NFL Schedule 2025 : Week 1 Regular Season

While the football fans are still a few months away from NFL action, the schedule release brings back the excitement once again after a two-week gap from the NFL draft. NFL schedule release is one of the most anticipated times for all 32 fan bases as it gets them glued to the screen in order to know who and when they will face in the upcoming season. It also makes fans gauge whether their teams have a favorable schedule or not, looking at various aspects like who the team faces on the road compared to home games, when the team will get a bye week, and whether the team starts the season at home or away.

The season spans around 18 game weeks from early September to early January. The NFL prepares a rigorous schedule to ensure an even flow of matchups. This schedule contains all of the event’s time, date, and location information. The formulation of the schedule requires careful consideration of divisional and conference matchups, balancing team schedules, and strategic placement of marquee games.

2025 - 26 NFL Season

The 2025-26 season will open with defending Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles playing host against their arch rivals Dallas Cowboys, on 4th September, 2025. Spain and Ireland will be making their debut as the host venues in the upcoming season. A total of 7 games will be played outside of the U.S. in the 2025-26 season.

England, once again, will be hosting the most international NFL games (3) in the 2025-26 season (via NFL’s official website). According to CBS Sports, the New York Giants have the most difficult strength of schedule in the upcoming regular season, while the San Francisco 49ers have the easiest.

How does the Regular Season work?

The regular season is divided into weeks, and teams play their opponents based on a predetermined schedule. Each team faces divisional rivals twice (home and away), conference opponents, and a rotation of teams from the opposite conference. The conference and non-conference divisions are also rotation-based, providing all teams a fair chance at playing every other NFL team at least once in four years. With one bye week planned during the season, each club plays 17 games. The NFL will play up to 14 games in some weeks, even though up to four teams have bye weeks planned.

The team wins in the regular season determine playoff eligibility and seeding for the postseason. The NFL postseason is the elimination round of games that follow the conclusion of the regular season.

How does the NFL decide on the schedule?

The NFL schedule typically features games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday. Sundays are when the great majority of games are played. There can also be games planned on Friday or Saturday in certain weeks.

The NFL Schedule’s task is given to six NFL executives. They are the vice president of broadcasting, Michael North; the senior vice president of broadcasting, Howard Katz; the senior director of broadcasting, Blake Jones; the director of broadcasting, Charlotte Carey; the vice president of broadcasting, Onnie Bose; and the broadcasting senior coordinator, Lucy Popko (as reported by Yahoo Sports in 2024).

The scheduling team also needs to take into consideration things such as where the bye weeks of each team will fall, which marquee matchups should be given premier time slots, such as Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, and Monday Night Football. The schedule makers also need to see that no scheduling conflicts occur at any stadiums, pertaining to some major events occurring at the time of games in cities, and more. Finally, one schedule is selected and approved by the commissioner of the NFL.

NFL Playoffs

The postseason games follow the regular season and include the top-performing teams from the regular season. It typically runs from early January to early February, culminating with the Super Bowl. The postseason consists of a single-elimination round, where the top seven teams from each conference compete for conference championships and a shot at the Super Bowl.

The first round, known as Wild Card Weekend, features three wild-card teams and three divisional champions from each conference, as the teams with the most wins from both conferences get a Bye. The winners advance to the Divisional Round, followed by the Conference Championships, where the two remaining teams from each conference battle for a spot in the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of the postseason, with the champions from the AFC and NFC facing off to determine the ultimate winner.

NFL Schedule (2025-26) Key Dates and Events

The 2025-26 NFL schedule came out on May 14th, 2025. Here are the key dates and events for the 2023-24 NFL season.