| Today’s Briefing has the rest of the schedule analysis. The quick impressions include look for San Francisco and New England to increase their win totals, both overall and relative to the other teams in the division. And, even if they improve as a team, the Giants schedule is so brutal they should be able to draft whatever quarterback they want. |
| NFC NORTH |
| GREEN BAYIt’s been 18 years since Mark Murphy took over as President of the Packers. Now, his tenure is ending. Charean Williams of ESPN.com: Mark Murphy now knows his last day. The Packers team president/CEO will officially retire July 25, the day of the team’s annual shareholders’ meeting at Lambeau Field. Murphy will transfer leadership to Ed Policy, who was selected as Murphy’s replacement last June. Murphy, who hits the mandatory retirement age of 70 in July, leaves after nearly 18 years on the job. “I look forward to Ed taking over leadership of the Packers,” Murphy said in a statement released by the team, via Jason Wilde of Channel3000.com. “He’s been a tremendous asset to the organization, and I’m confident he will be an excellent steward in the role.” The Packers will hold their first full-squad training camp practice two days before the shareholders meeting. |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASQB RUSSELL WILSON endorses WR GEORGE PICKENS. Josh Alper ofProFootballTalk.com: When the 2024 season came to an end, Russell Wilson was asked about Steelers teammate George Pickens and said that he was looking forward to seeing “what we can do together.” No answer to that question is coming in the immediate future. Wilson left as a free agent and is now trying to be the Giants’ quarterback while Pickens is playing wide receiver for the Cowboys following a May trade that sent him to Dallas. Wilson called Pickens a “difference maker” in those January comments and his positive view of the wideout hasn’t diminished. During an appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony, Wilson said he thinks there’s no ceiling to Pickens’ ability and downplayed any concerns about his behavior. “I love George,” Wilson said. “His ability to catch the football is one of a kind. Anything in his vicinity, he’s gonna catch it. Hopefully he don’t catch none of ‘em. On a serious note, he’s misunderstood. He wants to be great, you know? I think, also, too, when it comes to George — his ability, where he can take it from not just being great, to being the world’s best, I think he has that in him. I’m always rooting for guys I played with, just not when I play them.” Wilson and Pickens will see each other in Dallas in Week Two of the regular season and Wilson will be hoping his former teammate doesn’t put his new team in an early hole in the NFC East. |
| PHILADELPHIANew year, new play caller for the Eagles. Brooks Kubena of The Athletic looks at new OC Kevin Patullo, who has been around the block but not as a playcaller: On a taxing morning in the fall of 2008, Kevin Patullo walked into a staff room in which the whiteboards were all blank. The Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coaches, already reeling from a series of losses that would eventually stretch to 14, heard their offensive coordinator, Chan Gailey, pronounce the problem they never anticipated they’d need to solve. They’d lost their starting quarterback, Brodie Croyle, first to a bruised shoulder before a season-ending knee injury. They’d lost their backup, Damon Huard, first to a concussion before a season-ending thumb injury. They were down to their third-stringer, Tyler Thigpen, a former seventh-round pick who’d been a dual-threat quarterback at FCS-level Coastal Carolina. Thigpen had only played one prior game for the Chiefs, in 2007 — and it’d only been for two drives. Patullo, then a 27-year-old offensive quality control coach, knew most of the playbook they’d prepared for the 2008 season was out. Gailey needed fresh ideas. “All right,” Patullo recalled Gailey saying. “We got to figure out a new offense for this week.” It’s the sort of memory Patullo, a first-time NFL offensive coordinator, uses for reference in his first season as the Philadelphia Eagles’ play caller. It’s certainly not the most glamorous memory. No Hollywood producer is scrambling for a script about the mental fortitude of a Chiefs regime that was overhauled after losing the most games in team history. Few scribes at the time even noted Patullo’s firing, or the young coach the Chiefs hired to fill Patullo’s vacancy in offensive quality control … Nick Sirianni. But Patullo knows football is a game in which victors capitalize on lessons learned from losses. He knows that some of the game’s biggest innovations came from coaches who chose creativity over apathy, even though they knew they were already damned. That describes Gailey, whom Patullo called his “greatest influence” in football schematics. Indeed, the 2008 Chiefs were dreadful. However, the solutions Gailey and his staff drew on those blank whiteboards dramatically improved their efficiency on offense and popularized a concept the NFL hadn’t yet explored: the pistol. “Nobody knew what the pistol was in the NFL,” Patullo said. “We were successful for the most part. We didn’t win a lot of games, but we moved the ball with a bunch of guys that we didn’t know really if we could do that with. So (Gailey) being able to show, ‘Look, we do what we have to do to win, it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t have to look a certain way,’ was huge.” Thigpen, in his only season as a primary starter, lined up in a