Six international games revealed on 2025 NFL schedule, plus one scheduling wish for every team

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

With the release of the 2024 NFL schedule just one day away, I’m guessing you already know what we’re going to talk about today and if you guessed the schedule, give yourself a pat on the back, because you’re right. 

We’ll be taking a look at the latest announcements about the NFL schedule, including the Vikings‘ historical trip to Europe, plus we’ll be ranking rookies based on who will fit in the best with their new team. 

As always, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let’s get to the rundown. 

1. 2025 NFL international games: Vikings set to make history

The NFL will be making history in 2025 by holding a total of seven international games. The home teams in those games were revealed earlier this year, but now we also know who the visiting teams will be. The matchups for six European games were revealed today on “Good Morning Football.” 

Here’s the international schedule for 2025: 

SAO PAULO, Brazil

• Week 1 (Sept. 5): Chiefs vs. Chargers, 8:20 p.m. ET (YouTube) — This isn’t official yet, but is expected to be announced on Wednesday. 

DUBLIN, Ireland

• Week 4 (Sept. 28): Vikings vs. Steelers, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

LONDON, England

• Week 5 (Oct. 5): Vikings vs. Browns, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)
• Week 6 (Oct. 12): Broncos vs. Jets, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)
• Week 7 (Oct. 19): Rams vs. Jaguars, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

BERLIN, Germany

• Week 10 (Nov. 9): Falcons vs. Colts, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL Network)

MADRID, Spain

The most surprising development here is that the Vikings will be playing back-to-back international games in two different countries. The Jaguars were the first team to play back-to-back games abroad when they played consecutive games in London in both 2023 and 2024, and now, the Vikings will make history by playing in two different foreign countries in consecutive weeks. 

We took a closer look at each of these games and you can check that out here. 

2. 2025 NFL schedule: Biggest games that have been revealed so far

At the rate things are going, the entire NFL schedule might actually get released before the official release on Wednesday night. Including the seven international games, there have been a total of 13 games revealed over the past 24 hours. 

Let’s check out the six non-international games that have been announced: 

Week 1

Week 10

• Monday, Nov. 10: Eagles at Packers, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Week 12 (Black Friday)

• Friday, Nov. 28: Bears at Eagles, 3 p.m. ET (Amazon)

Week 16 

• Saturday, Dec. 20: Packers at Bears (Fox)
• Saturday, Dec. 20: Eagles at Commanders (Fox)

That’s four Eagles games so far. If the NFL’s plan was to leak the Eagles’ entire schedule before Wednesday, they’re off to a good start. 

Week 17 (Christmas)

• Thursday, Dec. 25: Broncos at Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. ET (Amazon)

This will mark the third year in a row that that Chiefs are playing on Christmas. The Broncos-Chiefs matchup will be one of three games that will be played on Dec. 25 this year.

Also, we still have two more game announcements coming before the release of the schedule: 

• May 14: CBS will unveil one game on “CBS Mornings” while Netflix will also be announcing one game

We’ll be tracking announcements and schedule leaks all week and you can check that out here. 

3. One schedule wish for each team

With the release of the NFL schedule just one day away, Cody Benjamin came up with one thing that each team should be wishing for on its schedule this year. 

Let’s check out a few of those wishes: 

• Lions: “An early prime-time clash with the Commanders to rematch Detroit’s fateful divisional round loss.”
• Bears: “A Week 1 rivalry date with the Lions, so Ben Johnson can unlock Caleb Williams against his old team.”
• Broncos: “A prime-time trip to Washington, so Bo Nix has a big-stage chance to outduel Jayden Daniels.”
• Jets: “A prime-time home game against Pittsburgh, so Justin Fields can take on the team that let him walk.”
• Seahawks: “A prime-time meeting with the Vikings, so Sam Darnold can sling it against his old team under the lights.”

Cody’s got one wish for every team and you can check out all of those wishes here. 

4. Three strength of schedule trends worth watching

After breaking down the teams with the most difficult and least difficult strength of schedule over the past few days, we’re now going to take a look at a few trends related to strength of schedule. 

Here are three of the big ones for this year: 

1. Patriots might surprise people this year. Since the NFL expanded to 17 games in 2021, the AFC team with the easiest schedule (or an AFC team tied for it) has finished with a winning record EVERY year. This year, the team in that spot is New England. The Patriots have a new coach (Mike Vrabel), plus the easiest schedule in the AFC, which has worked out well for the past three teams in that EXACT situation: 

2022: Jaguars improved from 3-14 to 9-8 (Doug Pederson’s first season)
2023: Texans improved from 3-13-1 to 10-7 (DeMeco Ryans‘ first season)
2024: Chargers improved from 5-12 to 11-6 (Jim Harbaugh’s first season)

During his time in Tennessee, Vrabel led the Titans to a 9-7 record during his first year with the team and then he had the Titans in the AFC title game in his second season. The Patriots would be thrilled if he can do the same thing in New England. 

