The 2025 NFL schedule release is a required event in the fantasy football calendar. It’s an opportunity to analyze the matchups and get a glimpse of who will benefit and who will suffer based on early-season favorability and projected betting win totals.
2025 NFL Schedule Release: Every Team’s Schedule & Bye Week
While the strength of the schedule should not be the only factor considered, it can be a valuable tiebreaker when deciding between two players. Additionally, understanding bye weeks and fantasy playoff matchups can be the difference-maker in some formats, such as Underdog’s Best Ball Mania VI and the 2025 FFPC FantasyPros Championship.
In this article, we’ll examine some potential fantasy football winners and losers, as well as takeaways from the newly released schedule.
- 2025 NFL Schedule Grid
- 2025 NFL Schedule Bye Week Cheat Sheet
- 2025 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
2025 NFL Schedule Release Takeaways
The NFL season kicks off Thursday night with the Dallas Cowboys at the Philadelphia Eagles. That’s a lot of points for Philly, presuming Dak Prescott is under center for the Cowboys…
The full 2025 NFL schedule in one graphic: pic.twitter.com/qkKFQU5wxU
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 15, 2025
2025 NFL Schedule Release Winners
San Francisco 49ers
After fading the 49ers and Christian McCaffrey into oblivion in 2024, I think I’m back in. The Niners have the easiest schedule in the NFL in 2025, according to Sharp Football. Given the ease of matchup and positive injury regression (San Francisco was the second-most injured offense last season), I like buying the dip. The 49ers are going from the 28th-toughest schedule last season (second, according to ESPN), making their annual improvement the highest among any NFL team.
Perks of finishing in fourth place in the NFC West, combined with matchups against the AFC South and NFC South.
And even though they open up the season with back-to-back road contests, it’s at Seattle and New Orleans. Draft the 49ers D/ST.
The 49ers are No. 1 in the FantasyPros strength of schedule tool.
New England Patriots
The 2025 Patriots boast the second-easiest schedule in the NFL on forecasted Vegas win totals. Given that last season they had the second-most difficult schedule, we are going to see a stark difference in sheer wins from new head coach Mike Vrabel’s squad compared to former head coach Jerod Mayo’s.
Take the over on the Patriots’ 7.5-win total. In six seasons with the Titans, Vrabel’s teams averaged nine wins per year, with four teams winning nine or more.
They open against the Raiders at home, followed by an early road trip to Miami and then back-to-back home games versus Carolina and Pittsburgh.
The Pats D/ST is probably a strong bet to be a reliable unit, given the ease of schedule in addition to the personnel improvements they made this offseason.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are notorious for starting slow. But if they are ever going to buck the trend, 2025 seems like a good opportunity (although I said the same last thing last year to no avail).
The Browns, Jaguars and Vikings are their first three matchups, with the first and third being on the road. They play on the road in Denver in Week 4.
Put their D/ST firmly in play as a last-round target in the final rounds of drafts.
Denver Broncos
It’s too bad their fantasy D/ST will already be expensive/highly ranked. Denver opens the season against the Titans and Colts.
Tennessee Titans
According to BetMGM, Titans’ opponents have the fewest forecast wins in 2025.
However, Week 1 at the Denver Broncos is a tough draw for Cam Ward making his first start in the NFL.
Arizona Cardinals
Arizona doesn’t have a top-10 overall schedule, but they do have the second-biggest improvement year over year. ESPN graded them with the fifth-most difficult schedule in 2024. The opening schedule is also divine. Saints, Panthers, 49ers, Seahawks, Titans, Colts and Packers from Weeks 1-7.
We may have found our No. 1 fantasy D/ST (when also considering cost).
Top fantasy football DSTs based on opening NFL schedules
Arizona Cardinals
Denver Broncos
New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
Miami Dolphins— Andrew Erickson™ (@AndrewErickson_) May 15, 2025
But the good times don’t stop after Week 7. The playoff schedule is very conducive to fantasy points with matchups against Houston, Atlanta and Cincinnati.
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle has an average schedule, but they do have the third-biggest improvement year over year. ESPN graded them the fourth-most difficult schedule in 2024.
Last year, Seattle’s D/ST was the fantasy football de jour. This year, they are back in conversation. A matchup against San Francisco at home in Week 1 is OK, but Weeks 2-3 are salivating against the Steelers and Saints.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins open the season at the Colts and at home against the Patriots. Even though they are entering the year with low expectations, they could easily start 2-0. I like their fantasy D/ST in these opening two matchups as well. They take on Buffalo in Week 3, but then get two more good matchups between the Jets and Panthers.
The Dolphins also only play two road games after their Week 12 bye (Weeks 13-17), mitigating their cold-weather exposure.
Washington Commanders
The easiest schedule to start the season (first four weeks) — Giants, Packers, Raiders and Falcons. The Commanders D/ST is definitely in play. Even so, it gets more difficult as the season progresses.
It’s very much a “going from being on the hunt to becoming the hunted” situation.