variety of shotgun alignments (including as a receiver in wildcat formations) during a 10-game stretch in which the Chiefs bumped their scoring offense from last in the NFL (12.5 points per game) to 19th (21.6) and their offensive EPA per play from 29th (-0.14) to 16th (0.07), according to TruMedia. Gailey later used similar concepts as head coach of the Buffalo Bills and offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. Patullo spent six seasons honing his craft as a problem-solver and game-planner with Gailey: three as an offensive quality control coach in Kansas City and Buffalo, one as the Bills’ offensive assistant and assistant wide receivers coach and two as the Jets’ quarterback coach. Patullo’s variety of roles signaled his eventual rise. Some coaches are experts at certain positions. Some see the bigger picture. Gailey told The Athletic that Patullo “was able to see the bigger picture better than some other people that I’ve been around. “When you can see the big picture, you’re able to solve the problems,” said Gailey, 73, who coached for seven NFL teams during his 46-year career. “Because the biggest picture is how do we take what we have and defeat what they have? That’s the big picture. And then once you see that and realize that, then you can start to cut it down to the smaller pieces of how do we get that done?” To compare the 2008 Chiefs to the 2025 Eagles incites amusement — perhaps an expletive in a Philly bar. Patullo has access to perhaps the most talented offense in the NFL. All but former starting right guard Mekhi Becton return from a Super Bowl LIX-winning lineup in which Saquon Barkley set the full-season rushing record behind a Pro Bowl-studded offensive line. That invited defensive attention the dual-threat Jalen Hurts exploited through the air with perennial 1,000-yard receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, plus tight end Dallas Goedert. And the Brotherly Shove remains legal. Kellen Moore is now head coach of the New Orleans Saints because of his one-year management of the same talent pool. If the Eagles continue their offensive success under Patullo, he’ll soon be a head coach himself. But he, like Moore, will be judged against the expectation for the Eagles to rewrite record books and win Super Bowls. He also knows talent alone offers no guarantees of meeting that standard. Patullo was the team’s passing coordinator when Sirianni promoted former quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson in 2023 to replace Indianapolis Colts-bound Shane Steichen. An offensive system that reached Super Bowl LVII stalled during a disastrous collapse, largely due to the absence of adaptations within Sirianni-led staff meetings. It can be argued that Moore benefited from two advantages Patullo lacks: 1) the cracks in the previous system were clearly defined for a schematic foreman hired specifically to attempt repairs, 2) opponents had no film on how the Eagles planned to use Barkley. Coaches who watched the Eagles crush defenses in 2024 while averaging the franchise’s most rushing attempts per game (36.5) since 1978 will have spent a full offseason concocting ways to stop them. Patullo must stay a step ahead with adaptations that don’t abandon strengths or create needless complexities that could compromise the controls within one of the most coveted cockpits in the NFL. “You got to have some imagination,” Gailey said. If there’s a succinct phrase that captures how Patullo intends to stay ahead, it’s “building on what our players do best.” He’s not espousing the stick-to-the-hits approach that doomed the Eagles in 2023. Instead, Patullo, who on Wednesday spoke to reporters for the first time in his new capacity, articulated an expansion. The Eagles understand their fundamental strengths. Patullo said there will be “core plays that you know you trust.” But an offensive staff with four new hires — including passing game coordinator Parks Frazier and quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler — is bringing ideas to staff meetings that add “other layers” and “new wrinkles” to the system. They’re also weighing the ideas against a “checklist of things” they expect opposing defenses will attempt. “We have to be ready to adjust,” Patullo said. He comes from an idea-generating routine in which Gailey would start post-draft staff meetings by asking his coaches if they’d seen anything on film — NFL, college, high school or otherwise — that they ought to try to develop themselves. “That’s where the ideas would come from,” Gailey said. Once in-season, Gailey said they never focused on attacking a defense until they’d figured out what they had offensively themselves. What players do we have available? What are their strengths? Their weaknesses? Then they’d figure out how they were going to run the ball against their opponent. (“That was always first,” Gailey said.) Then came the play-action game. Then, drop-back passes. Then, situational football. After 21 years of coaching, Patullo will implement his own routine. Among the things he wanted to remind himself as he began a play-calling role for the first time: “Just be me.” His debut as an offensive coordinator will be met with two major questions. Do his six years with Gailey give him enough systemic deviation from the seven years he’s spent with Sirianni to be creative? And, more importantly, will the first-time OC, at age 43, foster an effective idea-generating process as the leader of a group of veteran assistant coaches and players? “If you’ve got to worry about something or think