2025 NFL Schedule Winners and Losers: Players, franchises, and the NFL scriptwriters

The 2025 NFL schedule was recently released, and as usual, some teams and players will be in more favorable situations than others. It's also loaded with plenty of intriguing scenarios that some around the league would credit to the rumored NFL scriptwriters planning the season. Here are some of the biggest winners and losers this year.

Winners and Losers of the 2025 NFL Schedule

2025 NFL schedule

Winners

#1 - Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills have won the AFC East division in each of the past five seasons, so it almost seems unfair that they have one of the easiest strengths of schedule this year. They also get a soft opening to the season after a Week 1 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. Their next six opponents failed to make the playoffs last year, so maybe the NFL scriptwriters want to see another big year for the Bills.

#2 - Cam Ward

The Tennessee Titans are welcoming in a new era after selecting Cam Ward with the first-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. It's unclear if he will start from Week 1, but ewither way, he will get his shot at some point this year. He has a strong situation to succeed this year with no prime time games, all Sunday games, and one of the weakest strengths of schedule.

#3 - San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are coming off of an extremely disappointing season last year, but this contributed to them getting the easiest schedule this year. They face off against just three teams that made it into the NFL Playoffs last year, so they are in an ideal situation to bounce back. They also play all three of them during six-game span in the middle of the season, so they will start and end with soft spots on their schedule.

Losers

#1 - New York Giants

The New York Giants have the hardest strength of schedule in the entire NFL this season based off of their opponents' records from last year. Thgis may make it difficult for Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen to get out of the hot seat. Their first eight weeks include matchups with six teams that made the playoffs last year, so the NFL scriptwriters did them no favors.

#2 - JJ McCarthy

The Minnesota Vikings moved on from Sam Darnold during the offseason, opening the door for JJ McCarthy to be their starter. He will have to endure a brutal stretch to open the 2025 NFL season, including two prime-time games and two international games in just the first five weeks. Traveling to Dublin and London in back-to-back weeks, as well as all of the media attention for this early portion of the schedule, could make his transition challenging.