Washington has an average schedule overall, but they do have the second-biggest increase in difficulty year over year. They also have eight standalone games in primetime, according to Sharp Football.
toughest Strength of Schedule in SEPTEMBER (weeks 1-4)
5 easiest schedules:
1. WAS
2. PIT
3. NE
4. SF
5. CIN5 hardest schedules:
28. NYG
29. PHI
30. NO
31. BAL
32. CLE pic.twitter.com/anJY1gKe9J— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 15, 2025
Los Angeles Rams
The Rams open the season against the Texans at home, followed by the Tennessee Titans. I like these opening matchups for the Rams D/ST and their fierce defensive line. They also play the Colts in Week 4.
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars have a very favorable schedule to end the season (Weeks 12-18). According to Warren Sharp, it’s the second-easiest schedule. This is the most subject to change, given how teams play throughout the year.
toughest NFL Schedule to END the SEASON (Wk12-18)
5 easiest schedules:
1. SF
2. JAX
3. NO
4. TB
5. ATL5 hardest schedules:
28. CHI
29. GB
30. LAC
31. DAL
32. PIT pic.twitter.com/IEg67DM2Dh— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 15, 2025
However, if the schedule remains solid in the back half, it pours more fuel on the fire that rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten will indeed be this year’s Bucky Irving. If you recall, Irving had one of the best second-half schedules last season, playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Even though the Jaguars have a projected easy schedule in the second half of 2025, they do still have some favorable matchups to start the year. They open the year against two of last year’s worst defenses between the Panthers and Bengals.
Houston Texans
No free rides. Despite playing in the AFC South, Houston has the seventh-toughest schedule and the third-most difficult slate of matchups versus last year.
That being said, I love this opening stretch for C.J. Stroud in a potential bounce-back season — Rams, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Titans and Ravens before a Week 6 bye week.
The fantasy playoffs also look very nice for the Texans, given they will play indoors in all but one game from Week 13 onward.
Stroud #comebackszn
Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love‘s opening schedule puts him on the streaming/late-round quarterback radar — at home versus Detroit and Washington.
Remaining Top 5 Easiest Schedules
- New Orleans Saints (perks of playing in the NFC South, but the opening schedule is the third-most difficult)
- Atlanta Falcons (See above. Atlanta always has an easy pre-season schedule). That said, the opening schedule — Buccaneers, Vikings, Panthers, Commanders — before a Week 5 bye week is pretty juicy for this offense to get off to a hot start compared to last season. Also, the Falcons will play 11 of their 17 games indoors (including all three in the fantasy playoffs).
- Buffalo Bills
2025 NFL Schedule Release Losers
New York Giants
No team has a more difficult schedule in 2025 than the New York Giants. They open with back-to-back road games against divisional opponents (Commanders and Cowboys), followed by home games versus the Chiefs and Chargers. Welp.
They get some relief against the Saints on the road, but then it’s the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles in two of the next three games, with a road matchup at Denver wedged in between.
As pointed out by Sharp Football, most of the Giants’ home games are also against teams that made the playoffs last season. Woof.
To make matters worse, they don’t have their bye week until Week 14. There’s no guarantee Brian Daboll will still be the head coach by then if the Giants don’t win a decent chunk of games.
It’s a brutal schedule for Big Blue to overcome. I will say that this probably speeds up the time to get Jaxson Dart under center. I’d bet Dart gets the nod sometime after the Giants host the Eagles in Week 6 on Thursday Night Football. That gives them a “mini bye” to prepare their young quarterback. Because as the losses begin to pile up, New York’s head coach/generam manager duo will have no choice but to turn to their rookie signal-caller in the hopes he can save their jobs.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns not only have five potential starting quarterbacks on their roster, but they also have the second-most difficult schedule to overcome (most difficult in September by a vast margin).
the Browns have the NFL's #1 hardest schedule weeks 1-4
no other team is close
they will play 4 straight games against teams expected to produce winning records:
Bengals ► Ravens ► Packers ► Lions pic.twitter.com/470K36ZqhG
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 15, 2025
In 2022, it was the third-hardest schedule. In 2023, it was the third-hardest schedule. In 2024, it was the second-hardest schedule.
Sucks to be a Browns fan playing in the AFC North. Not to mention, they lose a home game to London.
Admittedly, this also pours cold water on Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins. If the Browns are constantly in negative game scripts, Judkins might not see nearly as much work with him entering the league with a lackluster receiving profile.
New York Jets
In Week 1, the Jets will host the Pittsburgh Steelers. I don’t love this matchup for Justin Fields. Pittsburgh is always a tough defense to crack, and this coaching staff/personnel know Fields’ strengths and weaknesses from their time spent together in 2024.
Temper expectations for Fields’ fantasy production out of the gates in Week 1.
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers start the season with three of the first four games on the road (including an international game in Dublin with a bye in Week 5). The opponents aren’t tough by win totals, but road games are tough nevertheless.
the Steelers have the NFL's #1 easiest schedule from Week 1-6
last year the NFL tried to make Aaron Rodgers schedule easy to win early with NYJ:
they gave him the #1 easiest schedule thru wk 5
they do the same thing this yr with PIT
a CLEAR GOAL to get Rodgers to win early pic.twitter.com/5x9jaVrBsf
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 15, 2025
Even so, a quarterback lineup of Justin Fields, Sam Darnold, Drake Maye and J.J. McCarthy (followed by a Browns quarterback in Week 6) is a very solid turnout for the Steelers D/ST.