about something, don’t lose sleep over that one,” Gailey said. “Whether he’s gonna be able to handle the room, run the show, do all that. That’s a non-issue in my book.” “Now I know how Jalen feels,” Jordan Mailata said. “This is crazy.” A sixth play caller in six seasons? Mailata, the Eagles’ starting left tackle, knows his quarterback has had it worse. Hurts has had 11 play callers dating to his college days at Alabama and Oklahoma. The ever-growing list is a worn-out fact that likely remains relevant so long as Hurts and Sirianni are together. Continuity is elusive in the NovaCare Complex. And as the last two years proved, sometimes overrated. The Sirianni-era Eagles have experienced enough transitions to strike a balance between systemic overhauls and simply running it back. Sirianni, who officially promoted Patullo 10 days after Super Bowl LIX, aimed to address any shortcomings in the idea-generation department by hiring Frazier and Loeffler. The Eagles believe those hires complement Patullo’s strengths in the management and implementation department, where he’ll turn to the player relationships he has formed since joining the Eagles in 2021. None are more important than Patullo’s partnership with Hurts. The disorder within the 2023 collapse created a disconnect between Hurts and Sirianni that was repaired in the orderliness that followed Moore’s hiring. Hurts and Sirianni reached their communicative stride in 2024 with a series of phone calls during the Week 5 bye, and Hurts spent every Tuesday night on the phone with Moore as they put together the week’s initial game plan. Patullo emphasized that he and Hurts are entering their fifth season together. He said they’ve already formed a routine in OTAs in which Hurts is “willing to try anything and then we can have dialogue after and kind of go from there.” “Everyone’s in a good place,” Hurts said of his relationship with Patullo. “Everyone’s focused, and everyone cares about their duties and what they’re supposed to do. And we’ve always had some type of communication in the past in (game) prep. So nothing really changes in terms of that. It’s just kind of people with different titles.” As for the Patullo-led system, Hurts said, “there’s some nuances that are different.” Last year, Hurts said Moore’s system was “95 percent” new. With no need for such a drastic overhaul this time, Hurts still stressed that the Eagles are still “very early” in the development stage of how this year’s offense will evolve. They know from their adaptation after last year’s Week 5 bye how plans formed in the summer can require change. Hurts underlined how the Chiefs aimed to stop Barkley in Super Bowl LIX, which gave way to a performance by the quarterback that won him the game’s MVP trophy. “Ultimately, we just have to find ways to play complementary football and continue to build off of what we’ve done,” Hurts said. “But also knowing that it’s only a template. It’s only a reference in a sense, you know. And you gotta continue to grow from that and learn from the good references and the not-so-good references in a sense of what our success was. Just building that out, it’ll evolve, it’ll be what it’ll be. Whatever it is, let’s just find ways to win.” An early look at the Eagles, now under the banner of two-time Super Bowl champions.The dialogue between the Eagles’ offensive coaching staff and players has ranged from combative to conducive. Mailata said Patullo’s tenure in Philly “makes it easy” for them to approach their new play caller with ideas. Mailata said he’s already had conversations with Patullo about the system’s terminology — “something that we can clear up to make it easier for all positions.” The sixth-year left tackle has also approached his new play caller with schematic ideas. “Because of our relationship, he can tell us, ‘Yeah, that was bad. That’s a bad idea. Here’s why,’” Mailata said. “But it’s not just like, ‘That’s bad,’ shut down. It’s a why. And then I learned something that day. It’s like, ‘OK, great. Maybe I should just stick to playing online.’” The rapid rotation of Eagles play callers reminds Patullo of the stakes ahead. Succeed, and he can become a head coach like Steichen and Moore. Fail, and he can be fired like Johnson. As Gailey said, Patullo always had a distinct grasp of the bigger picture. But as Patullo’s debut as an NFL play caller approaches, he’s reminding himself that he’s prepared for this moment. “To be honest, you’re just kind of doing your job,” Patullo said. “If you look at something like that big picture, I guess it could be overwhelming. But this is what I do. This is what I wanted to do. I’ve been wanting to do it, and I have an opportunity to do it, and like I said, I’ve got a great staff around me, great players, great organization — everything. So it’ll be fun.” |
| NFC SOUTH |
