheduled road games at international venues rather than in Pittsburgh and Cleveland could be a competitive advantage for the Vikings.
Ravens at Chiefs, Sept. 28: The Baltimore Ravens will make another attempt to break through and reach a Super Bowl with Lamar Jackson as their quarterback. They and everyone else in the AFC continue to chase the Chiefs.
Packers at Cowboys, Sept. 28: The Green Bay Packers shocked the Cowboys in the opening round of the playoffs at the conclusion of the 2023 season. The Packers could be in the Super Bowl-contending mix in the NFC, while the Cowboys have much further to travel.
Bengals at Broncos, Sept. 29: The Denver Broncos host a fellow would-be AFC contender on a Monday night in Year 3 of Sean Payton’s coaching tenure in Denver as they attempt to build on last season’s playoff appearance.
Bears at Commanders, Oct. 13: It’s a Monday night rematch of last season’s memorable game won by the Washington Commanders on the Hail Mary touchdown pass thrown by quarterback Jayden Daniels. Williams makes another return to the D.C. area and gets another chance to prove that he can achieve NFL success similar to that of Daniels, the quarterback chosen one spot after him at the outset of last year’s draft.
Vikings at Chargers, Oct. 23: It’s a Michigan reunion as McCarthy faces Harbaugh in a Thursday night game.
Packers at Steelers, Oct. 26: Rodgers, assuming he signs with the Steelers, faces another of his former teams on a Sunday night in a quarterbacking matchup with his Packers successor, Jordan Love.
Chiefs at Bills, Nov. 2: The rematch of last season’s AFC championship game could matter again in the race for conference supremacy. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has won four of his five career regular season meetings with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, including a victory last November. But he’s 0-4 against Mahomes in the postseason, including the latest defeat in January.
Eagles at Packers, Nov. 10: The tush push grudge match comes on a Monday night at Lambeau Field. The Packers made the proposal to ban the Eagles’ signature play.
Commanders-Dolphins in Madrid, Nov. 16: The Miami Dolphins are the designated hosts as the NFL goes to Madrid for its first game in Spain.
Seahawks at Rams, Nov. 16: Wide receiver Cooper Kupp, signed by the Seahawks after being released by the Rams, plays the first of two games against his former team.
Lions at Eagles, Nov. 16: The Detroit Lions must regroup after losing to the Commanders in the divisional round of last season’s playoffs and then losing their offensive and defensive coordinators, Johnson and Aaron Glenn, to head coaching jobs. This is the matchup that so many expected to come in the NFC championship game last season.
Packers at Lions, Chiefs at Cowboys, Bengals at Ravens, Nov. 27: The NFL’s Thanksgiving slate includes a glitzy Chiefs-Cowboys matchup that has the potential for record-breaking viewership.
Bears at Eagles, Nov. 28: The Eagles are back in the spotlight for the NFL’s annual game on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Vikings at Seahawks, Nov. 30: Darnold left the Vikings to sign a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency. He faces his former team and McCarthy, the quarterback who is in line to succeed him.
Titans at Browns, Dec. 7: A game featuring one rookie quarterback chosen first overall in the NFL draft and another selected in the fifth round should not really carry that much intrigue. But if it’s the Tennessee Titans’ Cam Ward against the Browns’ Shedeur Sanders, it certainly would be interesting. First, Sanders must secure the starting job in Cleveland in a quarterback competition with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.
Bengals at Bills, Dec. 7: It’s a great quarterbacking matchup of Allen, the reigning league MVP, and the Bengals’ Joe Burrow. The Bengals kept Burrow’s offense generally intact by signing wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to lucrative contract extensions this offseason. They will try to get the Bengals back into the upper tier of the AFC, while the Bills attempt to remain there.
Eagles at Commanders, Dec. 20: This Saturday matchup is the first of two meetings between the teams that faced off in last season’s NFC championship game won by the Eagles, 55-23, in Philadelphia. Daniels is back for his second season and the Commanders spent the offseason acting like the Super Bowl contender that they are, trading for left tackle Laremy Tunsil and wide receiver Deebo Samuel. But they must demonstrate that they have closed the gap that was so considerable in January.
Cowboys at Commanders, Lions at Vikings, Broncos at Chiefs, Dec. 25: NBA star LeBron James said last year that he loves the NFL but Christmas is “our day.” The viewership says otherwise. The NFL plays three games on the holiday this year. The Cowboys, Lions and Chiefs play on Christmas after playing on Thanksgiving.
LeBron James: "I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day." pic.twitter.com/aYGNODI5ud
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 26, 2024
NFL and NBA viewership numbers for their Christmas games:
NFL (Netflix):
- Chiefs-Steelers: 24.1M
- Ravens-Texans: 24.3M
NBA:
- Knicks-Spurs: 4.9M
- Celtics-76ers: 5.1M
- Timberwolves-Mavs: 4.3M
- Lakers-Warriors: 7.7M
- Nuggets-Suns: 3.8M
Numbers weren’t… pic.twitter.com/xx7DUkcTt4
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 27, 2024