But exactly like last season, the schedule gets extremely tough in the second half of the year (Weeks 11-18). The Steelers play four of their six divisional games after Week 11, including both games versus Baltimore.
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas has the second-most difficult schedule from Weeks 12-18. It’s a murderers’ row.
the Cowboys play the NFL's #2 toughest schedule from Week 12 onward:
in consecutive weeks, they play these teams (2024 W-L):
► 14-3 Eagles (Super Bowl Champ)
► 15-2 Chiefs (Super Bowl runner-up)
► 15-2 Lions
► 14-3 Vikings
► 12-5 Commanders
► 11-6 Chargers pic.twitter.com/06aMRNzcIX— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 15, 2025
Remaining Top 5 Toughest Schedules
According to Sharp Football, just two of 10 teams with the toughest schedule made the playoffs (Lions and Rams) in 2024. Meanwhile, of the 10 teams with the easiest schedule, seven produced winning records, with six making the playoffs.
- Detroit Lions (Toughest schedule according to Bookies.com, including six road outdoor games against teams with winning records in 2024). A stark contrast from playing nearly exclusively indoors last season.
- Philadelphia Eagles (Most difficult jump in schedule strength.)
- Minnesota Vikings (Tied for fourth-most opponent win totals, per BetMGM). Minnesota also has to play back-to-back international games in Week and Week 5 before a Week 6 bye week (although they aren’t the home team in either). They open the schedule on the road against the Bears on Monday Night Football, followed by a Sunday Night home game against Atlanta. I will say that the Vikings D/ST has a pretty favorable schedule to open the year, with four plus-matchups in their first five games.
International Series Home Teams
- Los Angeles Chargers, Brazil
- Pittsburgh Steelers, Dublin
- Cleveland Browns, London
- New York Jets, London
- Jacksonville Jaguars, London
- Indianapolis Colts, Germany
- Miami Dolphins, Spain
The 2025 international slate!
????: NFL Schedule Release — Wednesday 8pm ET on NFLN/ESPN2
????: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PFBwbjG1m0— NFL (@NFL) May 13, 2025
2025 NFL Schedule Release: Bye Weeks
Bye weeks start in Week 5. Week 8 features the most teams with a bye (6).
- Week 5: Falcons, Bears, Packers, Steelers
- Week 6: Texans, Vikings
- Week 7: Ravens, Bills
- Week 8: Cardinals, Lions, Jaguars, Raiders, Seahawks, Buccaneers
- Week 9: Browns, Rams, Jets, Eagles
- Week 10: Bengals, Cowboys, Chiefs, Titans
- Week 11: Colts, Saints
- Week 12: Broncos, Chargers, Dolphins, Commanders
- Week 14: Panthers, Patriots, Giants, 49ers
2025 NFL Schedule Release: Playoff Matchups to Target/Fade
- Target matchups bolded.
- Fade matchups italicized.
| 2025 NFL Playoff Schedules by Team | |||
| Team | Week 15 | Week 16 | Week 17 |
| ARI | @HOU | ATL | @CIN |
| ATL | @TB | @ARI | LAR |
| BAL | @CIN | NE | @GB |
| BUF | @NE | @CLE | PHI |
| CAR | @NO | TB | SEA |
| CHI | CLE | GB | @SF |
| CIN | BAL | @MIA | ARI |
| CLE | @CHI | BUF | PIT |
| DAL | MIN | LAC | @WAS |
| DEN | GB | JAX | @KC |
| DET | @LAR | PIT | @MIN |
| GB | @DEN | @CHI | BAL |
| HOU | ARI | LV | @LAC |
| IND | @SEA | SF | JAX |
| JAX | NYJ | @DEN | @IND |
| KC | LAC | @TEN | DEN |
| LAC | @KC | @DAL | HOU |
| LAR | DET | @SEA | @ATL |
| LV | @PHI | @HOU | NYG |
| MIA | @PIT | CIN | TB |
| MIN | @DAL | @NYG | DET |
| NE | BUF | @BAL | @NYJ |
| NO | CAR | NYJ | @TEN |
| NYG | WAS | MIN | @LV |
| NYJ | @JAX | @NO | NE |
| PHI | LV | @WAS | @BUF |
| PIT | MIA | @DET | @CLE |
| SEA | IND | LAR | @CAR |
| SF | TEN | @IND | CHI |
| TB | ATL | @CAR | @MIA |
| TEN | @SF | KC | NO |
| WAS | @NYG | PHI | DAL |
Team Playoff Schedules to Target
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Houston Texans
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Seattle Seahawks
- Los Angeles Rams
- Miami Dolphins (Weeks 16-17)
- Indianapolis Colts (Weeks 16-17)
- Carolina Panthers
- Cincinnati Bengals
Team Playoff Schedules to Fade
- Washington Commanders
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- New England Patriots
- Las Vegas Raiders (expect Week 17)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (except Week 17)
- Green Bay Packers
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