| ATLANTA Sun, Sep 7 Tampa Bay 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 14 @ Minnesota 8:20 PM EDT NBCSun, Sep 21 @ Carolina 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 28 Washington 1:00 PM EDT CBSBye Mon, Oct 13 Buffalo 7:15 PM EDT ESPNSun, Oct 19 @ San Francisco 8:20 PM EDT NBCSun, Oct 26 Miami 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Nov 2 @ New England 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 9 @ Indianapolis (Berlin) 9:30 AM EST NFLNSun, Nov 16 Carolina 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 23 @ New Orleans 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 30 @ NY Jets 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 7 Seattle 1:00 PM EST FOXThu, Dec 11 @ Tampa Bay 8:15 PM EST AMZNSun, Dec 21 @ Arizona 4:05 PM EST FOXMon, Dec 29 LA Rams 8:15 PM EST ESPNSun, Jan 4 New Orleans FALCONS SCHEDULE NOTESBack in the day of Matt Ryan, the Falcons could go 11-5 and rarely appear in standalone games…But in 2025, coming off 8-9 after three 7-10s, ATL gets six standalone games including five primetime…They host the Rams in the last Monday night game of the year and also have a December meeting on Thursday with Tampa Bay – signs the schedule makers they will be in it to the end…The divisionals are spread around the schedule more than most teams receive…Usually a FOX staple, they only appear seven times, five in the early window…They play the first NFL game in Berlin on Week 9. …Only on of their five November games is at home. |
| CAROLINA Sun, Sep 7 @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 14 @ Arizona 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 21 Atlanta 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 28 @ New England 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 5 Miami 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 12 Dallas 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 19 @ NY Jets 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 26 Buffalo 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Nov 2 @ Green Bay 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 9 New Orleans 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 16 @ Atlanta 1:00 PM EST FOXMon, Nov 24 @ San Francisco 8:15 PM EST ESPNSun, Nov 30 LA Rams 1:00 PM EST FOXBye Sun, Dec 14 @ New Orleans 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 21 Tampa Bay 1:00 PM EST FOXD 27 or D28 Seattle TBDSun, Jan 4 @ Tampa Bay PANTHERS SCHEDULE NOTESIn the final seven weeks of 2024, the Panthers were 2-5 with losses by a total of 12 points to the two Super Bowl teams and the Buccaneers…It got them one primetime game, at San Francisco in Week 12…Still, as you might expect, they are in the early window on FOX 12 times in the 15 scheduled games (only once on CBS and that’s late at Arizona)…Some of those early FOX home games are against pretty good teams (Dallas, Buffalo, the Rams, Tampa Bay)…The Week 17 home game with Seattle is one of five that have a 60% chance of being on Saturday…They don’t see the Buccaneers until Week 16. |
| NEW ORLEANS Sun, Sep 7 Arizona 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 14 San Francisco 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 21 @ Seattle 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 28 @ Buffalo 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 5 NY Giants 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 12 New England 4:25 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 19 @ Chicago 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 26 Tampa Bay 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Nov 2 @ LA Rams 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 9 @ Carolina 1:00 PM EST FOXBye Sun, Nov 23 Atlanta 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 30 @ Miami 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 7 @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 14 Carolina 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 21 NY Jets 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 28 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Jan 4 @ Atlanta SAINTS SCHEDULE NOTESNothing but Sundays for the Saints, eight on FOX, eight on CBS with Week 18 up for grabs…Ten games in the early window, six late…Of those six late games, only two are due to geography (at Seattle in Week 3 on CBS, at the Rams in Week 9 on FOX)…The Saints play at home in the late window in four straight home games, spread between October 12 and December 14 – including all three visits by divisionals…Four two-game road trips, three two-game home stands…Five of the six divisional games come in a seven-game stretch in the middle of the season…The first three games are all against NFC West foes. |
| TAMPA BAY Sun, Sep 7 @ Atlanta 1:00 PM EDT FOXMon, Sep 15 @ Houston 7:00 PM EDT ABCSun, Sep 21 NY Jets 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 28 Philadelphia 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 5 @ Seattle 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 12 San Francisco 1:00 PM EDT CBSMon, Oct 20 @ Detroit 7:00 PM EDT ABCSun, Oct 26 @ New Orleans 4:05 PM EDT FOXBye Sun, Nov 9 New England 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 16 @ Buffalo 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 23 @ LA Rams 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Nov 30 Arizona 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 7 New Orleans 1:00 PM EST CBSThu, Dec 11 Atlanta 8:15 PM EST AMZNSun, Dec 21 @ Carolina 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 28 @ Miami 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Jan 4 Carolina 1:00 PM EST BUCCANEERS SCHEDULE NOTESThe Buccaneers have four primetime games, two of which are the first game of Disney Monday night doubleheaders…No games at 4;25, just a pair of non-doubleheader 4:05 affairs…The first game with Carolina is not until Week 16 and they are Tampa Bay’s last two divisional matchups…A Thanksgiving Sunday home game with Arizona starts a three-game homestand…After opening at Atlanta, the Buccaneers have only one divisional in the next 11 games…The first NFC South opponent doesn’t hit Tampa until December, then they are the last three home games. |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONA Sun, Sep 7 @ New Orleans 