2025 NFL Season: New Rules, International Games, and Championship Dreams

A Historic Season Begins

The 106th NFL season is officially underway, with the defending Super Bowl champions Philadelphia Eagles defeating the Dallas Cowboys in the season opener on September 4, 2025.

International Expansion

The 2025 season features an unprecedented seven international games. The series began with Kansas City facing the Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo, Brazil. History will be made when Minnesota meets Pittsburgh at Croke Park in Dublin on September 28, marking the first NFL regular season game in Ireland. London will host three games, featuring matchups between Minnesota-Cleveland and Denver-Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, followed by Rams-Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium.

Streaming Innovation

This season brings exciting viewing options for fans. Netflix will exclusively stream two Christmas Day games, while NFL Sunday Ticket continues its partnership with YouTube TV. The NFL+ streaming service will provide live access to in-market and national regular season games, postseason matches, and radio broadcasts on mobile devices.

Season Structure and Rule Changes

The 2025 season spans 18 weeks, with each of the 32 teams playing 17 games and having one bye week. The regular season will conclude on January 4, 2026, with all final weekend games being intra-division matchups.

Road to Super Bowl LX

The playoffs will begin on January 10, culminating in Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8. As the season progresses, teams will separate themselves as either genuine Super Bowl contenders or pretenders in the standings.