Pack your bags. The NFL is heading to Spain, Brazil, Ireland, Germany -- and London, of course -- and has loaded up on compelling domestic encounters in the U.S. in a 2025 season that begins in the City of Brotherly Love with a pairing of hated NFC East rivals. NFL teams and fanbases have known their regular-season opponents for months, but the sequence of the schedule brings the road map to Santa Clara, Calif., and Super Bowl LX into sharp focus. With the regular-season calendar complete minus a flex schedule audible or three, here are the games we find most compelling: Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City Chiefs, Sept. 14 Super Bowl opponents in two of the past three seasons, the greatest threat to a constant Chiefs' victory lap is the Eagles. Credit the mastery of front-office guru Howie Roseman for restocking the Eagles on the fly, adding high-end talent to complement existing core players while Kansas City has something to prove due to a dud in New Orleans last February. Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs, Oct. 12 When these teams met to open the 2023 season, the Lions declared their legitimacy with a 21-20 win, holding the Chiefs to a pair of second-half field goals. For most of last season, they appeared to be on a collision course in Super Bowl LIX with matching 15-2 records in the regular season. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys, Sept. 4 The first game of the 2025 regular season puts the spotlight on the reigning Super Bowl champions, who also had a primetime feature in 2024 and beat the Green Bay Packers in Brazil. Dallas always draws an audience, but can the Cowboys measure up? Dak Prescott is 9-4 in his career against the Eagles and returns from a season-ending hamstring injury that cost him the final 10 games of the 2024 season. He lines up behind a reconfigured offensive line knowing the Eagles made Patrick Mahomes look mortal under constant duress when we last saw their defense. By the time Super Bowl LIX banners are raised and rings fitted, the Cowboys will have plenty of reminders that the Eagles are world champions - and the Cowboys are not for the 30th consecutive season. And those reminders will pave the path to Philly's first game since beating the Chiefs to cap an 18-3 season defined by a dominant running game, Saquon Barkley's season for the ages and a loaded defense. Unaccustomed to taking a bow against the Cowboys while going winless in the matchup as a member of the Giants, Barkley (2-10 career vs. Dallas) had 45 carries for 233 yards and swept America's Team last season. The Cowboys mustered a grand total of 13 points in two blowout losses (34-6 and 41-7). Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers, Monday, Nov. 10 A primetime rematch at Lambeau after Philly took two from the Packers last season -- one in Brazil and another in the NFC wild-card game -- it will be the first time the Packers get the Eagles on their home turf since 2020. That 30-16 win was Aaron Rodgers (three TD passes) vs. Jalen Hurts, and was followed by the Packers' current three-game losing streak in the series. Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs, Sept. 28 Lamar Jackson came within a toenail -- Isaiah Likely's -- of pulling the Ravens to a 27-26 deficit in the Week 1 loss at Kansas City last season. Likely's TD catch was overturned upon replay review because he had a toe land out of bounds. Head coach John Harbaugh never had the chance to go for the game-winning two-point conversion he insisted was planned, but this semi-regular matchup has multiple memorable moments in late-game situations. Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles, Nov. 16 The Lions have ruled the regular season two years in a row, all without playing in the Super Bowl. The NFC Championship currently goes through Philadelphia, where the Lions last visited in 2019. The Eagles beat the Lions 38-35 in Detroit in 2022 behind four rushing touchdowns and a 10-catch, 155-yard effort from WR A.J. Brown. Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders, Oct. 13 We were tempted to tease the Ben Johnson return to Detroit and are intrigued by other matchups involving Caleb Williams, but Chicago's most interesting game involving compelling subplots is the rematch of last season's Fail Mary defeat at Washington. Williams, who is from the DC area, had the Bears in position to beat Jayden Daniels and the Commanders until a 52-yard bomb won it for Washington and spelled the beginning of the end for fired head coach Matt Eberflus. Daniels was the No. 2 pick last season, right after the Bears drafted Williams, and looked like one of the best at the position with two wild-card playoff road wins to cap his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Nov. 2 OK, we get it. You are looking for something other than another Chiefs matchup, too. We can understand your desire to avoid the KC hype machine, but the history between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen should pull in viewers no matter the stakes. Allen is 0-4 against the Chiefs in the playoffs, but 4-1 in the regular season. Allen, 28, won a tight MVP race over Lamar Jackson, another 28-year-old veering into Rivers and Moon Territory as the best quarterback unable to reach a Super Bowl. To get there, taking down the Chiefs most likely would be part of the mission. Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers, Oct. 26 Short of the NFL giving us a Tuesday night game to celebrate the 42nd birthday of Aaron Rodgers (Dec. 2), the only other thing that could make this a better draw would be playing it at Lambeau Field and having a jersey retirement at halftime for 'ol (said with emphasis) No. 12. He has not signed a thing, but we are still betting Rodgers suits up for the Steelers and goes toe-to-toe with Jordan Love in a dramatic duel we'll all be ready for because of a tireless hype machine pregame. Worth Watching: Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills, Sept. 7 The Ravens annihilated Buffalo 35-10 behind 199 rushing yards from Derrick Henry last September, then coughed up the rematch in January in the AFC divisional playoffs, 27-25, in the game Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews wants deleted from the NFL Films archives. Buffalo came up with three takeaways to claim the win. Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings, Nov. 30 Sam Darnold's weaknesses were on display in Seahawks' highlighter green down the stretch for the Vikings last season. Will he recover to be a capable replacement for Geno Smith in Seattle and beat his replacement in Minnesota, J.J. McCarthy? San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans, Oct. 26 Former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans knows where the bodies are buried in the Kyle Shanahan scheme, and vice versa. An overhaul of Houston's offensive line might have harsh repercussions if GM Nick Caserio didn't push the right buttons. But it's the Texans' defense -- namely the pass rush and secondary -- that we're eager to see in action. New York Giants at Denver Broncos, Oct. 19 Will Russ be cooking when he makes his way to Denver two years removed from his friction-filled tenure as Sean Payton's pupil? He was hurt last season when the Steelers traveled to beat the Broncos and polished QB Bo Nix. Washington Commanders vs. Miami Dolphins, Nov. 16 In a game long rumored to be ticketed for Madrid instead of Miami, a tantalizing pairing of offensive masterminds should be enough of a draw. The potential contenders - if the Dolphins are healthy - feature a boatload of talent and interesting matchups across the board.
