The full 2025 NFL schedule was released on Wednesday night, and there is plenty to talk about when it comes to this upcoming season. The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles will kick off things on Sept. 4, followed by the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 5. This season will feature an NFL-record seven international games, and another Christmas tripleheader that includes a nightcap headlined by Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes.
Despite all of the changes we’ve seen in the NFL over the past few years, “Sunday Night Football” remains a favorite for football fans. After a full day of action we get a final prime-time matchup that will hold fans over until “Monday Night Football” the next day. The first edition of “Sunday Night Football” this season features an AFC postseason rematch between the top two MVP candidates from last year, as Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens travel to take on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Will Jackson get his revenge? Or will Buffalo beat Baltimore for the fourth time in the last five meetings?
Here’s a rundown of each Sunday night game for the 2025 season. Each contest is slated to kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET and be broadcasted by NBC.
Now, let’s attempt to rank all 17 of these Sunday night matchups from 17-1:
17. Kansas City Chiefs at New York Giants (Week 3)
Patrick Mahomes vs. Russell Wilson doesn’t have the same allure it once did. This matchup could have been higher on the list if Jameis Winston or Jaxson Dart was starting, but maybe Wilson quickly creates a rapport with Malik Nabers in New York. According to Warren Sharp, the Giants will face FIVE of the top seven pass defenses from last year in the first seven weeks of the season. That includes the Chiefs.
By the way, this is the second of Kansas City’s NFL-high seven prime-time games this year.
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Los Angeles Rams (Week 12)
These two teams gave us a fun playoff game back in January of 2022, when the Rams defeated Tom Brady in what we thought was going to be his final NFL game before he unretired. Don’t forget, Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield played five games with the Rams in 2022.
15. Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys (Week 15)
The Cowboys will face four straight 14-plus win teams from last year starting in Week 12 (Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, and Vikings). According to CBS Sports Research, no team in NFL history has ever done that. However, it remains to be seen if J.J. McCarthy can play like Sam Darnold did last season. By the time we reach Week 15, this could be a very important game when it comes to NFC playoff seeding.
14. Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers (Week 17)
This will be a fun battle of offensive minds between Kyle Shanahan and Ben Johnson. It’s occurs very late in the season, so we’ll see if Chicago or San Francisco is in playoff contention, but maybe Caleb Williams catches heat late in Year 2 and this becomes the game of the week.
13. Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders (Week 9)
Jayden Daniels vs. Sam Darnold has the potential to be fun, plus Deebo Samuel faces off against a former rival. But this is a big game for Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, as he served as Seattle’s defensive coordinator for the Seahawks’ two Super Bowl runs in 2013 and 2014. Quinn earned his lone Super Bowl ring in that 43-8 beatdown of the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.
12. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (Week 5)
It’s Mike Vrabel’s first meeting with the Bills as the head coach of the Patriots, and we’ll note that he lost his last two meetings vs. Buffalo by at least 24 points. Drake Maye vs. Josh Allen could be fun QB rivalry for years to come, but perhaps the real storyline here is another Stefon Diggs revenge game! In his first rematch against his former team while playing for the Texans last year, Diggs caught a game-high six passes for 82 yards in a 23-20 victory. Allen struggled in that game, completing just nine passes for 131 yards and one touchdown.
11. Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers (Week 7)
Kyle Shanahan hosts his former team in Week 7, but this game is more than that. He will coach against Raheem Morris, whom he worked close with once upon a time. Back in 2016, Morris was actually Shanahan’s wide receivers coach in Atlanta. It’s a bit surprising that the Falcons have five prime-time games this season. I believe that’s because of the excitement surrounding Michael Penix Jr.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Chargers (Week 10)
Why will Steelers at Chargers be a top-10 Sunday night game this year? The Najee Harris revenge game, of course. The Steelers let Harris go in free agency, and he signed a one-year deal in L.A. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman loves to run the football, and I can see him giving Harris a ridiculous amount of touches against his former team.
9. Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins (Week 16)
Tua Tagovailoa was viewed as the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the draft before he injured his hip while Joe Burrow went on a historic tear and took over college football. Now, they will face off in a potentially important AFC showdown that comes in Week 16. This game is more than just two former SEC stars facing off; it’s really the first time Burrow and Tagovailoa will play against each other for an entire NFL game (hopefully). In 2020, Burrow tore his ACL before the Bengals got to play the Dolphins, and then in 2022, Tagovailoa was carted off the field in the second quarter of a matchup vs. Cincinnati after suffering a scary concussion. These two quarterbacks once combined for seven passing touchdowns and one interception in a 2019 college matchup. Wouldn’t it be fun if we got a game like that here?
8. Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys (Week 4)
Cowboys fans likely still have horrifying flashbacks from that wild-card matchup where Jordan Love completed 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-32 blowout of Dallas on its home turf. It may have been that performance that netted him a four-year, $220 million deal six months later! Not only will Love look to put together a repeat performance in his second-ever game against the Cowboys, but the Packers secondary will also be tested early in the season by the new prospective dynamic duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
7. Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings (Week 2)
This matchup features two young quarterbacks in Michael Penix Jr. and J.J. McCarthy, and I love that we get this game early in the season. Penix will surely be out for revenge after his Washington Huskies were shellacked by McCarthy’s Michigan Wolverines in the 2024 national championship game. On the flip side, McCarthy probably didn’t like that Penix was selected over him in last year’s draft.
6. Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs (Week 14)
Two familiar AFC contenders facing off late in the season is always fun. Maybe the Texans aren’t as good as the Ravens or Bills, but Kansas City vs. Houston does feel like a rivalry. The Chiefs have won five straight against the Texans dating back to that ridiculous divisional-round comeback in 2020 where Houston blew a 24-0 lead, and these two teams also played twice last year — including again in the divisional round. Remember, the NFL attempted to fine multiple Texans players after they criticized the officials following their 23-14 loss. I bet DeMeco Ryans and Co. loathe the Chiefs.
5. Denver Broncos at Washington Commanders (Week 13)
Two second-year quarterbacks who took the league by storm face off in Week 13. How good were Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix? Those two are the only rookies in NFL history to win 10 games while accounting for 4,000 total yards and 30 touchdowns in a season! Daniels is viewed as the better player, but the Broncos definitely have the better defense. That Vance Joseph unit ranked first in sacks (63), second in pressure percentage (40%) and fourth in blitz percentage (37%) last year. Washington gets a bye directly before this game, so Daniels should be ready.
4. Buffalo Bills at Baltimore Ravens (Week 1)
It’s one of the best rivalries in the NFL. The Bills and Ravens faced off twice last season, including that infamous divisional-round matchup where Mark Andrews dropped what would have been the game-tying two-point conversion with 1:33 remaining in the fourth quarter. It was a brutal L for Baltimore, as not only did the Ravens miss TWO two-point conversions in a two-point loss, but it also became the first team in playoff history to outgain an opponent by 140 yards, not punt the ball once and lose. Apologies for bringing up bad memories, Ravens fans. At least Baltimore throttled Buffalo in Week 4 last season, 35-10.
3. Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs (Week 6)
It’s always fun when these new-look Lions and the Chiefs get together, but we simply don’t do it enough. Jared Goff the Lion has faced Mahomes just once, in the 2023 NFL opener where Detroit shocked Kansas City with a 21-20 victory. It was at that moment when many fans realized Detroit may actually be a very, very good football team. The Lions went on to win 12 games for the first time since 1991, and just built on that success by going 15-2 last season.
2. Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers (Week 8)
This one is obvious and not obvious at the same time. Many believe Aaron Rodgers will soon sign with the Steelers to be their QB1, and if that happens, he would host his former team in Pittsburgh in Week 8. Appointment viewing.
1. Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles (Week 11)
The last time the two best teams in the NFC faced off was in 2022, and it resulted in a 38-35 win for the Eagles where four different players rushed for touchdowns. This was during the Detroit days of D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams, however, so Philly hasn’t yet seen “Sonic & Knuckles,” or even Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams for that matter. It will be the reigning Super Bowl champions vs. one of the most explosive offenses in the league. It’s the best “Sunday Night Football” game on the docket.
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