10 Games the NFL Needs to Put on the 2025 Prime-Time Schedule
The first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night wasn't even halfway through when the league announced its next big date on the calendar: The 2025 NFL schedule will be announced in prime time on May 14.
The complete list of home and away opponents for all 32 teams was determined as soon as the 2024 season ended, but May 14 is the day we'll know when these games will be played. Fans can start planning their tailgates and road trips.
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Here are a few things we know at this point:
• The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will host the kickoff game on Thursday, Sept. 4
• The Los Angeles Chargers are the designated home team for the league's second-ever game in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Friday, Sept. 5
• The Brazil game is the only prime-time matchup among the seven international games on the schedule. The New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars will each host a game in London; the Indianapolis Colts host a game in Berlin; the Miami Dolphins host a game in Madrid; and the Pittsburgh Steelers host a game in Dublin.
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• Christmas is a Thursday this year, so in addition to the two afternoon games that will be streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime will air a prime-time game on Christmas night.
Between Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays, there will be more than 50 prime-time games that get the eyes of a national audience. Networks have no doubt lobbied the NFL schedule-makers to get the best matchups possible.
Here are 10 games we think the NFL needs to put in prime time:
Las Vegas Raiders at Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley.Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
This one would work as the season opener for a few reasons. The Eagles begin the defense of their championship while Pete Carroll makes his debut as Raiders head coach after a year off. It's also a marquee matchup of running backs: Las Vegas rookie Ashton Jeanty makes his NFL debut against 2,000-yard man Saquon Barkley.
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen and LamarBoth of these teams will surely be featured in multiple prime-time games — and both have plenty of attractive matchups to choose from. How about another Ravens-Chiefs clash? Or Bills-Chiefs, for that matter? After Josh Allen somewhat surprisingly edged out Lamar Jackson for MVP last season, this is the one that will draw the most attention. Allen and the Bills lost to Jackson and the Ravens on a Sunday night game in Week 4 last season, then got revenge in the divisional playoffs.
Los Angeles Rams at Jacksonville Jaguars
The league probably wasn't all that interested in getting Jacksonville on prime time … until the Jaguars boldly traded up last week and drafted two-way star Travis Hunter. The Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback/receiver is the main attraction here, but this could also be a fun offensive explosion between Jaguars offensive-minded rookie head coach Liam Coen and the coach who gave Coen his first NFL job, Sean McVay.
Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders
Caleb Williams and Jayden DanielsGeoff Burke-Imagn Images (Daniels)/Kirby Lee-Imagn Images (Williams)
For the second year in a row, Bears QB Caleb Williams has a homecoming. His return to D.C. last season — a battle of the first two players taken in the 2024 draft — almost ended in glory when he led a go-ahead scoring drive in the final minute. That wasn't the case, however, because moments later Jayden Daniels completed a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Noah Brown to win it for Washington. Daniels and the Commanders would go on to the NFC title game. Williams and the Bears have improved their roster this offseason and expect big things from rookie head coach Ben Johnson, so this game could be another thriller.
Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers
This matchup would be coveted by all the league's broadcast partners simply because the Packers and Steelers have two of the biggest national fanbases in the league. What would make it even more appealing is the possibility of Aaron Rodgers playing for Pittsburgh. The jury's still out on that, but I would argue it's just a matter of time. If Rodgers does land in Pittsburgh, this would be his first game against the Packers. Too bad it's not in Lambeau, but we'll take it.
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
Neither of these teams will be in great demand from the prime-time broadcast partners, but at least this matchup brings a couple of angles. First off, it's a national audience for the No. 1 draft pick, Titans QB Cam Ward. Second, it's a revenge game for Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who was fired in Tennessee after the 2023 season. The Titans were foolish for letting Vrabel go, and the first-year Pats coach would love some payback.
Cincinnati Bengals at Minnesota Vikings
This will be the third career meeting between LSU superstar wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. When they met in 2021, it was Chase's first NFL game and he caught five passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. When they met in 2023, the starting quarterbacks were Nick Mullens for Minnesota and Jake Browning for Cincinnati. Do we expect fireworks? All these two guys did last year was combine for 230 receptions, 3,241 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs
After the Chiefs beat the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, they met again in Week 11 of the 2023 season — on a Monday night (with the Eagles getting a small measure of revenge). Their next meeting was this past February in Super Bowl LIX. So this time it will be the Chiefs looking for revenge.
New York Giants at Denver Broncos
Unfortunately for Russell Wilson, last year's Steelers-Broncos game was scheduled too early in the season. It was Week 2, so Justin Fields was still starting as Wilson was injured. Now that Wilson is with the Giants, they better schedule this one early in the season. That way, Wilson can have his shot at revenge against Sean Payton and the Broncos before the Giants bench him in favor of rookie Jaxson Dart.
Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks
After he resurrected his career and helped the Vikings go 14-3 last season, Sam Darnold was not exactly treated like much of a hero. The narrative was that a bulk of the credit goes to head coach and QB whisperer Kevin O'Connell, who was ready to hand the job to 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy after the Michigan alum missed his rookie season with a knee injury. So Darnold signed with Seattle, and he'd love to show the Vikings what they're missing.
Related: How the Seahawks Can Turn QB Jalen Milroe Into Their Future King
Related: NFL Draft Grades: Instant Analysis of Every Team's 2025 Class
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