2. Lions will likely take a step back. The team with the most difficult first-place schedule has regressed by an average of 3.5 games, which isn’t good news for Detroit, because the Lions have the toughest first-place schedule this year. 

3. 49ers have historically easy strength of schedule. Not only do the 49ers have the easiest schedule in the NFL this year, but with a strength of schedule of just .415, they have the easiest schedule of any team over the past 10 years. After getting to the Super Bowl in 2023, the 49ers were ravaged by injuries, which led to a last-place finish in the NFC West in 2024. The reward for that finish is a last-place schedule that will see San Francisco play just FOUR games against teams that made the playoffs last year (Texans, Buccaneers, Rams twice). 

We’ve got the strength of schedule rankings for every team here. 

5. Ranking the best team fits for rookies

I figured we needed at least a small break from all the schedule today, so we’re going to do that now by taking a look at the best team fits for rookies. NFL Draft guru Chris Trapasso took a look at where every rookie landed in the draft and then he ranked them based on how well he expects them to fit in with their new team. 

Let’s check out his top three fits: 

1. S Nick Emmanwori to the Seahawks. “Emmanwori and head coach Mike Macdonald could not be a better match. Even if you don’t believe Emmanwori is a Kyle Hamilton clone — and Macdonald was integral to Hamilton’s early-career development in Baltimore — you have to admit there are striking similarities from size and athleticism perspectives. Safeties who move as fast as Emmanwori and Hamilton at their intimidating size do not enter the NFL often. … Expect Emmanwori to receive the same treatment as a versatile weapon on Seattle’s defense in 2025. I couldn’t love this prospect-team pairing any more than I do.”

2. RB Ashton Jeanty to the Raiders. “Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has a long history of maximizing running backs in his scheme. Think of his illustrious tenure at Oregon. The tailback was always the focal point. … When Kelly was the hottest head coach candidate in football and landed with the Eagles, LeSean McCoy subsequently set career highs in carries and yards en route to an All-Pro distinction in 2013. … Jeanty is a special runner with deceptive speed, otherworldly contact balance, and impeccable vision between the tackles. He’s in for a monster Year 1 with Kelly as his offensive coordinator in Las Vegas.”

3. TE Colston Loveland to the Bears. “In 2023, second-round tight end Sam LaPorta went berserk with Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator in Detroit — 86 catches, 889 yards, and 10 touchdowns. He was a core element to the Lions’ attack. … Johnson is going to move Loveland around the formation like a chess piece, and deploy motion at one of the highest rates in football to handpick advantageous matchups for the young, sleek, and highly athletic tight end.”

Trapasso ranked a total of 10 rookies who should fit in quickly with their new team and you can check out his full list here. 

6. Extra points: Bengals star still at odds with team

This is always a busy time in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that’s happening, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• Trey Hendrickson not on good terms with Bengals. The Bengals star put the team on blast Monday. In a statement, Hendrickson said that no one from the organization has reached out to negotiate since the end of the draft. “Rather than using collaboration to … bring me home to the team, they are no longer communicating,” the 2024 NFL sack leader said in a statement. You can read more about this bizarre situation here. 
• Browns linebacker out for the year. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was placed on the physically unable to perform list on Monday, which means he’ll now have to miss the entire 2025 season. The 2023 Pro Bowler injured his neck back in November and still hasn’t made a full recovery. JOK’s injury prognosis likely played a part in Cleveland’s decision to use a second-round pick on linebacker Carson Schwesinger this year. We’ve got the full details on Owusu-Koramoah here. 
• Ravens add another kicker. It looks like there’s going to be a kicking competition in Baltimore. Not only did the Ravens draft Tyler Loop, but they also signed John Hoyland on Monday. The former Wyoming kicker will now do battle with Loop to replace the recently cut Justin Tucker. 
• Chiefs super fan gets 32 years in prison. Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar, better known as “ChiefsAholic,” was sentenced to 32 years in prison at a hearing in Oklahoma on Monday. He was already serving a 17-year federal sentence for robbing banks in seven different states and with this concurrent sentence tacked on, he’ll be serving 15 years on top of that. We’ve got the full story on Babudar here.