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 14 Carolina 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 21 @ San Francisco 4:25 PM EDT FOXThu, Sep 25 Seattle 8:15 PM EDT AMZNSun, Oct 5 Tennessee 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 12 @ Indianapolis 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 19 Green Bay 4:25 PM EDT FOXBye Mon, Nov 3 @ Dallas 8:15 PM EST ABCSun, Nov 9 @ Seattle 4:05 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 16 San Francisco 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 23 Jacksonville 4:05 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 30 @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 7 LA Rams 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 14 @ Houston 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 21 Atlanta 4:05 PM EST FOXD 27 or D 28 @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM EST Sun, Jan 4 @ LA Rams CARDINALS SCHEDULE NOTESIn general, the NFC West is well positioned to rise in 2025 as every team plays eight games against the two South divisions…And sometimes a team of middling expectations gets a favorable start to the season and builds confidence and continues to win even as the opponents are more testing…We thought of that as we looked at the first six games here – a team playing middle of the road football could still be 5-1 when the Packers came to town in Week 7…Then 5-6 after that would still get you a 10-7 record and a possible playoff berth…They are done with the Seahawks and 49ers by November 16 and don’t meet the Rams for the first time until December 7…After a run of 3 of 4 at home starting in November, they finish with 3 of 4 on the road including the last two…The Cardinals get a pair of Primetime games early in the season. |
| LOS ANGELES RAMS Sun, Sep 7 Houston 4:25 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 14 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 21 @ Philadelphia 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 28 Indianapolis 4:05 PM EDT FOXThu, Oct 2 San Francisco 8:15 PM EDT AMZNSun, Oct 12 @ Baltimore 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 19 @ Jacksonville 9:30 AM EDT NFLNBye Sun, Nov 2 New Orleans 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 9 @ San Francisco 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 16 Seattle 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 23 Tampa Bay 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Nov 30 @ Carolina 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 7 @ Arizona 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 14 Detroit 4:25 PM EST FOXThu, Dec 18 @ Seattle 8:15 PM EST AMZNMon, Dec 29 @ Atlanta 8:15 PM EST ESPNSun, Jan 4 Arizona RAMS SCHEDULE NOTESThree of the first four against the AFC South, but the other one is a trip to Philadelphia for an early game (on FOX)…The Rams first two games are on CBS, after that all remaining Sunday day games on FOX…Four Primetime games, a trip to London to play the Jaguars and up to four featured late Sunday games…Four of the last six on the road…They are done with the 49ers in Week 9 before meeting either the Seahawks or Cardinals…Like the other NFC West schedules it looks to have some wins – but the Rams play Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore and the other three teams do not. |
| SAN FRANCISCO Sun, Sep 7 @ Seattle 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 14 @ New Orleans 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 21 Arizona 4:25 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 28 Jacksonville 4:05 PM EDT FOXThu, Oct 2 @ LA Rams 8:15 PM EDT AMZNSun, Oct 12 @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 19 Atlanta 8:20 PM EDT NBCSun, Oct 26 @ Houston 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Nov 2 @ NY Giants 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 9 LA Rams 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 16 @ Arizona 4:05 PM EST FOXMon, Nov 24 Carolina 8:15 PM EST ESPNSun, Nov 30 @ Cleveland 1:00 PM EST CBSBye Sun, Dec 14 Tennessee 4:25 PM EST FOXMon, Dec 22 @ Indianapolis 8:15 PM EST ESPNSun, Dec 28 Chicago 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Jan 4 Seattle 49ers SCHEDULE NOTESThe NFL sticks with SF as a glamor team despite last season’s travails with five Primetime games, including three (Atlanta, Carolina, Indianapolis) where they would seem to be the feature attraction…The NFL West collectively has a favorable schedule pattern and with the Giants, Cleveland and Chicago as their unique games (as opposed to the Rams with Philadelphia, Baltimore and Detroit), the 49ers have the best of the four…Eight games on FOX, including the first four…Three on CBS – all in the early window…Only two of the first six at home, but three of the last four. |
