How to watch the 2025 NFL schedule release on Wednesday night
It's something of a minor holiday for pro football obsessives and folks who ritualize stadium road trips. The NFL's 18-week regular-season schedule is revealed in full on Wednesday night, with updated slates for all 32 teams and a look at the primetime broadcast picks. Flights will be checked, group chats will pop off and way-too-early predictions will be made.
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We already know a select few national TV matchups that the league has teased out — the Philadelphia Eagles, defending Super Bowl champions, will open the season against historic rivals in the Dallas Cowboys. Philly is also set to play the Chicago Bears on 'Black Friday.' Here's everything that's been confirmed ahead of Wednesday's complete announcement:
Every NFL team plays 17 regular-season games and takes one bye week for rest. Here's a reminder on how these schedules are formed, using the reigning Lombardi Trophy holders as an example.
As always, there are six divisional games — two meetings with each rival, one at home and one on the road. The Eagles have annual home-and-away sets with the Giants, Cowboys and Commanders.
Then we add four total games against teams from an in-conference division — two at home and two on the road. Philadelphia, along with its NFC East peers, has drawn the NFC North this year. Hello, Vikings and Packers and Lions and Bears (oh my).
Next, another four games versus an out-of-conference division — two at home and two on the road. The members of the NFC East face the AFC West squads this year. Woah, that means a Super Bowl rematch with the Chiefs, plus matchups with the Raiders, Broncos and Chargers.
Then we tack on two games against teams from the remaining divisions in-conference — one game at home and one on the road. Matchups are determined by 2024 standings. The Eagles play the entire NFC East and North field this season, so the remainders here are the NFC West and South. Because the Eagles finished in first place, they'll take on fellow division winners in the Rams and the Buccaneers.
The 17th game is a non-conference opponent outside of the scheduled division. NFC teams hosted this 17th game in 2024, so the AFC teams host it this year. Matchups are determined by 2024 standings. The Eagles are in the NFC, of course, and their corresponding non-conference division for 2025 is the AFC West. So, they could've drawn first-place teams from the AFC North, South or East. It's the East in this latest rotation, so Eagles-Bills.
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Make sure you're following The Athletic's NFL desk, with the best coverage in the game and the sharpest football minds known to humankind. Now is the perfect time to read about the man behind this comprehensive scheduling process. He's on the verge of retirement and has an interesting story to tell.
Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo by Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
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