| SEATTLE Sun, Sep 7 San Francisco 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 14 @ Pittsburgh 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 21 New Orleans 4:05 PM EDT CBSThu, Sep 25 @ Arizona 8:15 PM EDT AMZNSun, Oct 5 Tampa Bay 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 12 @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM EDT FOXMon, Oct 20 Houston 10:00 PM EDT ESPNBye Sun, Nov 2 @ Washington 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Nov 9 Arizona 4:05 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 16 @ LA Rams 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 23 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 30 Minnesota 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 7 @ Atlanta 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 14 Indianapolis 4:25 PM EST CBSThu, Dec 18 LA Rams 8:15 PM EST AMZND27 or D28 @ Carolina Sun, Jan 4 @ San Francisco SEAHAWKS SCHEDULE NOTESThe Seahawks get four Primetime games, including hosting a 10 PM Eastern start as the second Monday game on October 20 (with Houston)…Home-and-away for the first five pair of games, then away-home for the next two…Seven games on FOX, four on CBS…Four early games in the East…They start and end the season with San Francisco. |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVER Sun, Sep 7 Tennessee 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 14 @ Indianapolis 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 21 @ LA Chargers 4:05 PM EDT CBSMon, Sep 29 Cincinnati 8:15 PM EDT ABCSun, Oct 5 @ Philadelphia 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 12 @ NY Jets (London) 9:30 AM EDT NFLNSun, Oct 19 NY Giants 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 26 Dallas 4:25 PM EDT CBSSun, Nov 2 @ Houston 1:00 PM EST FOX Thu, Nov 6 Las Vegas 8:15 PM EST AMZNSun, Nov 16 Kansas City 4:25 PM EST CBSBye Sun, Nov 30 @ Washington 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Dec 7 @ Las Vegas 4:05 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 14 Green Bay 4:25 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 21 Jacksonville 4:05 PM EST FOXThu, Dec 25 @ Kansas City 8:15 PM EST AMZNSun, Jan 4 LA Chargers BRONCOS SCHEDULE NOTESFour Primetime games for the Broncos, including the big Christmas game on Amazon against the rival Chiefs…Four of the first six on the road, then four of five at home…They also are featured in three CBS late Sunday games – all at home…Only one divisional game in the first nine. |
| KANSAS CITY Fri, Sep 5 @ LA Chargers 8:00 PM EDT You TubeSun, Sep 14 Philadelphia 4:25 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 21 @ NY Giants 8:20 PM EDT NBCSun, Sep 28 Baltimore 4:25 PM EDT CBSMon, Oct 6 @ Jacksonville 8:15 PM EDT ABCSun, Oct 12 Detroit 8:20 PM EDT NBCSun, Oct 19 Las Vegas 1:00 PM EDT CBSMon, Oct 27 Washington 8:15 PM EDT ABCSun, Nov 2 @ Buffalo 4:25 PM EST CBSBye Sun, Nov 16 @ Denver 4:25 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 23 Indianapolis 1:00 PM EST CBSThu, Nov 27 @ Dallas 4:30 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 7 Houston 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Dec 14 LA Chargers 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 21 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EST CBSThu, Dec 25 Denver 8:15 PM EST AMZNSun, Jan 4 @ Las Vegas CHIEFS SCHEDULE NOTESKansas City has Thanksgiving in Dallas, plus seven Primetime games, including four of the first six weeks and five of the first eight…The opener in Sao Paolo, plus Thanksgiving, plus Christmas Day…They are scheduled for only four early Sunday games…FOX only gets Kansas City once – but it’s the Week 2 Super Bowl re-match…The Chiefs have a three-game homestand in October…They have Divisionals in three of the last four weeks. |
| LAS VEGAS Sun, Sep 7 @ New England 1:00 PM EDT CBSMon, Sep 15 LA Chargers 10:00 PM EDT ESPNSun, Sep 21 @ Washington 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 28 Chicago 4:25 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 5 @ Indianapolis 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 12 Tennessee 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 19 @ Kansas City 1:00 PM EDT CBSBye Sun, Nov 2 Jacksonville 4:05 PM EST FOXThu, Nov 6 @ Denver 8:15 PM EST AMZNMon, Nov 17 Dallas 8:15 PM EST ABCSun, Nov 23 Cleveland 4:05 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 30 @ LA Chargers 4:25 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 7 Denver 4:05 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 14 @ Philadelphia 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 21 @ Houston 4:25 PM EST CBSD27 or D 28 NY Giants Sun, Jan 4 Kansas City RAIDERS SCHEDULE NOTESThe NFL seems to think the Raiders have a pulse (which the DB does as well) with three Primetime games in the first 10 weeks…The Chargers game in Week 2 is part of the Disney doubleheader…A bit of a home cluster in the middle of the schedule (5 in 8 games)…The divisionals are pretty well spread…Five times on FOX, two at home versus seven on CBS…Five games at 1:00, including at KC where the Chiefs don’t play many noon kicks. |
| LOS ANGELES CHARGERS Fri, Sep 5 Kansas City (Sao Paolo) 8:00 PM EDT YouTubeMon, Sep 15 @ Las Vegas 10:00 PM EDT ESPNSun, Sep 21 Denver 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 28 @ NY Giants 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 5 Washington 4:25 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 12 @ Miami 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 19 Indianapolis 4:05 PM EDT CBSThu, Oct 23 Minnesota 8:15 PM EDT AMZNSun, Nov 2 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 9 Pittsburgh 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Nov 16 @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM EST CBSBye Sun, Nov 30 Las Vegas 4:25 PM EST CBSMon, Dec 8 Philadelphia 8:15 PM EST ABCSun, Dec 14 @Kansas City 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 21 @ Dallas 1:00 PM EST FOXD27 or D28 HoustonSun, Jan 4 @ Denver CHARGERS SCHEDULE NOTESThe Chargers start the season with a pair of Primetime games, including Week 1 in Sao Paolo with the rival Chiefs…There next three Primetime games are all at home, including the Super Bowl champion Eagles coming to LA on December 8…The next week they play the other Super Bowl team in Kansas City…Six of the eight scheduled road games are at 1 pm on Sunday – plus Brazil is two time zones ahead of Eastern time (1 hour ahead due to no Daylight Savings Time in Brazil in September)…The Chargers open up with three divisionals, then go eight games without one until November 30 with the Raiders. |
| AFC NORTH |
| PITTSBURGHOC Arthur Smith apparently wants another Smith to re-join him with the Steelers. Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN.com politely wonders why the Dolphins would trade him and why the Steelers need him: The Miami Dolphins have engaged in trade discussions with the Pittsburgh Steelers involving tight end Jonnu Smith, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Smith expressed interest to the Dolphins in reworking the two-year deal he signed last offseason, which would pay him $4.8 million in 2025, sources told Schefter. Smith was not present for Miami’s voluntary OTA practices this week. The Steelers’ interest in Smith is rooted in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s long-standing relationship with the tight end. Arthur Smith was Jonnu Smith’s tight ends coach and offensive coordinator in Tennessee, and Arthur Smith later traded for his former player during his stint as the Falcons’ head coach. Jonnu Smith set a franchise record for receptions (88) and receiving yards (884) by a tight end last season en route to his first career Pro Bowl selection. He led all Dolphins players in receptions in his first year with the team and finished behind only Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle leaguewide in receiving yards by a tight end. Trading Smith would mean the Dolphins could enter the 2025 season without four prominent veteran leaders from a season ago, including defensive lineman Calais Campbell, offensive lineman Terron Armstead and defensive back Jalen Ramsey, whom Miami is also looking to trade this offseason. Miami is not necessarily equipped to enter the season without Smith, who played 54.8% of its offensive snaps in 2024. Julian Hill has operated as Miami’s primary blocking tight end and returns in 2025, and the Dolphins swapped out Durham Smythe for free agent signee Pharaoh Brown, who is also known as more of a blocker than receiver. Third-year veteran Tanner Conner, a converted college wide receiver, and undrafted free agent Jalin Conyers round out Miami’s tight ends room. The tight end has fared well in Arthur Smith’s offenses, including producing an eight-touchdown season in 2020. The Steelers, though, don’t have a glaring need at tight end. They signed 2021 second-round pick Pat Freiermuth to a four-year, $48 million extension last offseason and also return 2023 third-round pick Darnell Washington and 2022 sixth-round tight end/fullback Connor Heyward. Pittsburgh signed former Chargers tight end Donald Parham Jr., who has 11 career touchdowns, earlier this offseason. The Steelers carried four tight ends on their 53-man roster last season. The lone departure from that group was MyCole Pruitt, who wasn’t re-signed after initially joining the team on a one-year contract last season. Like Jonnu Smith, Pruitt had a long history with Arthur Smith and played for him in both Tennessee and Atlanta. |
| AFC SOUTH |
| HOUSTON Sun, Sep 7 @ LA Rams 4:25 PM EDT CBSMon, Sep 15 Tampa Bay 7:00 PM EDT ABCSun, Sep 21 @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 28 Tennessee 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 5 @ Baltimore 1:00 PM EDT CBSBye Mon, Oct 20 @ Seattle 10:00 PM EDT ESPNSun, Oct 26 San Francisco 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Nov 2 Denver 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 9 Jacksonville 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 16 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EST FOXThu, Nov 20 Buffalo 8:15 PM EST AMZNSun, Nov 30 @ Indianapolis 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 7 @ Kansas City 8:20 PM EST NBCSun, Dec 14 Arizona 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 21 Las Vegas 4:25 PM EST CBSD27 or D28 @ LA Chargers 1:00 PM ESTSun, Jan 4 Indianapolis TEXANS SCHEDULE NOTESThe Texans, like the Buccaneers, are featured in two ESPN Monday doubleheaders – although unlike Tampa Bay, the Texans play both early (Week 2, vs TB) and late (Week 6, at Seattle at 9 pm Central Time)…That’s half of their Primetime games as they have Buffalo and Kansas City in a three-week span straddling Thanksgiving…They only play late in two CBS doubleheader weekends and neither game (at LAR, Week 1 and vs LV, Week 15) figures to be the primary…Last year, the Texans did not appear at all on FOX after previously being a regular part of FOX’s coverage. This year they are back with four games on FOX, including three at home that are all early against Western teams…Four of the first six on the road, then a three-game homestand around Halloween…They are done with both Jacksonville and Tennessee before their first meeting with Indianapolis…The divisionals are relatively early with none in December. |
| INDIANAPOLIS Sun, Sep 7 Miami 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 14 Denver 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 21 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 28 @ LA Rams 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 5 Las Vegas 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 12 Arizona 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 19 @ LA Chargers 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 26 Tennessee 4:25 PM EDT CBSSun, Nov 2 @ Pittsburgh 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 9 Atlanta (Berlin) 9:30 AM EST NFLNBye Sun, Nov 23 @ Kansas City 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 30 Houston 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 7 @ Jacksonville 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 14 @ Seattle 4:25 PM EST CBSMon, Dec 22 San Francisco 8:15 PM EST ESPNSun, Dec 28 Jacksonville 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Jan 4 @ Houston COLTS SCHEDULE NOTESAfter 14 Sunday day games (one in Europe), the Colts get a Week 16 Monday night game, hosting San Francisco? What are the chances that is not Flexed – the 8-7 49ers at the 4-11 Colts (we would think Atlanta at Arizona or Patriots at Baltimore will mean more to both teams)…They play the Falcons in Berlin on November 9…The Colts are done with the Titans by October 26, then don’t meet another divisional opponent until Thanksgiving weekend…Three straight games on FOX starting Week 4…Of the eight games in Indianapolis, four are on FOX, three on CBS, one ESPN. |
| JACKSONVILLE Sun, Sep 7 Carolina 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 14 @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 21 Houston 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 28 @ San Francisco 4:05 PM EDT FOXMon, Oct 6 Kansas City 8:15 PM EDT ABCSun, Oct 12 Seattle 1:00 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 19 LA Rams (London) 9:30 AM EDT NFLNBye Sun, Nov 2 @ Las Vegas 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 9 @ Houston 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 16 LA Chargers 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 23 @ Arizona 4:05 PM EST CBSSun, Nov 30 @ Tennessee 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 7 Indianapolis 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 14 NY Jets 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 21 @ Denver 4:05 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 28 @ Indianapolis 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Jan 4 Tennessee JAGUARS SCHEDULE NOTESThe Jaguars get a surprise Primetime game when the Chiefs hit Duval in Week 5…Two weeks later it’s the Rams in London…Then the last 10 games are likely to be in the local early window…The Jaguars are quite the travelers going to the West Coast (if you count Denver and Arizona) four times, in addition to London…The CBS-FOX split is 8-6 CBS…They are done with the Texans by November 9, then have the other four divisionals in the last six games…Four of the first six in Jacksonville, then only one of the next six. |
| TENNESSEE Sun, Sep 7 @ Denver 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Sep 14 LA Rams 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 21 Indianapolis 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Sep 28 @ Houston 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 5 @ Arizona 4:05 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 12 @ Las Vegas 4:05 PM EDT FOXSun, Oct 19 New England 1:00 PM EDT CBSSun, Oct 26 @ Indianapolis 4:25 PM EDT CBSSun, Nov 2 LA Chargers 1:00 PM EST CBSBye Sun, Nov 16 Houston 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 23 Seattle 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Nov 30 Jacksonville 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 7 @ Cleveland 1:00 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 14 @ San Francisco 4:25 PM EST FOXSun, Dec 21 Kansas City 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Dec 28 New Orleans 1:00 PM EST CBSSun, Jan 4 @ Jacksonville TITANS SCHEDULE NOTESWe can’t remember the last team that had a four-game homestand and Tennessee’s run at home also has the bye week included…So they are in Indy on October 26 (Week 8) and not on the road again until Cleveland on December 7 in Week 14…There is a three-game tour of the Southwest (Houston, Arizona, Las Vegas) starting in Week 4…Only two divisional games in the last seven weeks, both against Jacksonville…All 17 games are on Sunday – so far 10 early, 6 late (all but one by geographic necessity)…Also 10 on CBS, 6 on FOX. |
| AFC EAST |
| NEW ENGLANDThe Patriots came up at ACC Media Day. Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: The ACC rollercoaster has introduced an unexpected twist for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney in 2025. He’ll be facing a North Carolina team that features legendary head coach Bill Belichick. In a joint interview of Swinney and Belichick by ESPN’s Rece Davis, Swinney joked about the changes that have come for Clemson, thanks to Belichick invading the conference. “We play the New England Patriots this year,” Swinney said. “We go to North Carolina, and then we go to Boston College to play [former Patriots offensive coordinator] Bill O’Brien. So, I feel like I’m playing the whole Patriots organization in about a two-week span there.” Swinney joked that he has a “secret sauce” to beat the Patriots — former Patriots punter Ryan Allen, who is Clemson’s specialists coach. “We’re going to lean on him heavy to figure out how to defeat y’all’s punt block team or whatever else,” Swinney said. It was all very lighthearted, with no tension or edge to it. Throughout the extended conversation, Swinney and Belichick seemed to get along very well. Maybe Swinney realizes he still has far better players than North Carolina can muster. Or maybe Swinney realizes that, as Clemson struggles to compete for championships in the NIL era, he has far more to worry about than a mid-level program from a basketball school. |
